Picture it: the year is 1834. Whales are the Wi-Fi and electricity of the day - their oil lights up cities around the globe. William Rotch Jr., one of the city’s wealthiest men (and a gentleman who probably had more whale stories than a marine biology textbook), decides he wants a new home. Not just any home, though, but one with style - Greek Revival, the height of fashion! William hires a young English architect named Richard Upjohn. This will be Upjohn’s very first house. Turns out, it’s the architectural equivalent of a rookie athlete hitting a home run in his first inning.
Upjohn creates the yellow mansion you see before you - with tall, elegant columns, a stately porch, and chimneys that practically wave “hello” above the rooftops. Don’t be fooled by its “modest” appearance-William specifically requested something more restrained than his neighbors’ mansions. Yes, even the third-richest man in New Bedford practiced a little architectural humility. But step inside (if you get the chance!), and you’ll see original mahogany doors, delicately carved medallions on the ceilings, and window frames with a beaded knife blade profile. Fancy words aside, it’s just really, really pretty.
And then, there’s the garden. William, a founding member of the New Bedford Horticultural Society, began this lush paradise. Imagine 19th-century parties: ladies in bonnets, gentlemen twirling mustaches, all wandering among the roses. Over time, the garden became something of a local legend. Now you’ll see boxwood hedges, elegant flowerbeds, a woodland walk, and even a Victorian latticework pergola. The only mystery here? How anyone managed to keep their white gloves clean while tending so many calla lilies.
But the story of the house doesn’t stop with the Rotch family. Fast forward to 1851. Edward Coffin Jones, a Nantucket transplant and ship owner, buys the house for $17,000 - a tiny fortune back then. The city is booming, buzzing with the sound of shipbuilding, and New Bedford has just surpassed Nantucket in whale oil dominance. In fact, legend has it Herman Melville himself, the author of "Moby-Dick," wrote that nowhere in America were the houses and gardens finer than right here in New Bedford. Not a bad Yelp review!
The Joneses fancy up the garden - adding that lovely pergola - and one of their daughters, Amelia, lives here for a staggering 85 years. She becomes a major civic benefactor as the city’s fortunes shift from whale oil to textiles. When she dies in 1935, the house changes hands again, this time to Mark Duff, another whaling family descendant, who promptly plants 7,000 tulips. That’s a lot of bulbs to dig. The Duffs also add walkways, ornamental ponds, and even more landscaping, turning the grounds into a botanical wonderland.
By 1981, though, the mansion faces its greatest threat: commercial development. Dumm dumm dumm! But fear not, for the heroic local preservationists at WHALE (the Waterfront Historic Area LeaguE) swoop in, buying the property and transforming it into a museum for the people. Today, you can wander the gardens, soak in history, and even attend a class on beekeeping or botany if you time your visit right. In 2005, the house itself is declared a National Historic Landmark-a crown jewel in New Bedford’s sparkling historical tiara.
So while you breathe in today’s fresh air, let your mind travel back to the scent of a thousand roses, the echo of whale oil fortunes, and the surprising mystery of what the next season’s flowerbeds will bring. Now, who’s up for counting tulips?
