[ The Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World is viewed from right to left ]
The salt works were extensive, but were mostly located on the west side of the peninsula, although they appear in the painting to be close by the river shores. The stone walls surrounding the small farm pastures are evidence of the region’s poor, rocky soil. Geographically, the long, southeastward-facing point of the peninsula of Clark’s Point shelters the harbor of the Acushnet River from the prevailing southwesterly winds.
Note the large, new almshouse, built in 1847. Inmates worked on the nearby farms as well as the salt works. Harbor shipping includes varieties of small craft and coastal vessels used to carry people and cargo, as well as a whaler, the ship Janus II of New Bedford, lying at anchor preparing to put to sea.
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