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This is a photograph of the Friends Meeting house (Quakers) on 83 Spring Street in New Bedford.
It still stands today, and there are monthly meetings. Phone number is 508 990-0710
There are several other Quaker Meeting houses within a 50 mile radius of New Bedford and some are listed at a website called Quakerfinder.
Quakers were some of the earliest settlers in New Bedford and some of the wealthiest businessmen, as well.
The Quakers did a lot of positive good in the community, but also controlled the politics and moral compass of New Bedford for a long time in the early history of the city.
They were instrumental in putting New Bedford on the map as a haven for run-away slaves to find sanctuary and opportunity.
If you click on the photo, it will enlarge and you can see a lot of details.
Over the years various deciduous trees suffered from blight and the trees in the photo are not there any longer. There was a terrible scourge of diseases that hit the Chestnut trees that dominated the area in early times then Elm disease and later and Oak tree disease and after that a Maple tree disease.
