Nantucket shipbuilding

Nantucket shipbuilding began in the late 1700s and culminated in the construction of notable whaling ships during the early 19th century. Shipbuilding was predominantly sited at Brant Point. Whaling ship construction concluded in 1838.

Shipbuilding at Brant Point

Nantucket lies 30 miles off the southern coastline of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. By the late 17th century, the few groves of forest trees on Nantucket were gone except for small numbers of isolated oak and beech trees. These relatively few Nantucket forest trees were cut for firewood, fence posts, and short boards for diverse construction projects. Land was taken for agriculture and stock raising. Any timbers needed for architectural and shipbuilding use were imported from the mainland, with the result that most Nantucket whaling, fishing, and maritime trade was carried on in vessels purchased from shipbuilders elsewhere in New England.

Brant Point on the north side of Nantucket harbor still has the sandy beach that was a good site for building large wooden ships and it is the location of Brant Point Light.

The first ship built on Nantucket after the town moved to Great Harbor was the brig ''Dolphin'', a West Indies trader launched in 1770.Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror
Sept. 25, 1886, p. 2. Retrieved October 29, 2017

In 1802, the trading ship 'Rose' was built at Nantucket for use in the China trade. On her last voyage under the United States flag, the 'Rose' was captured by the British and finished her days as a dispatch ship for the Royal Navy.

Whaling ships

The ''Charles Carroll''

In 1832, the whaler 'Charles Carroll' was built for captain and 1/32 share owner Owen Chase the first mate and survivor of the Essex tragedy. This history is confirmed by other references to Capt. Owen Chase.
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Whaling Voyages of the ''Charles Carroll''

* "The 'Charles Carroll', Owen Chase, October 10, 1832, and arrived March 3, 1836, 2610 barrels sperm."
* "The 'Charles Carroll', Owen Chase, August 1836 and arrived February 15, 1840, "nearly full."Thomas Farel Heffernan ''Stove by a Whale: Owen Chase and the Essex'' Wesleyan University Press 1990 Pg 123 – 134
* "The 'Charles Carroll', Thomas S. Andrews, May 29, and arrived December 6, 1843, 1926 barrels sperm, sent home 250 barrels sperm.".
* In 1844 – "A 'Charles Carroll' whaler was listed for Nantucket, weight 371 tons, Thomas L. Andrews, captain, W.C. Swain owner."

* "The 'Charles Carroll', Thomas S. Andrews, Pacific Ocean, May 16, and arrived May 29, 1848, 1261 barrels sperm, 473 whale."
* "The 'Charles Carroll', Josiah C. Long, December 2d, and arrived December 29, 1852, 1050 barrels sperm, 93 whale. old 35 barrels sperm and 200 whale on the voyage.And the 'Charles Carroll' is sold to New Bedford."

The ''Nantucket''

At 350 tons, ''Nantucket'' was the first Nantucket Island ship built of Live oak with copper fastenings. The construction cost for the vessel was $52,000. ''Nantucket's'' short life ended when she was wrecked in 1859.

Whaling voyages of the ''Nantucket''

* "The 'Nantucket', (new) David N. Edwards, Pacific Ocean, sailed December 19, 1837, and arrived November 19, 1839, 1480 barrels sperm, 30 whale."

* "The 'Nantucket', George W. Gardner, June 16, and arrived May 12, 1845, 1279 barrels sperm, 1326 whale."
* "The 'Nantucket', Benjamin C. Gardner, August 17, and arrived January 7, 1850, 2051 barrels sperm."
* "The 'Nantucket', Richard C. Gibbs, June 8, and arrived August 31, 1854, 1022 sperm, 63 whale. ent home 769 barrels sperm, 100 whale.Oil sold $1.50/gallon."
* "The 'Nantucket', Richard C. Gibbs, June 14, 1855, 1022 sperm, 63 whale. ost on Nashawena on her homeward passage with 756 bbls sperm, 794 whale on board.Sold for $950."

The ''Lexington''

Also built in 1838 of live oak and copper fastenings was the whaler 'Lexington' at 399 tons. She was valued at $24,000 and ended her life when wrecked in 1859. Mrs. Eliza Spenser Brock wrote a detailed and important history of a whaling voyage when she accompanied he husband, and Lexington's captain, on a Lexington whaling voyage in 1853.

Whaling Voyages of the ''Lexington''

* The 'Lexington' to Edgartown for fitting out. "August, ship Lexington, of this port, in tow of steamer "Telegraph," for Edgartown, to fit for the Pacific Ocean, upset when rounding Brant Point. She was towed in here and righted that night and left for Edgartown on the 29th, her topmasts all housed."
* The 'Lexington', Alexander Pollard, November 27, and arrived June 10, 1840, 2185 barrels sperm. [Capt. Pollard died, and Henry W. Davis finished the voyage."
* The 'Lexington', Henry W. Davis, August 29, and arrived March 14, 1844, 1336 barrels sperm, 1334 whale. [Sent home 125 barrels sperm. Capt. Davis left at Rio sick, Mr. Weeks took charge."
* The 'Lexington', Edward Weeks, June 26, and arrived July 7, 1848, 1780 barrels sperm, 1404 whale."
* The 'Lexington', David Bunker, 2d, November 10, and arrived January 22d, 1853, 742 barrels sperm, 229 whale."
* "The 'Lexington, Peter C. Brock, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, May 21, and arrived June 25, 1856, 310 barrels sperm, 1637 whale. Sold 20 barrels on the voyage. ..."
* "The 'Lexington', James Fisher, September 19. [Lost on Strong's Island in 1859. Saved 100 barrels whale. ..."

The ''Joseph Starbuck''

In 1838, Joseph Starbuck built the last whaler constructed at Brant Point and named it after himself – the 'Joseph Starbuck'.

Whaling Voyage of the ''Joseph Starbuck'' –

* "The 'Joseph Starbuck', (new) Sanford Wilber, November 15, and arrived April 3d, 1842, 3221 barrels sperm."'Joseph Starbuck' whaling voyage, 1842.
In Catalogue of Nantucket Whalers: And Their Voyages from 1815 to 1870, by Hussey & Robinson. Published by Hussey & Robinson 1876, p.32. Google Books, June 27, 2008. Complete text download retrieved on October 20, 2008.

Bibliography

Natural Habitats of Nantucket
Nantucket Conservation Foundation, 1999–2006.

Originally published in Historic Nantucket, Vol 14, no. 4 (April 1967), p. 15–22 (Nantucket Historical Association).

First Nations Site Index and Search Tool, 1996.
Wampanoag, culture and land use
Wampanoag history] Indian Education Program, Anchorage School District, October 1993.
Whaling, A Timeline
in "American Maritime History in the Age of Sail 1492–1865", Barnard History Department, Barnard College, 2008.
Olde Massachusetts
Sketches of Old Times and Places During the Early Days of the Commonwealth by Charles Burr Todd. The Grafton Press, 1907. Digitized Google Books, January 28, 2008.
Pre-Revolutionary Diaries at the Massachusetts Historical Society 1635–1790
publ. Massachusetts Historical Society 1988, revised 1992.
Memorials of Old Bridgehampton
by James Truslow Adams, published by Priv. at The Bridgehmapton News, 1916. Digitized Google Books, January 28, 2008.
Good Old Dorchester: A Narrative History of the Town
1630–1893. by William Dana Orcutt, published by the author, printed by J. Wilson, University press, 1893. Google Books, February 11, 2008.

In Maritime History of Massachusetts, National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places and Maritime Heritage Program, in partnership with the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, n.d..
Nantucket A History 1914
by R.A. Douglas-Lithgow, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. Google Books, complete text

An Overview of the NHA's Collections with Accompanying Timeline", Historic Nantucket, Vol 49, no. 1 (Winter 2000), p. 12–38, Nantucket Historical Society, 2000.
MHC Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Nantucket
Massachusetts Historical Commission, n.d.
Historical Information About Persons Interred At Prospect Hill Cemetery
– Nantucket. Prospect Hill Cemetery Association, Nantucket, Massachusetts, n.d.

In Maritime History of Massachusetts, National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places and Maritime Heritage Program, in partnership with the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, n.d..
The Story of the New England Whalers
by John Randolph Spears, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1908, Google Books July 5, 2007, complete text.

by Joseph Starbuck, New York, Castle Books, 1989. Notes: "First published in part IV of the report of the U.S. Commission on Fish and Fisheries, Washington, 1878, also issued privately by the author, 1878." Complete text.

History of Nantucket Whaling
Video presentation by the Director of the Nantucket Historical Association, May, 2008.

The 'Charles W. Morgan', New Bedford, Massachusetts 1841.
Video tour of the last wooden hulled whaling ship afloat in the United States, February, 2008.
Finding the Mighty Whale
Eighteenth Century Nantucket Whaling and the Development of Environmental Knowledge, by Nathan Tristan Adams, MA thesis (University of British Columbia), August 2010.

and the Whale's Biography, as Gathered on the Homeward Cruise of the "Commodore Preble', by Rev. Henry T. Cheever. New ed. with notes and appendix. New York, Harper & Bros., 1853.
Catalogue of Nantucket Whalers
And Their Voyages from 1815 to 1870, by Hussey & Robinson, Published by Hussey & Robinson 1876. Google Books, June 27, 2008.

by Sherri Federbush, Nantucket Historical Society, 1982, in the Historic Nantucket, Volume 30, Number 1, July 1982.

by Joshua B. Gray, Nantucket Today, July 2008.
Dictionary of American Fighting Ships
Dept. of the Navy, Naval Historical Center, 1959–1981.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nantucket Shipbuilding
Maritime history of the United States
Economic history of Massachusetts
Economy of Massachusetts
History of Nantucket, Massachusetts

Shipbuilding in the United States
Water transportation in Massachusetts