Lagoda Interactive

Launch Now!

Due to the temporary closure of the Bourne Building, which houses the replica of the whaleship Lagoda, the museum has developed a web version of the "Lagoda of New Bedford" interactive.

The Lagoda was an important whaleship during the age of American whaling under sail. The 89-foot-long, half-size replica of the Lagoda is the centerpiece of the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The model was built in the Museum's Bourne Building, which was constructed specifically to house it in 1916, when the American whaling industry was in its final years. A team of local maritime craftsmen constructed the Lagoda, guided by the advice of local whaling captains.

During the 19th century, local whaling merchant Jonathan Bourne, Jr. owned a fleet of 24 whaling vessels. He rose from store clerk to become one of New Bedford's most successful whaling capitalists. In 1841, he purchased the Lagoda, a merchant vessel that he converted into a whaling bark. She was Bourne's favorite - and most profitable - whaleship.

By the 1840s, whaling was one of America's major industries, and New Bedford became the center of the entire business. The world's largest ship model, the Lagoda remains a lasting symbol of New Bedford's and New England's great maritime past - and of the whaling industry itself.