Nantucket

by James Everett Grieder, Georgen Charnes

Nantucket, a Wampanoag word meaning "far-away island," was

first settled by Europeans in 1659. The earliest settlers, known as

the "Proprietors," envisioned a community of farmers and shepherds,

but the island found its fortune as a preeminent whaling port in the

late 18th and early 19th centuries. During its time under Quaker

influence, Nantucket was a cosmopolitan and dynamic place; radical

new ideas, like abolitionism and women's rights, found fertile ground

in the Quakers' firm belief in equality. As the entrance to the harbor

became impassible, Nantucket lost its whaling focus and experienced a

general economic decline. Ironically, this downturn and the resulting

absence of new building, along with modern cultural change, became

the springboard for its later revival. Nantucket was transformed into a

tourist destination, an artist colony, and a summer home to the wealthy

and famous, with a rich maritime heritage and a proud tradition of

historic preservation.