Quaker House
As Americans watched the destruction of their
whaling fleet or at least 80% of it, during the War of
Independence, crews would be captured and imprisoned, with
blockades used to prevent any of the vessels left from earning a
living at sea. After the war ended, there had been a large
amount of competition grown in surrounding regions, and the last
blow to the colonies would be when the Parliament would put a
duty on American whale oil, so to escape the tax and incredible
competition, a deal would be made with Governor John Parr to
migrate the Nantucket whalers to Nova Scotia, with the first
Quaker settlers coming to the area in 1785. These hardy folks
would come and construct their houses in the original
foundations of the first settlement, as well as building
wharves, warehouse, shops and two spermaceti candle factories.
Whaling was a difficult and dangerous life for both men and
women, with the men spending up to two years at sea, and their
lives were in constant danger. Regardless, the Dartmouth fleet
would enjoy a quick expansion and become the rival of every
whaling center in the world; and became so successful that it
would rival the great British and West Indies markets. Using a
ploy to get that success to the British isles, the Quaker
community would be given a great offer and their whaling
industry moved to Milford Haven in Wales after having been in
Dartmouth for just a decade. Some of the Quakers would stay in
Dartmouth, with most notable being Seth Coleman. One of his
grandsons, a master whaler out of Nantucket, would sign on a new
crewmember named Herman Melville, who would come home to pen
Moby Dick, one of the best literary classics of all time. By
1971, and after a surge in the urban renewal craze that occurred
around the world during that decade, many of the historic houses
in the downtown area would be destroyed, causing the museum
society to preserve the Quaker House and transform it into an
interpreted historic house open to the public during the summer
months. It was restored to its 1785 condition and furnished with
period furniture, and is open for visitors with costumed
interpreters.
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