Adams Island was an island in the U.S. state of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

History

Adams Island was originally part of

Tuckernuck Island Tuckernuck is an island in the town and former whaling port of Nantucket, Massachusetts, west of Nantucket Island and east of Muskeget. Its name allegedly means "a loaf of bread". The island has an area of about . The highest point is about . Se ...

. During the 1890s, the westernmost part of Tuckernuck extended almost to

Muskeget Muskeget Island is a low sandy island to the west of Tuckernuck Island and Nantucket, in the town of Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States. Geography Muskeget Island is part of the terminal moraine marking the maximum extent of the last glaci ...

Island and served as a barrier beach, protecting the Gravel Islands, western

Dry Shoal Dry Shoal, an exposed sandbar to the north and east of Muskeget Island in the US state of Massachusetts, is a hazard to navigation. Part of the Muskeget Island group, Dry Shoal, was once larger. Now separated from Muskeget by a stretch of fairly ...

, and Little Gull Island. The island came into existence in 1902, when the Haulover

Nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use o ...

severed it from Tuckernuck. Another island, Tombolo, was also created. In 1907, Adams almost attached itself to Muskeget, but failed to do so because the sea formed a narrow deep channel separating Adams from Muskeget. In 1910, Adams' length was shortened due to a tropical storm and an autumn

nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use o ...

. By 1920, Adams was less than four hundred meters long. A little less than ten meters of it remained in 1950, and by 1980 it was gone.

Adams Island Day

In 1983, a group of Nantucket residents, self-designated as Adamites, held a small celebration in honor of the former island. The first Adams Island Celebration was characterized by a nihilist/absurdist spirit emphasizing the short existence of the island and downplaying its disappearance. The celebration has taken place in some form each year since 1983, and although it rarely falls on the same day as in the previous year, it is known each year to Adamites as Adams Island Day. By boat, one can easily access Tuckernuck from Madaket on the island of

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

. Coastal islands of Massachusetts Islands of Nantucket, Massachusetts Former islands of the United States {{NantucketCountyMA-geo-stub