New Bedford

New Bedford (pop. 175,641), city in southeastern Massachusetts, at the mouth of the Acushnet River on Buzzard's Bay. Once a famous whaling port, it is now aleading textile center. Settled in 1652, it was a privateer port during the Revolutionary War, and was burned by the British (1778). Since World War II, new pulp and paper industries, the discovery of rich mineral deposits, and the completion of several hydroelectric projects, promise brighter economic prospects.

See also: Massachusetts.