Etymology

Nantucket probably takes its name from a Wampanoag word, transliterated variously as natocke, nantaticu, nantican, nautica or natockete, which is part of Wampanoag lore about the creation of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.^[5] The meaning of the term is uncertain, although according to the Encyclopædia Britannica it may have meant "far away island" or "sandy, sterile soil tempting no one".^[1] Wampanoag is an Eastern Algonquian language of southern New England.^[6] The Nehantucket (known to Europeans as the Niantic) were an Algonquin-speaking people of the area.^[7]

Nantucket's nickname, "The Little Grey Lady of the Sea", refers to the island as it appears from the ocean when it is fog-bound.^[8][9]

European colonization

The earliest European settlement in the region was established on the neighboring island of Martha's Vineyard by the English-born merchant Thomas Mayhew. In 1641, Mayhew secured Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, the Elizabeth Islands, and other islands in the region as a proprietary colony from Sir Ferdinando Gorges and the Earl of Sterling. Mayhew led several families to settle the region, establishing several treaties with the indigenous inhabitants of Nantucket, the Wampanoag people. These treaties helped prevent the region from becoming embroiled in King Philip's War. The growing population of settlers welcomed seasonal groups of other Native American tribes who traveled to the island to fish and later harvest whales that washed up on shore. Nantucket was officially part of Dukes County, New York, until 17 October 1691, when the charter for the newly formed Province of Massachusetts Bay was signed. Following the arrival of the new Royal Governor on 14 May 1692 to effectuate the new government, Nantucket County was partitioned from Dukes County, Massachusetts in 1695.^[10]

Nantucket settlers

European settlement of Nantucket did not begin in earnest until 1659, when Thomas Mayhew sold nine-tenths of his interest to a group of investors, led by Tristram Coffin, "for the sum of thirty pounds (equal to £4,517 today) also two beaver hats, one for myself, and one for my wife".^[11]

The nine original purchasers were Tristram Coffin, Peter Coffin, Thomas Macy, Christopher Hussey, Richard Swain, Thomas Barnard, Stephen Greenleaf, John Swain and William Pile. Mayhew and the nine purchasers then each took on partners in the venture. These additional shareholders were Tristram Coffin Junior, James Coffin, John Smith, Robert Pike, Thomas Look, Robert Barnard, Edward Starbuck, Thomas Coleman, John Bishop and Thomas Mayhew Junior. These twenty men and their heirs were the Proprietors.^[12]

Anxious to add to their number and to induce tradesmen to come to the island, the total number of shares was increased to twenty-seven. The original purchasers needed the assistance of tradesmen who were skilled in the arts of weaving, milling, building and other pursuits and selected men who were given half a share provided that they lived on Nantucket and carried on their trade for at least three years. By 1667, twenty-seven shares had been divided among 31 owners.^[13] Seamen and tradesmen who settled in Nantucket included Richard Gardner (arrived 1667) and Capt. John Gardner (arrived 1672), sons of Thomas Gardner.^[14] The first settlers focused on farming and raising sheep, but overgrazing and the growing number of farms made these activities untenable, and the islanders soon began turning to the sea for a living.^[15]

The town on Nantucket Island, when it was still called Sherburne, in 1775

Before 1795, the town on the island was called Sherburne.^[16] The original settlement was near Capaum Pond. At that time, the pond was a small harbor whose entrance silted up, forcing the settlers to dismantle their houses and move them northeast by two miles to the present location.^[17] On June 8, 1795, the bill proposed by Micajah Coffin to change the town's name to the "Town of Nantucket" was endorsed and signed by Governor Samuel Adams to officially change the town name.^[18]

The Wampanoags

When the English settlers arrived on Nantucket in 1659, the island was populated by Wampanoag Native Americans, one of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who had been living there for thousands of years. As many as three thousand people lived on the island in groups governed by sachems.^{[19]: 17, 21} Within two years of their arrival, the settlers had persuaded two of the sachems, Wanackmamack and Nickanoose, to relinquish their rights to the island in exchange for 66 pounds sterling, equal to £9,937 today).^[19]: 26-7 In 1750 the deeds were upheld by a judge from the General Court of Massachusetts in spite of petitions from the Wampanoags claiming that the sachems had not had the authority to sell the land.^[19]: 52 The Wampanoags converted to Christianity and took up trades that were useful to the settlers, becoming, for example, carpenters and weavers.^[19]: 40 When the whaling industry developed on Nantucket in the 18th century, Wampanoag men went to sea and often made up half or more of the crew of the whaling ships.^[19]: 44-6

During the century that followed the arrival of the English settlers, the Wampanoag community did not thrive, and by 1763 they numbered only 358 people. Various factors contributed to this decline, including the destruction of the ecosystem that had sustained them, the disadvantages they faced in competing in the developing money economy, losses at sea, and the detrimental effect of rum on their health.^{[19]: 45-6,54} In 1763 the Wampanoag community was struck down by an epidemic of unknown origin, which killed 222 of them while leaving the English community unaffected. Some of the survivors left Nantucket and some married into the small African community on the island.^[19]: 52-4 Two children, Abram Quary and Dorcas Esop, who were born after the epidemic and lived until 1854 and 1855, have been acknowledged as Nantucket's last native Americans. Wampanoags from Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod have since then lived on Nantucket.^[19]: 56

In 2021 the Nantucket Annual Town Meeting voted to replace the Columbus Day holiday with Indigenous People's Day.^[20]

The whaling industry

In his 1835 history of Nantucket Island, Obed Macy wrote that in the early pre-1672 colony, a whale of the kind called "scragg" entered the harbor and was pursued and killed by the settlers.^[21] This event started the Nantucket whaling industry. A. B. Van Deinse points out that the "scrag whale", described by P. Dudley in 1725 as one of the species hunted by early New England whalers, was almost certainly the gray whale, which has flourished on the west coast of North America in modern times with protection from whaling.^[22][23]

At the beginning of the 18th century, whaling on Nantucket was usually done from small boats launched from the island's shores, which would tow killed whales to be processed on the beach. These boats were only about seven meters long, with mostly Wampanoag manpower, sourced from a system of debt servitude established by English Nantucketers—a typical boat's crew had five Wampanoag oarsmen and a single white Nantucketer at the steering oar. Author Nathaniel Philbrick notes that "without the native population, which outnumbered the white population well into the 1720s, the island would never have become a successful whaling port."^[15]

Nantucket's dependence on trade with Britain, derived from its whaling and supporting industries, influenced its leading citizens to remain neutral during the American Revolutionary War, favoring neither the British nor the Patriots.^[24]

Herman Melville commented on Nantucket's whaling dominance in his novel Moby-Dick, Chapter 14: "Two thirds of this terraqueous globe are the Nantucketer's. For the sea is his; he owns it, as Emperors own empires". The Moby-Dick characters Ahab and Starbuck are both from Nantucket. The tragedy that inspired Melville to write Moby-Dick was the final voyage of the Nantucket whaler Essex.

The island suffered great economic hardships, worsened by the "Great Fire" of July 13, 1846, that, fueled by whale oil and lumber, devastated the main town, burning some 40 acres (16 hectares).^[25] The fire left hundreds homeless and poverty-stricken, and many people left the island. By 1850, whaling was in decline, as Nantucket's whaling industry had been surpassed by that of New Bedford. Another contributor to the decline was the silting up of the harbor, which prevented large whaling ships from entering and leaving the port, unlike New Bedford, which still owned a deep water port. In addition, the development of railroads made mainland whaling ports, such as New Bedford, more attractive because of the ease of transshipment of whale oil onto trains, an advantage unavailable to an island.^[26] The American Civil War dealt the death blow to the island's whaling industry, as virtually all of the remaining whaling vessels were destroyed by Confederate commerce raiders.^[27]

Later history

As a result of this depopulation, the island was left under-developed and isolated until the mid-20th century. The isolation kept many of the pre-Civil War buildings intact and, by the 1950s, enterprising developers began buying up large sections of the island and restoring them to create an upmarket destination for wealthy people in the Northeastern United States.

Nantucket and towns on Martha's Vineyard contemplated seceding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which they considered at various town meetings in 1977, unsuccessfully. The votes were sparked by a proposed change to the Massachusetts Constitution that would have reduced the size of the state's House of Representatives from 240 to 160 members and would therefore reduce the islands' representation in the Massachusetts General Court.^[28][29]

Race and origins

The 2020 data for racial makeup of the county was 71.3% white, 7.2% black or African American, 1.9% Asian, 0.6% American Indian, 9.3% from other races, and 9.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 16.2% of the population.^[46] The median age of the population was 39.9 years; 22.2% were aged under 21 years, while 15.9% were aged over 65 years.^[46]

According to the 2020 census data for Nantuket County, the largest groups by origins (alone or in any combination) were Irish Americans (2,612), English (2,492), German (1,229), Italian (901), Jamaican (635), Scottish (632), French (476), Polish (389), Portuguese (285), African Americans (251), Swedish (247) and Bulgarian (201).^[47] By Hispanic origins of any race, Salvadoran (1,143), Dominican (501), Mexican (124), Guatemalan (63), Spanish (46), Puerto Rican (41), Spaniard (34) and Colombian (32).^[48]

Housing

There were 12,619 housing units on the island; 5,478 were occupied with most of the rest being for seasonal, recreational or occasional use. 59.7% of the occupied housing units were owner-occupied, 40.3% were renter-occupied.^[46] Of the 5,478 households, 52.1% contained married or cohabiting couples. In 19.7% of households a couple were living with their children aged under 18, while a further 6% of households contained a householder living alone with their children under 18.^[46]

In 2017-2021 the median income for a household in the county was $116,571 and the per capita income was $52,324. 5.9% of the population were living below the poverty line.^[45]

As of the fourth quarter of 2021, the median value of homes in Nantucket County was $1,370,522, an increase of 22.3% from the prior year, and ranked the highest in the US by median home value.^[49]

Local

Town and county governments are combined in Nantucket (see List of counties in Massachusetts). Nantucket's elected executive body is its Select Board (name changed in 2018 from Board of Selectmen),^[51] which is responsible for the town government's goals and policies.^[52] Legislative functions are carried out by an open Town Meeting of the Town's registered voters.^[53] It is administered by a town manager, who is responsible for all departments, except for the school, airport and water departments.^[54]

State

Nantucket is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by Dylan Fernandes, Democrat, of Woods Hole, who represents Precincts 1, 2, 5 and 6, of Falmouth, in Barnstable County; Chilmark, Edgartown, Aquinnah, Gosnold, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury and West Tisbury, all in Dukes County; and Nantucket. Rep. Fernandes has served since January 4, 2017. Nantucket is represented in the Massachusetts Senate by Julian Cyr, Democrat, of Truro, who has also served since January 4, 2017.

National

Nantucket is in Massachusetts's 9th congressional district, which has existed since 2013. As of 2013, it was represented in the United States House of Representatives by Bill Keating, a Democrat of Bourne. Massachusetts is currently represented in the United States Senate by senior senator Elizabeth Warren (Democrat) and junior senator Ed Markey (Democrat).

Party affiliations

In 2019, 55% of Nantucket residents were unaligned with a major political party, 30% were registered Democrats, and 12% were registered Republicans.^[55]

^*The Commonwealth of Massachusetts allows voters to enroll with a political party or to remain "unenrolled".^[56]

Voting patterns

Throughout the late 19th and most of the 20th century, Nantucket was a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. From 1876 to 1984, only two Democrats carried Nantucket: Woodrow Wilson and Lyndon Johnson. Since 1988, however, it has trended Democratic.

Top employers

According to Nantucket's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[58] the top employers in the town are:

Popular culture

Several historical, literary and dramatic works involve people from, or living on, Nantucket. These include:

• Herman Melville's classic Moby-Dick has Ishmael starting his voyage at Nantucket.
• Nathaniel Philbrick's Away Off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602–1890.
• Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
• Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.
• The science-fiction-based Nantucket series by S. M. Stirling has the island being sent back in time from March 17, 1998, to circa 1250 BC in the Bronze Age.
• Most of the Joan Aiken novel Nightbirds on Nantucket is set on the island.
• Hilbert Schenck's science fiction short story The Morphology of the Kirkham Wreck, based on real events, is set on Nantucket and in the dangerous waters offshore.
• The 1971 coming-of-age film Summer of '42 was set in Nantucket.
• The 1986 comedy One Crazy Summer was set in Nantucket and filmed on Cape Cod.^[67]
• The 1990s sitcom Wings, which aired eight seasons from 1990 to 1997, was set in Nantucket. The series took place at the fictional "Tom Nevers Field" airport and other locations. It was filmed in LA but all of the establishing shots were filmed at various sites on the island and included fictional versions of real establishments, such as The Club Car restaurant.^[68]
• The 2007 comedy The Nanny Diaries has the climax of the film take place at Mr X's Mother's Nantucket oversized Cape-Cod-styled home. Filmed in the Hamptons but made to look like Nantucket.^[69]
• The island's name is used as a rhyming device in a noted limerick, beginning "There once was a man from Nantucket..".^[70]
• Elin Hilderbrand's novels are set on Nantucket.
• Nantucket is the setting for the Merry Folger series of mystery novels by Francine Mathews.^[71]
• American journalist Pam Belluck's 2012 non-fiction book Island Practice follows the misadventures of Nantucket doctor Timothy J. Lepore, MD.
• Andrew Hussie's 2021 graphic novel Psycholonials takes place in 2020 on Nantucket.
• In the Quentin Tarantino film, Inglourious Basterds, Colonel Hans Landa of the German Nazi Army negotiates a deal where he is awarded a property on Nantucket Island.

Transportation disasters

The Argo Merchant ran aground on December 15, 1976. A silvery oil slick can be seen coming from the center holds in the foreground.

Nantucket waters were the site of several noted transportation disasters:

• On May 15, 1934, the ocean liner RMS Olympic, sister ship to RMS Titanic, rammed and sank the Nantucket Lightship LV-117 in heavy fog, roughly 45 miles south of Nantucket Island. Four men survived out of a crew of 11.
• On July 25, 1956, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collided with the MS Stockholm in heavy fog 45 miles (72 km) south of Nantucket, resulting in the deaths of 51 people (46 on the Andrea Doria, 5 on the Stockholm).
• On 15 August 1958, Northeast Airlines Flight 258 crashed on approach to Nantucket Memorial Airport, killing 25 of the 34 passengers and crew.^[76]
• On December 15, 1976, the oil tanker Argo Merchant ran aground 29 miles (47 km) southeast of Nantucket. Six days later, on December 21, the wrecked ship broke apart, causing a large oil spill.
• On October 31, 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, traveling from New York City to Cairo, crashed approximately 60 miles (97 km) south of Nantucket, killing all 217 people on board.