Rotch, William Jr., House - New Bedford, MA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

From Wikipedia: Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum

This Greek Revival style house was built by Richard Upjohn for William Rotch, Jr. in 1834, on a New Bedford plot Rotch had inherited from his father. It was Upjohn's first house, near the beginning of a long career. Rotch also commissioned a garden in the rear, which later owners would significantly expand. The property remained private until 1981, when it was bought by local preservationists and reopened as a historic house museum. It was declared a National Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Today the museum educates visitors not only about whaling but, through its gardens and associated programs for local schools, about the environment as well.

By 1851, New Bedford had completely displaced Nantucket as the center of American whaling. In that year, Edward Coffin Jones, a Nantucket native who had moved to New Bedford and become a successful ship owner, bought the house for $17,000. The Joneses expanded the garden, adding the pergola, a common Victorian touch. One of his daughters, Amelia Hickling Jones, lived there for the next 85 years, becoming a major civic benefactor as the city transitioned from whaling to textiles as the mainstay of its economy. With no heirs, the property was put up for sale when she died in 1935.

Mark Duff, a descendant of one of New Bedford's whaling families that had expanded into other businesses, bought it the following year. Under the direction of Boston landscape architect Mrs. John Coolidge, they redecorated it extensively and planted 7,000 tulip bulbs in the garden, as well as adding landscaping, walkways and ornamental ponds. The Duff family decided to sell the house in 1981, and it was bought by the Waterfront Historic Area LeaguE (WHALE), a local historic preservation group that had been instrumental in restoring, protecting and establishing the nearby New Bedford Historic District, a National Historic Landmark (NHL). WHALE's goal was to save it from commercial development and turn the house and garden into a museum, which it opened in 1983. In 1996 it became the only city property outside of the New Bedford Historic District to be included as part of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, and in 2005 the house and garden were themselves designated an NHL, as a legacy of New Bedford's whaling supremacy, an outstanding example of a Greek Revival house, and the first house built by Upjohn.

Dining Room	Butler’s Pantry
The parlor Mt. Washington candle glass chandelier made in New Bedford	Carpenter's Son painting by Edward Enersib Simmons
The garden

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Hours and Admission See: Rotch-Jones-Duff Museum

•Monday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
•Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
•AHA! Evenings: The Museum is open the second Thursday evening of each month (excluding January) free of charge. See AHA! Schedule for more information.
•Closed major holidays. Call (508) 997-1401 for further information.

Street address: 396 County St New Bedford, MA USA 02740 ‎ County / Borough / Parish: Bristol Year listed: 2005 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture, Economics, Industry, Maritime History Periods of significance: 1834-1880 Historic function: Domestic / Single Dwelling Current function: Recreation & Culture / Museum Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] National Historic Landmark Link: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/31/2014 Lat34North visited it