Notes:
(1) Clark’s Point Light was built on the west side of New Bedford Harbor to mark the entrance into the Harbor.

      In 1797, local merchants built a primitive wooden beacon on Clark’s Point for the safe passage of vessels entering the New Bedford Harbor.  The wooden Lighthouse was destroyed by fire in 1803.  The federal government approved a local petition to build a new Lighthouse since New Bedford’s whaling industry, like Nantucket before, was expanding and the safety of the whaling fleet was the key to New Bedford’s prosperity.

      In 1804, a 42-feet high stone Lighthouse was built and First Lit exhibiting a Fixed White light 50-feet above sea level illuminated by oil lamps.  In 1842, Henry M. Smith, a wood carver of ship figureheads, was appointed the Light-keeper and he built the Keeper’s dwelling.


      Sperm whaling was the basis of economic expansion in New England as noted by the rapid increase of ships in the American Whaling Fleet from 392 whaling ships in 1833 to 735 ships in 1846.  In the same period, Sperm oil prices rose from 43 cents a gallon in 1833 to $1.77 a gallon in 1846.  At the height of the whaling industry, 1846 to 1847, New England was producing 4 to 5 millions gallons of Sperm oil annually for lighting.

      By 1849, New Bedford had become the whaling center of the world.  Ironically, overwhaling, Confederate commerce raiders sinking numerous whaling vessels during the American Civil War, and the discovery of Kerosene caused the economic decline of New Bedford.  By 1866, Whale oil shortages skyrocketed the price of Sperm oil to $2.55 a gallon.  Due to the energy crisis, many Lighthouses replaced expensive Sperm Oil with Lard Oil or Kerosene (coal oil).

      On September 24, 1857, the federal government purchased Clark’s Point for building a seven-sided granite fort, designed by Major Richard Delafield, the “father of American Coastal Defense,” and Captain Robert E. Lee, who later became a Confederate General.  A earthworks fort, named Fort Taber, was completed and operational on May 11, 1861.  The temporary defensive fort, named after Mayor Issac C. Taber, was used to protect Union shipping entering the harbor during the construction of the granite fort and the Civil War.

      Confederate raiders prowled Long Island Sound and Buzzards Bay destroying local ships and decimated the New Bedford whaling fleet captured on the open seas.  By 1863, the walls of the granite fort were completed to a height that blocked the earthen fort’s (Fort Taber) view of the Acushnet River.

      In 1869, Clark’s Point Lighthouse, and the Light-keeper’s quarters were relocated to the top western corner of the granite fort and First Lit on June 15.  In 1898, the military reservation was named Fort Rodman in honor of Lt. Col. William Logan Rodman of New Bedford who was killed in the Civil War.  The original stone Tower was razed in 1906.


      On April 30, 1898, Clark’s Point Light was decommissioned after the lighting of Butler Flats Light, built 4,200-feet offshore from Clark’s Point.  After World War II, Fort Rodman was declared surplus and the 12-inch guns were removed.  The fort was abandoned after the Vietnam War and sold to the City of New Bedford for park planning.

      In the late 1970s, a Fort Taber society was established to restore the fort and Lighthouse.  As with other New Bedford Lighthouses, the site suffered from rampant theft and vandalism.  A huge waste-water treatment plant was built behind the fort to clean up the harbor.

      The City of New Bedford disclosed a $7 million plan create a public park and refurbish the fort in 1997.  The new park has a bicycle/walk path surrounding the point allowing visitors to see the historical fortifications and views of the harbor. A new group, the Fort Taber Historical Association, is restoring the fort and creating a military museum within its walls.

      The Lantern Room and wood frame of the historic Fort Lighthouse was restored in the welding area of waste-water treatment plant from 2000 to 2001 in preparation for the relighting ceremony, June 15, 2001.  Nearly 3,000 people attended the gala event to see Clark’s Point Light relit at 9p.m., on the 132nd anniversary of the Lighthouse’s first illumination after the Lantern was relocated to the top of Fort Rodman.  The White Tower Fort Lighthouse is currently a Private aid exhibiting a Fixed White Light to a visible range of 9 nautical miles.

(2) In 1869, the original Lantern was removed from the tower and placed on the top of Fort Rodman.

(3) Directions from MA-18 South in New Bedford:
     MA-18 S becomes the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (1.7-mi).  Turn Left onto Cove Street (0.0-mi), and Turn Right onto East Rodney French Boulevard to the Fort Rodman Military Reservation at 1000 South Rodney French Boulevard.

     Park and walk to the Visitor Center at Fort Taber Park for a park guide to the park, fort, and the grounds of the Lighthouse which is not open to the public.  There are plans to open the Lighthouse in the future.

     Note the name of the new park is Taber Park or Fort Taber Park on recent maps and older maps use Fort Rodman Military Reservation to label the fort at Clark’s Point.