The Enduring Mystery of New Bedford’s Clark’s Cove

When I asked who Clark's Cove is named after, I thought the answer would be no more than a Google search away. I'm still searching, and no one seems to know the answer. I am hard-pressed to find even an educated guess.

Living in the New Bedford area is a history lover's dream. There is so much of it here. The internet can make learning about local history easier -- sometimes. Other times, it can be frustrating.

Search engines can lead to reams of information about New Bedford's past. But, sometimes, the trail goes cold, and you must seek professional help.

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Hello? Is this the public library?

The name Clark is everywhere around the peninsula in New Bedford's South End. There's Clark's Cove, Clark's Point, Clark's Point Light, Clark's Point Creamery, Clark's Point Neighborhood Association, Clark's Point Realty and others.

But who is Clark?

There is Clark Gable, Clark Kent, Clark Griswold and even Dick Clark, but none of them are likely namesakes for our Clark's Cove.

Not everyone can agree on the spelling of the name, with some insisting it is C-l-a-r-k and others C-l-a-r-k-e. Some say it is Clark's Cove. Still others say Clarks Cove.

Mary Ellen Cecil, a library assistant in the Special Collections/History Room at New Bedford Free Public Library, says, "The short answer is that the origin of the area is a mystery."

Cecil says, "All of the histories of New Bedford, while talking about Clark's Point, Clark's Cove, Clark's Neck and Clark's Point Village, never specify why the area was named the way it was."

"Of the 36 individuals who purchased the territory then known as Dartmouth from Massasoit and his son Wamsutta in 1652 (deed recorded in 1664), none of them had the surname of Clark," Cecil said.

"With the arrival of Thomas Clark to Plymouth in 1623 on the Anne, the surname had been in the region for several decades before the purchase. There was a Richard Clark/Clarke who arrived on the Mayflower but he died soon after arriving in December 1620 and did not have family with him."

I suppose this will have to be one of life's unanswered mysteries as there isn't any "concrete evidence to prove or disprove" the source of the name, according to Cecil.