Common Ground: Community Stories

Our region is vibrant because of our diverse, shared histories. The SouthCoast is enriched by the active tribal presence of Wampanoag people, historic settlement by Quaker, French, Polish, and Italian communities, and more recent Azorean, Cape Verdean, Central American, and Caribbean immigration, among many others. There are common threads throughout the region’s history. Stories of settlement, migration, and diversity form the heartbeat of the SouthCoast of Massachusetts.

Founded in 1903 as the Old Dartmouth Historical Society, the New Bedford Whaling Museum has spent over 100 years collecting and interpreting the history of our region. Common Ground: Community Stories is a community-focused oral history project and exhibition. Storytellers talk about their ties to the region. By gathering individual stories, Common Ground presents a diverse, inclusive, celebratory accounting of the lived experiences of SouthCoast residents (past and present) – and, in the process, helps us find “common ground.”

Of the hundreds of stories collected so far, individuals focus on identity and place and describe their personal history and ties to their community. These are powerful (and sometimes mundane) personal narratives, that carry great import for the storyteller and comprise local history, as it was and is lived. Listening to these personal stories connects each storyteller and listener within a greater whole. Once collected, stories are archived and organized within fifteen categories. These are: women’s lives, family stories, community activism, the environment, urban development, stories of immigration, neighborhoods, arts & culture, celebrations, local business, maritime, education, sports, religion, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through this project, the Museum is committed to preserving Common Ground stories and making them accessible for researchers, descendants, and community members for generations to come.