Outside the New Bedford Public Library
613 Pleasant St.
New Bedford, MA 02740
508-991-6275
This statue pays tribute to Lewis Temple, a blacksmith who revolutionized the whaling industry in 1848 with the invention of his iron toggle harpoon tip.
Mr. Temple was a black man who came to New Bedford from Richmond, VA in the late 1820's. He established his blacksmith shop on the New Bedford waterfront by 1836.
The "Temple Toggle," as his invention became known, provided greater fastening power than the fluted harpoon tips that had been in use by the whale fisheries for centuries.
Although fortunes were made in the whaling industry because of the Temple Toggle, Mr. Temple never patented his invention. After his death in 1854 and the clearing of business debts, there was nothing left for his family. The only legacy was his name attributed to his invention.
