The South Coast of Massachusetts (sometimes stylized SouthCoast) is the region of southeastern Massachusetts consisting of the southern Bristol and Plymouth counties, bordering Buzzards Bay, and includes the cities of Fall River, New Bedford, the southeastern tip of East Taunton and nearby towns. The Rhode Island towns of Tiverton and Little Compton, located in Newport County, are often included within the South Coast designation due to regional similarities with adjacent communities.
The term is recent, dating to the 1990s, and sometimes confused with the South Shore (a region southeast of Boston that includes eastern Norfolk and Plymouth counties, and does not overlap with the South Coast).
The "South Coast" label was born as a public relations effort to counteract the perceived stigma of former terms like "Greater Fall River," "Greater New Bedford," or "New Bedford-Fall River," which conjured images, in many Massachusetts residents' minds, of depressed mill towns with run-down buildings and high unemployment. Local boosters, including The Standard-Times newspaper, began using the term in the mid-1990s in an effort to attract business to an area with "the Cape's climate," "better infrastructure" and "relatively low land prices," according to Standard-Times publisher William Kennedy.[1]
CommunitiesEdit
There are 14 Massachusetts municipalities that are almost always included in the South Coast (total population: 306,588). Two Rhode Island towns may also be included.[2]
The South Coast region is typically associated with its distinct industrial heritage pertaining to textile, whaling, and fishing industries; the South Coast also has the largest Portuguese American population in the United States.[6][7]
Farm CoastEdit
In recent years, an unofficial sub-region of the South Coast known as the Farm Coast has been used to describe the cluster of rural towns that are situated on the northern coast of Buzzards Bay; these towns are considered to be the last coastal farming communities left in Southern New England and share a common regional identity and aesthetic. The Farm Coast consists of the towns of Tiverton, Little Compton, Westport and Dartmouth.[8][9][10]
EducationEdit
UMass Dartmouth is known for its brutalist campus structures
Institutions of higher learning located in South Coast communities include:
South Coast Rail is an ongoing project to build a new southern line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system along several abandoned and freight-only rail lines.[12] The project will restore passenger rail service between Boston and the cities of Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford, via the towns of Berkley and Freetown. Passenger service to the South Coast was originally discontinued in 1958; efforts to restore passenger rail service began in the 1980s.[13] After decades of false starts, construction began on July 2, 2019, with a projected cost of $1.047 billion.[14] Service is expected to begin in mid-2024.[15]
The term "South Coast" reportedly began with weather forecasts by Todd Gross on WHDH-TV in Boston. New Bedford's local daily newspaper, The Standard-Times, picked it up in the late 1990s, and other media have followed suit, albeit not without some protest by longtime area residents who protested the manufactured name.[1]
Radio stations include ethnic WHTB/1400-Fall River, news/talk/sports WBSM/1420-New Bedford, news/talk/sports WSAR/1480-Fall River, religious ethnic WFHL/88.1-New Bedford, K-LoveWTKL/91.1-North Dartmouth, Portuguese-language WJFD-FM/97.3-New Bedford, country WCTK/98.1-New Bedford, top 40/dance WFHN/107.1-Fairhaven, and public radio news WNPN/89.3-Newport, RI.
Television stations include ABC affiliate WLNE-TV/49 (PSIP 6)-New Bedford and CW affiliate WLWC/22 (PSIP 28)-New Bedford.
^ abJurkowitz, Mark. "Renaming the 'Armpit'". The Boston Globe, June 5, 1997.
^"Massachusetts South Coast". Southeastern MA Guide. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
^"CZM South Coastal Region | Mass.gov". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
^"Ambrose F. Keeley Library the Information Center of B.M.C. Durfee High School: History of Fall River, Massachusetts and Rhode Island Boundary question" (PDF). www.sailsinc.org.
^Graves, Annie (2018-06-18). "A Hidden Beauty | Exploring the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Farm Coast". New England. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
^University of Massachusetts Dartmouth p. 8 Archived April 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^"Ancestry Search – Genealogy by City". epodunk.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved February 25, 2008.
^"Farmcoast New England". Farmcoast New England. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
^"KEEP THE FARM IN FARM COAST". KEEP THE FARM IN FARM COAST. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
^"Carter Wilkie on "Keeping the Farm in 'Farm Coast'"". Little Compton Historical Society. 2021-08-14. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
^"MassDOT Is Demolishing a Highway to Give Fall River Its Waterfront Back - Streetsblog Massachusetts". mass.streetsblog.org. 2022-12-21. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
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This article is about the South Coast region of the U S state of Massachusetts For other regions with the same name see South Coast disambiguation The South Coast of Massachusetts sometimes stylized SouthCoast is the region of southeastern Massachusetts consisting of the southern Bristol and Plymouth counties bordering Buzzards Bay and includes the cities of Fall River New Bedford the southeastern tip of East Taunton and nearby towns The Rhode Island towns of Tiverton and Little Compton located in Newport County are often included within the South Coast designation due to regional similarities with adjacent communities South CoastRegion of MassachusettsThe South Coast Region of MassachusettsCountryUnited StatesStateMassachusettsCities and townsAcushnet Berkley Dartmouth Fairhaven Fall River Freetown Little Compton Marion Mattapoisett New Bedford Rochester Somerset Swansea Tiverton Wareham and WestportPopulation Total306 588Largest city population New Bedford 100 941 Largest city land area Darmouth 97 5 sq mi 252 6 km2 The term is recent dating to the 1990s and sometimes confused with the South Shore a region southeast of Boston that includes eastern Norfolk and Plymouth counties and does not overlap with the South Coast Contents 1 Terminology 2 Communities 3 Geography 3 1 Farm Coast 4 Education 5 Transportation 6 Sites of interest 7 Media 8 See also 9 ReferencesTerminology EditThe South Coast label was born as a public relations effort to counteract the perceived stigma of former terms like Greater Fall River Greater New Bedford or New Bedford Fall River which conjured images in many Massachusetts residents minds of depressed mill towns with run down buildings and high unemployment Local boosters including The Standard Times newspaper began using the term in the mid 1990s in an effort to attract business to an area with the Cape s climate better infrastructure and relatively low land prices according to Standard Times publisher William Kennedy 1 Communities EditThere are 14 Massachusetts municipalities that are almost always included in the South Coast total population 306 588 Two Rhode Island towns may also be included 2 Acushnet Berkley Dartmouth Fairhaven Fall River Freetown Little Compton RI Marion Mattapoisett New Bedford Rochester Somerset Swansea Tiverton RI Wareham WestportThe Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management also includes the towns of Dighton Seekonk and Rehoboth within its South Coast regional service area however these communities are more often associated with the Providence Metro Area or Greater Taunton Area than the South Coast 3 Geography EditBy its most literal definition the South Coast only includes cities and towns in southern Massachusetts that may not be considered parts of the Providence Metropolitan Area the South Shore or Cape Cod it encompasses the geographic area of Massachusetts that borders Buzzards Bay excluding the Elizabeth Islands Bourne and Falmouth Mount Hope Bay and the Sakonnet River Little Compton and Tiverton Rhode Island are often considered parts of the South Coast due to proximity and shared regional heritage it has been argued that Little Compton and Tiverton share more in common with the regional identities of Westport and Dartmouth and to an extent Fall River than the rest of Newport County 4 5 East Taunton is sometimes considered the northernmost extent of the South Coast region however it does not include the entire city of Taunton The South Coast region is typically associated with its distinct industrial heritage pertaining to textile whaling and fishing industries the South Coast also has the largest Portuguese American population in the United States 6 7 Farm Coast Edit In recent years an unofficial sub region of the South Coast known as the Farm Coast has been used to describe the cluster of rural towns that are situated on the northern coast of Buzzards Bay these towns are considered to be the last coastal farming communities left in Southern New England and share a common regional identity and aesthetic The Farm Coast consists of the towns of Tiverton Little Compton Westport and Dartmouth 8 9 10 Education Edit nbsp UMass Dartmouth is known for its brutalist campus structuresInstitutions of higher learning located in South Coast communities include University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Dartmouth Charlton College of Business Dartmouth University of Massachusetts School of Law Dartmouth Bristol Community College Fall River and New BedfordTransportation Edit nbsp The Braga Bridge carries Interstate 195 over the Taunton River between Somerset and Fall RiverThe major highways through the area are Interstate 195 from Providence to Wareham Massachusetts and U S Route 6 which is the older route connecting Providence to Cape Cod Highway access to Boston is provided by Route 24 and Route 79 both of which end in Fall River and Route 140 which connects New Bedford to Route 24 in Taunton On February 27 2023 MassDOT initiated a project to demolish the southern end of Route 79 in order to facilitate the restoration of Fall River s waterfront 11 Public bus service is provided by the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority nbsp MBTA Commuter Rail station in FreetownSouth Coast Rail is an ongoing project to build a new southern line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system along several abandoned and freight only rail lines 12 The project will restore passenger rail service between Boston and the cities of Taunton Fall River and New Bedford via the towns of Berkley and Freetown Passenger service to the South Coast was originally discontinued in 1958 efforts to restore passenger rail service began in the 1980s 13 After decades of false starts construction began on July 2 2019 with a projected cost of 1 047 billion 14 Service is expected to begin in mid 2024 15 The city of New Bedford offers passenger ferry services to Martha s Vineyard and Cuttyhunk Island 16 Sites of interest Edit nbsp Fort Rodman is a part of the Fort Taber District in New BedfordBattleship Cove the world s largest collection of World War II naval vessels Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast Museum location of the 1892 unsolved double murder of Lizzie Borden s father and stepmother Andrew and Abby Borden New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park includes the New Bedford Whaling Museum Fort Taber historic American Civil War era military fort Horseneck Beach public recreation area comprising southern Westport Acushnet Cedar Swamp designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service Borden Flats Lighthouse one of several historic lighthouses located in the South Coast Media EditThe term South Coast reportedly began with weather forecasts by Todd Gross on WHDH TV in Boston New Bedford s local daily newspaper The Standard Times picked it up in the late 1990s and other media have followed suit albeit not without some protest by longtime area residents who protested the manufactured name 1 Other newspapers serving the area include The Herald News of Fall River The Standard Times with an online entertainment subsidiary southcoasttoday com of New Bedford the Taunton Daily Gazette The Providence Journal and for regional coverage The Boston Globe and Boston Herald Much of the broadcast media in the area is local to metropolitan Providence and Boston Radio stations include ethnic WHTB 1400 Fall River news talk sports WBSM 1420 New Bedford news talk sports WSAR 1480 Fall River religious ethnic WFHL 88 1 New Bedford K Love WTKL 91 1 North Dartmouth Portuguese language WJFD FM 97 3 New Bedford country WCTK 98 1 New Bedford top 40 dance WFHN 107 1 Fairhaven and public radio news WNPN 89 3 Newport RI Television stations include ABC affiliate WLNE TV 49 PSIP 6 New Bedford and CW affiliate WLWC 22 PSIP 28 New Bedford See also EditMetroWest another region with a recent nameReferences Edit a b Jurkowitz Mark Renaming the Armpit The Boston Globe June 5 1997 Massachusetts South Coast Southeastern MA Guide Retrieved 12 January 2015 CZM South Coastal Region Mass gov www mass gov Retrieved 2023 08 13 Ambrose F Keeley Library the Information Center of B M C Durfee High School History of Fall River Massachusetts and Rhode Island Boundary question PDF www sailsinc org Graves Annie 2018 06 18 A Hidden Beauty Exploring the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Farm Coast New England Retrieved 2023 08 09 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth p 8 Archived April 10 2008 at the Wayback Machine Ancestry Search Genealogy by City epodunk com Archived from the original on July 16 2014 Retrieved February 25 2008 Farmcoast New England Farmcoast New England Retrieved 2023 08 09 KEEP THE FARM IN FARM COAST KEEP THE FARM IN FARM COAST Retrieved 2023 08 09 Carter Wilkie on Keeping the Farm in Farm Coast Little Compton Historical Society 2021 08 14 Retrieved 2023 08 09 MassDOT Is Demolishing a Highway to Give Fall River Its Waterfront Back Streetsblog Massachusetts mass streetsblog org 2022 12 21 Retrieved 2023 06 14 South Coast Rail Mass gov www mass gov Retrieved 2023 06 14 Karr Ronald Dale 1995 The Rail Lines of Southern New England Branch Line Press p 330 333 334 Laidler John June 16 2017 Sharp differences over latest plan for South Coast Rail Boston Globe Retrieved June 18 2017 Medeiros Dan September 29 2023 South Coast Rail passenger service is being delayed Here s why explained in 60 seconds The Herald News Archived from the original on September 30 2023 Massachusetts Ferries Ferry Lines Ferry Travel Schedules www visit massachusetts com Retrieved 2023 08 13 41 38 N 70 55 W 41 63 N 70 92 W 41 63 70 92 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title South Coast Massachusetts amp oldid 1179487906, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
