Table of Contents

Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Administrative Information

Description

Subject Headings

Inventory of the Nonquitt Collection

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Historical Note

In the second half of the nineteenth century Americans began to take advantage of the leisure time made possible by advancing industrialization. Residents of crowded centers, who were able, removed to the country to avoid the filth and disease which increased substantially in the hot summer months. Thus it was that a group of middle-class merchants from the New Bedford area took their families to camp in farmers' fields on the South Dartmouth shore in the mid-1850s.Residing there for the month of August, they slept in individual family tents, but cooked and dined communally. In 1872 a second group of campers came to this same area, and rumors arose that New York investors wished to develop the location into a summer resort.

Members of the original group of campers began negotiations with the families and formed a corporation, Nonquitt Beach and Wharf Association, to purchase the lands. The first cottages, twenty in number, were built in 1873, along with a small hotel and a steamboat pier.

In 1882, the first trust was terminated and a second was established with three trustees, including George A. Bourne. The second trust was terminated in 1889, George A. Bourne having acquired all the properties from their Trustees. After Bourne's death in 1897, the Nonquitt Real Estate Trust was organized (1900) which purchased all Bourne's Nonquitt Properties as well as some adjoining land beyond the original plan. The purpose of this trust was "to preserve for the benefit of all... the Parks, Streets and open place shown on the original plan."

Because of confusion over termination date for the Nonquitt Real Estate Trust, shares in that trust were exchanged in late 1948 for a new trust, Nonquitt Proprietors' Trust. That trust, still in existence today, holds title to all Nonquitt common lands for the benefit of the Incorporation Proprietors of Nonquitt. At the time, Nonquitt Proprietors' Trust was established, South Nonquitt property owners were deeded small golf courses lots in order to ensure their rights "to the beaches, parks and roads of Nonquitt."

In 1893, before Bourne's death, the Nonquitt Association was established. This association assessed property owners annually to manage the general upkeep of roads and other Nonquitt facilities and activities and to provide police protection. The Nonquitt Association ultimately absorbed the Nonquitt Casita Corporation, a separate entity which had been incorporated in 1892 to build a gathering place "for literary, artistic, musical and athletic purposes..." The Association also absorbed the Nonquitt Wharf Company which been established in 1899 to manage the steamboat wharf formerly owned by Bourne.

In 1927, a non-profit corporation, Incorporated Proprietors of Nonquitt, was established for the purpose of "acquiring, holding, leasing, maintaining, improving, beautifying, and managing real estate,buildings and personal property... in Nonquitt... for the benefit and enjoyment... of owners and residents..." By agreement, in 1927 the Nonquitt Real Estate Trust transferred to the Incorporated Proprietors of Nonquitt all control and management of trust assets and liabilities, retaining title to the properties. The Incorporated Proprietors of Nonquitt continues to function today as the governing body of Nonquitt.

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Scope and Content Note

Materials in this collection encompass instruments creating the various Associations and Trusts and the minutes of their administrations, also both original and copies of the deeds to the lands which comprise Nonquitt. Many maps and much history of property lines are found. Financial records and correspondence from 1902 through 1980 with some lacunae, are included. The formalization of activities is documented, and owners' problems with the administrations and each other is revealed through pertinent correspondence. Dates included are from 1849 to 1983.

The collection is arranged by Association and Trust, as chronologically as possible, with such series as Legal, Administrative, financial, properties, activities and historical as main headings.

There are both original documents and copies of original, maps, minutes of meetings, correspondence, bank records, and historical sketches, but no photographs. Some officers of Nonquitt have presented a more comprehensive record of their administrations than others, depending on their propensity for saving written material.

Arrangement of Collection

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Information for Researchers

Access to Collections

Unrestricted. Consult librarian for an appointment.

Preferred Citation

New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library Mss 112, [sub-group, series, sub-series, folder/volume as appropriate], [item]

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 United States Code 552a) governs the use of materials that document private individuals, groups, and corporations.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group, or corporation. These specified conditions of authorized use include:

If the researcher later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," the researcher is personally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement and agrees to indemnify the New Bedford Whaling Museum from any legal action as a result of the error. Permission to obtain a photographic, xerographic, digital, or other copy of a document does not indicate permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, sell, distribute, or prepare derivative works from the document without permission from the copyright holder and from any private individual, group, or corporation shown or otherwise recorded.

Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, sell, or otherwise distribute the item must be obtained separately in writing from the holder of the original copyright (or if the creator is dead, from his/her heirs) as well as from any individual(s), groups, or corporations whose name, image, recorded words, or private information (e.g. employment information) may be reproduced in the source material. The holder of the original copyright is not necessarily the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The New Bedford Whaling Museum is not legally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement when materials are wrongfully used after being provided to researchers for "fair use."

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order is judged in violation of copyright or federal or state privacy law. This institution also places restrictions on the use of cameras, photocopiers, and scanners in the research room.

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Materials in this collection were donated to the Old Dartmouth Historical Society by the Incorporated Proprietors of Nonquitt as part of 3 separate accessions: 10 February 1988, 20 July 1999, and 3 November 2000. Additional materials were also acquired by means of private individuals.

Processing Information

Processed by: Helen M. Allen, Judith N. Lund, Helen O. Webb

Encoded by: Caitlin Hayes, 11 September 2012

Funds for processing this collection were provided by the Incorporated Proprietors of Nonquitt.

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Description

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Subject Headings

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