Free Henry Huttleston Rogers Tour of Beautiful, Old Buildings in Fairhaven, Mass., Oct. 18 and 25
Historic Fairhaven, Mass. (photo by Eric H.). Click to see full-sized photo!
I just read that on the Fairhaven, Mass., Office of Tourism web site that a Henry Huttleston Rogers Tour is scheduled for Oct. 18 and 25, at 10 a.m., starting at the Visitors Center, 43 Center St. The tour is free. I’d recommend calling 508-979-4085 to make sure the tours are still on, as you never know what the New England weather will bring this time of the year.
Before you say “Oh, no, not another boring tour of old buildings,” understand that Fairhaven is one beautiful New England town with buildings that are anything but dull. The variety of well kept buildings is, quite frankly, noteworthy and stunning to view.
Fairhaven — once prominent as a whaling port and directly across the harbor from New Bedford, a more famous whaling district — is one of New England’s true hidden gem towns has a story that deserves to be heard and seen. On the tour, you’ll start out by learning about Fairhaven’s benefactor, Standard Oil Company millionaire Henry Huttleston Rogers (1840-1909). Rogers’ generosity to his home town goes certainly beyond the norm, given the high concentration of fabulous buildings. The tour will feature visits to two of the Rogers buildings—the Town Hall and the Millicent Library — and also exterior viewing of Rogers’ boyhood home. Also included on the tour is the Unitarian Memorial Church, Our Lady’s Haven, Rogers School and the Masonic Building. This is not your basic “let’s view small historic Colonial homes that look like what we have in our own neighborhood” type of tour! What you’ll see here are one-of-a-kind buildings.
I haven’t taken an official tour yet and have a rather short attention span when it comes to touring buildings beyond, say, 15 minutes. But when I saw the group of buildings here along some truly appealing tree-lined streets with beautiful, big old homes, my jaw dropped. I must have walked around the block five times, marveling at the buildings and the innate beauty of this classic New England coastal town!
