Padanaram is a coastal

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in South

Dartmouth, Massachusetts Dartmouth ( Massachusett: ) is a coastal town in Bristol County, Massachusetts. Old Dartmouth was the first area of Southeastern Massachusetts to be settled by Europeans, primarily English. Dartmouth is part of New England's farm coast, which c ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The village is located on

Buzzards Bay Buzzards Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is approximately 28 miles (45 kilometers) long by 8 miles (12 kilometers) wide. It is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and tourism. Since ...

, more specifically near the inlet of Apponagansett Bay.

History

The village of Padanaram was one of many settlements that began cropping up within the town of Old Dartmouth after its purchase from the

Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 1 ...

by members of the

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the passengers on the ...

in 1652. During

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

, English colonists residing in the area took shelter at Russell Garrison. Remains of the settlement can still be seen at the foot of Lucy Street. In the mid-18th century it became a shipbuilding center. In September 1778, during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, the British attacked nearby

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

with a small force attacking Padanaram. The town prospered as a minor whaling port and was home to a large salt works during the 19th century. As these industries died out, "the village" (as it is referred to by locals) became mostly a residential area with several yachting businesses, galleries, eateries, and shops. The town is also the location of the Southworth Library, which was built in the late 1880's, and early 1890's. Padanaram_Bridge

Name etymology

The name “Padanaram” came from a prominent early resident named Laban Thatcher, who identified with the Biblical figure Laban who resided in

Paddan Aram Paddan Aram or Padan-aram ( he, , ''Padan ʾĂrām'') was a region referring to the northern plain of the former kingdom Aram-Naharaim. Paddan Aram in Aramaic means ''the field of Aram'', a name that distinguishes the flatland from the mountainou ...

in Mesopotamia. The village eventually adopted this new name, and dropped its earlier Wampanoag name, “Ponagansett.”

New Bedford Yacht Club

The New Bedford Yacht Club, while founded in

, is now located in Padanaram. The club originally founded their headquarters on nearby Fish Island in 1877. Two years later, in 1879 in order to accommodate its growing membership, the club headquarters were moved to the larger neighboring Pope Island. In 1901, the club built the station in Padanaram. It replaced the Pope Island station as the main station of the club following the 1941 sale of the island. The New Bedford Yacht Club bi-annually hosts the

Regatta.

References

{{authority control Historic districts in Bristol County, Massachusetts Villages in Bristol County, Massachusetts Dartmouth, Massachusetts Providence metropolitan area Villages in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Bristol County, Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts

History

Name etymology

New Bedford Yacht Club

See also

References