Due to COVID-19. The Military Museum has changed our hours of operation, and policies regarding visitors. We are open Tues thru Sun from 1-4 p.m. Masks MUST be worn. As well as Social Distancing Guidelines apply to ALL our Guests. Please help us keep our Staff, Veterans, and Guests safe. For more information please see the City of New Bedford website
ATTENTION FORT TABER MUSEUM VISITORS:
The City of New Bedford Administers the Fort Taber Park, and is ONLY ALLOWING New Bedford Residents to use the Park, and Beach.
If you are coming to visit the Museum. You NEED to inform the person at the gate, that you are going to the Museum. You MUST use the parking reserved for the Museum, and be issued a parking pass from the Museum's Front Desk. For the time frame that you are visiting and the museum is open.
The Hours are Tuesday thru Sunday from 1 - 4 p.m.
If you parked OUTSIDE of those times. It MAY result in a Parking Citation from the City of New Bedford.
PLEASE NOTE : ANY issues, problems with the park, beach, or Ticket related grievances. MUST BE DIRECTED to the City of New Bedford. Not to the Museum Staff.
Thank you for your Attention to this matter.
Fort Taber Historical Association Staff
An Important Message from The Fort Rodman Historical Association President :
I would like to introduce myself; I am Bill Niedzwiedz. Due to the untimely passing of our President, Mr. Joseph Langlois, I have become the President of the Fort Taber-Fort Rodman Historical Assoc.
I would like to send a special thank you to the members of the Fort Taber-Fort Rodman Historical Assoc. for their generous help during the closing of the Museum due to COVID-19. I would also send a special thank you to all the Volunteers that returned to keep the Museum going after we reopened. We are continuing to give our visitors to the Museum a great and welcoming experience. As we reopened, some exciting opportunities have unexpectedly arrived for the museum. One is the 3D virtual tour that is in the process of being produced and is unbelievable in what I have seen so far. The second is the museum has been invited to participate in the second season of the PBS Television series “Treasures Inside the Museum” The show will be recorded at the museum and aired sometime after October.
I would like to welcome back all of our fantastic supporters and guests to visit the museum. Our hours have changed slightly and are now Tuesday – Sunday 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm and we are closed on Mondays. Per Massachusetts COVID-19 Order Number 31 masks and social distancing are required for the safety of our visitors and volunteers, as always admission is free. Our staff of volunteers will be happy to make your visit an enjoyable and informative adventure.
Thank you
Bill Niedzwiedz
Fort Rodman-Fort Taber Historical Association President
HISTORY OF THE FORT
1800 - New Bedford became the world’s foremost whaling port by the middle of the nineteenth-century. The port’s upriver location provided natural protection from coastal gales, but not the storms of national and international controversy. A British raid during the American Revolution demonstrated the vulnerability of the port in 1778 when seventy vessels and twenty-six storehouses were left in ruin. The need for coastal defense was obvious again during the War of 1812... see timeline
MUSEUM HISTORY
The Fort Taber Fort Rodman military Museum opened in August 2004. Our collection consisted of twenty photographs, two shelf units and a display case. Since then it has grown in every way with new exhibited items, more volunteers, physical size with the construction of a new addition, and most importantly visitors. Our average annual visitor rate is over 8,500 people, resulting in the museum being hailed as the “biggest little military museum in the... read more
LATEST NEWS & EVENTS
SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING AT FORT RODMAN
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FTFRHA Featured in MassRealty Article
The Fort Taber-Fort Rodman Historical Association is committed to preserving the military history of the fort and its surroundings. Fort Rodman doesn’t only offer historical information; it is an important memorial dedicated to the legacy of the area’s veterans and their service to the nation. Moreover, the association aims to demonstrate how the fort is…
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Civil War-era cannons buried at Fort Taber in New Bedford?
NEW BEDFORD — More than 30 iron, Civil War-era cannons could be buried on the Fort Taber park site in the city’s South End, say backers of a proposal to conduct an archaeological study and potentially dig for the historical weaponry. Ward 6 City Councilor Joseph P. Lopes submitted a letter and supporting documents from…
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