The New Bedford Whaling Museum is all about the rich history of the internationally renowned whaling industry of the city that thrived during the 19th century. New Bedford was popular way back as the ?Old Dartmouth? and flourished in the business of hunting whales for its oil and meat. It was established by the grandchildren of the American whaling industry pioneers. They call themselves as ?The Old Dartmouth Historical Society?. They collected artifacts related to whaling, some artworks from the local artists of New Bedford and other locally made crafts. Their collection is considered as the biggest in the world consisting of more than 200,000 artifacts. One can even find the largest whale ship model in the world, The Lagoda.