Nantucket () is an island in the state of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in the United States, about south of the

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government. Nantucket is the southeasternmost town in both Massachusetts and the New England region. The name "Nantucket" is adapted from similar Algonquian names for the island. Nantucket is a

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

destination and

summer colony Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

. Due to tourists and seasonal residents, the population of the island increases to around 80,000 during the summer months. The average sale price for a single-family home was $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2018. The

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

cites Nantucket, designated a

National Historic Landmark District A National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) is a geographical area that has received recognition from the United States Government that the buildings, landscapes, cultural features and archaeological resources within it are of the highest signific ...

in 1966, as being the "finest surviving architectural and environmental example of a late 18th- and early 19th-century New England seaport town."

History

Etymology

Nantucket probably takes its name from a

Wampanoag The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and forme ...

word, transliterated variously as ''natocke'', ''nantaticu'', ''nantican'', ''nautica'' or ''natockete'', which is part of Wampanoag lore about the creation of

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

and Nantucket. The meaning of the term is uncertain, although according to the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' it may have meant "far away island" or "sandy, sterile soil tempting no one". Wampanoag is an Eastern Algonquian language of southern New England. The

Nehantucket The Niantic ( ; Nehântick or Nehantucket) are a tribe of Algonquian-speaking American Indians who lived in the area of Connecticut and Rhode Island during the early colonial period. The tribe's name ''Nehântick'' means "of long-necked waters" ...

(known to Europeans as the Niantic) were an Algonquin-speaking people of the area. 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.

European colonization

The earliest European settlement in the region was established on the neighboring island of

by the English-born merchant

Thomas Mayhew Governor Thomas Mayhew, the Elder (April 1, 1593 – March 25, 1682) established the first European settlement on Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and adjacent islands in 1642. He is one of the editors of the Bay Psalm Book, the first book published i ...

. In 1641, Mayhew secured Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, the

Elizabeth Islands The Elizabeth Islands are a chain of over 20 small islands extending southwest from the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the United States. They are located at the outer edge of Buzzards Bay, north of Martha's Vineyard, from whic ...

, and other islands in the region as a

proprietary colony Proprietary colonies were a type of colony in English America which existed during the early modern period. In English overseas possessions established from the 17th century onwards, all land in the colonies belonged to the Crown, which held ul ...

from Sir Ferdinando Gorges and the Earl of Stirling. Mayhew led several families to settle the region, establishing several treaties with the indigenous inhabitants of Nantucket, the

Wampanoag people The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and formerly parts of eastern Rhode Island.Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Isl ...

. These treaties helped prevent the region from becoming embroiled in

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

. The growing population of settlers welcomed seasonal groups of other

Native American tribes In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, Indigenous tribe, or Tribal nation may be any current or historical tribe, band, or nation of Native Americans in the United States. Modern forms of t ...

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 New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, until October 17, 1691, when the charter for the newly formed

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

was signed. Following the arrival of the new Royal Governor on May 14, 1692, to effectuate the new government, Nantucket County was partitioned from

Dukes County, Massachusetts Dukes County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 20,600, making it the List of counties in Massachusetts#List of Counties, second-least populo ...

in 1695.

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 £ today) also two beaver hats, one for myself, and one for my wife". 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. 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. Seamen and tradesmen who settled in Nantucket included Richard Gardner (arrived 1667) and Capt. John Gardner (arrived 1672), sons of Thomas Gardner. The first settlers focused on farming and raising sheep, but

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

and the growing number of farms made these activities untenable, and the islanders soon began turning to the sea for a living. Before 1795, the town on the island was called Sherburne. 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. 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 Samuel Adams (, 1722 – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, Political philosophy, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts, a le ...

to officially change the town name.

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 Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands include Native American tribes and First Nation bands residing in or originating from a cultural area encompassing the northeastern and Midwest United States and southeastern Canada. It is part ...

, who had been living there for thousands of years. As many as three thousand people lived on the island in groups governed by

sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Alg ...

s. 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 Sterling (Currency symbol, symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217, currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of account, unit of sterling, and the word ''Pound (cu ...

, equal to £ today). In 1750 the deeds were upheld by a judge from the

General Court of Massachusetts The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. The name "General Court" is a holdover from the earliest days ...

in spite of petitions from the Wampanoags claiming that the sachems had not had the authority to sell the land. The Wampanoags converted to Christianity and took up trades that were useful to the settlers, becoming, for example, carpenters and weavers. 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. By the 18th century, a system of debt servitude was set in place which provided the English settlers with steady access to a pool of Wampanoag labor. 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 Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

on their health. 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. 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

and

have since then lived on Nantucket. In 2021, the ''Nantucket Annual Town Meeting'' voted to replace the

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. He went ashore at ...

holiday with

Indigenous People's Day Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday in the United States that celebrates and honors Indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. It is celebrated across the United States on the second Monday in October, and is an ...

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. 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 The gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), also known as the grey whale,Britannica Micro.: v. IV, p. 693. is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of , a weight of up to and lives between ...

, which has flourished on the west coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

in modern times with protection from whaling. 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 Nathaniel Philbrick (born June 11, 1956) is an American author of history, winner of the National Book Award, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His maritime history, ''In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex'', based on w ...

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." 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 The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, favoring neither the British nor the Patriots.

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

commented on Nantucket's whaling dominance in his novel ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

'', 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 Ahab (; ; ; ; ) was a king of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), the son and successor of King Omri, and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, according to the Hebrew Bible. He is depicted in the Bible as a Baal worshipper and is criticized for causi ...

and Starbuck are both from Nantucket. The tragedy that inspired Melville to write ''Moby-Dick'' was the final voyage of the Nantucket whaler ''

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

''. 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 . 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 New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, New Bedford had a ...

. 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 Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...

of whale oil onto trains, an advantage unavailable to an island. The

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

dealt the death blow to the island's whaling industry, as virtually all of the remaining whaling vessels were destroyed by

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

commerce raiders Commerce raiding is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging its combatants or enforcing a blockade against them. Privateering is a form ...

Later history

As a result of this depopulation, the island was left under-developed and isolated until the mid-20th century. Isolation from the mainland 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 The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

. Nantucket and towns on Martha's Vineyard contemplated seceding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which they considered at various

town meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...

s in 1977, unsuccessfully. The votes were sparked by a proposed change to the

Massachusetts Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual states that make up the United States of America. It consists of a preamble, declaration ...

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 The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

Geology and geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (85%) is water. It is the smallest county in Massachusetts by land area and second-smallest by total area. The area of Nantucket Island proper is . The triangular region of ocean between Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and Cape Cod is Nantucket Sound. The highest points on the island include Saul's Hill at , Altar Rock at , and Sankaty Head at . Nantucket NASA 2002

Nantucket was formed by the outermost reach of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the recent

Wisconsin Glaciation The Wisconsin glaciation, also called the Wisconsin glacial episode, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex, peaking more than 20,000 years ago. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated ...

, shaped by the subsequent rise in sea level. The low ridge across the northern section of the island was deposited as

glacial moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris ( regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice s ...

during a period of glacial standstill, a period during which

till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

continued to arrive and was deposited as the glacier melted at a stationary front. The southern part of the island is an

outwash plain An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: ''sandurs''), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the glacier terminus, terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying r ...

, sloping away from the arc of the moraine and shaped at its margins by the sorting actions and transport of

longshore drift Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt, pebbles, sand, shingle, shells) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle of incoming w ...

. Nantucket became an island when

rising sea levels The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

covered the connection with the mainland, about 5,000–6,000 years ago. The island and adjoining islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget comprise the Town and County of Nantucket, which is operated as a consolidated town and county government. The main settlement, also called Nantucket, is located at the western end of Nantucket Harbor, where it opens into Nantucket Sound. Key localities on the island include Madaket, Surfside, Polpis, Wauwinet, Miacomet, and Siasconset (generally shortened to "'Sconset").

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Nantucket features a climate that is ''Cfb'' (

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

), a climate type rarely found on the east coast of

. Nantucket's climate is heavily influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, which helps moderate temperatures in the town throughout the course of the year. Average high temperatures during the town's coldest month (January) are around , while average high temperatures during the town's warmest months (July and August) hover around . Nantucket receives on average of precipitation annually, spread relatively evenly throughout the year. Similar to many other cities with an oceanic climate, Nantucket features a large number of cloudy or overcast days, particularly outside the summer months. The highest daily maximum temperature was on August 2, 1975, and the highest daily minimum temperature was on the same day. The lowest daily maximum temperature was on January 8, 1968, and the lowest daily minimum temperature was on December 31, 1962, January 16, 2004, and February 4, 2023. The

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is 7b

In 2021, a 270-page coastal Climate change adaptation, resilience plan was drafted to deal with issues related to

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

: groundwater table rise, coastal flooding, high tide flooding, and coastal erosion. The plan identified forty proposed projects over the next fifteen years at a cost of $930 million. The coastal resilience advisory coordinator anticipated damages through 2070 of $3.4 billion if nothing is done to fight

sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,255 people, up from 10,172 in 2010, residing in the county.

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. 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. According to the 2020 census data for Nantucket County, the largest groups by origins (alone or in any combination) were

Irish Americans Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

(2,612), English (2,492),

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(1,229),

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

(901), Jamaican (635),

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

(632), French (476), Polish (389), Portuguese (285), African Americans (251), Swedish (247) and Bulgarian (201). By Hispanic origins of any race, Salvadoran (1,143), Dominican (501), Mexican (124), Guatemalan (63), Spanish (46), Puerto Rican (41),

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...

(34) and Colombian (32).

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. 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. 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 The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. 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. Nantucket County MA population density

Government

Nantucket is the only such consolidated town-county in Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,255, making it the least populated county in Massachusetts. Part of the town is designated the Nantucket CDP, or

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

. The region of Surfside on Nantucket is the southernmost settlement in Massachusetts.

Local

Town and county governments are combined in Nantucket (see

List of counties in Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has 14 counties, though eight of these fourteen county governments were abolished between 1997 and 2000. The counties in the southeastern portion of the state retain county-level local government (Barnstable ...

). Nantucket's elected executive body is its Select Board (name changed in 2018 from

Board of Selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...

), which is responsible for the town government's goals and policies. Legislative functions are carried out by an open Town Meeting of the Town's registered voters. It is administered by a town manager, who is responsible for all departments, except for the school, airport and water departments.

State

Nantucket is represented in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

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 The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

by Julian Cyr, Democrat, of

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

, who has also served since January 4, 2017.

National

Nantucket is in

Massachusetts's 9th congressional district Massachusetts's 9th congressional district is located in eastern Massachusetts. It is represented by Democrat Bill Keating. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+6, it is the least Democratic district in Massachusetts, a state with an al ...

, which has existed since 2013. , it was represented in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

by Bill Keating, a Democrat of Bourne. Massachusetts is currently represented in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

by senior senator

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

(Democrat) and junior senator

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...

(Democrat).

Politics

Party affiliations

In 2024, 63% of Nantucket residents were unaligned with a major political party, 25% were registered Democrats, and 10% were registered Republicans. ^*The

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

allows voters to enroll with a political party or to remain "unenrolled".

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 Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

and

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

. Since 1988, however, it has trended Democratic.

Economy

Top employers

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

Education

Nantucket's public school district is Nantucket Public Schools. The Nantucket school system had 1,583 students and 137 teachers in 2017. Schools on the island include: * Nantucket Elementary School (public) * Nantucket Intermediate School (public) * Cyrus Peirce Middle School (public) * Nantucket High School (public) * Nantucket Community School (public, extracurricular) * Nantucket Lighthouse School (private) * Nantucket New School (private) Nantucket Public Schools District information and meetings are broadcast on Nantucket Community Television (Channel 18) in Nantucket. A major museum association, the Maria Mitchell Association, offers educational programs to the Nantucket Public Schools, as well as the Nantucket Historical Association, though the two are not affiliated. The

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public US-based research university. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Ma ...

operates a field station on Nantucket. The Massachusetts College of Art & Design is affiliated with the Nantucket Island School of Design & the Arts, which offers summer courses for teens, youth, postgraduate, and undergraduate programs.

Arts and culture

Nantucket has several noted museums and galleries, including the Maria Mitchell Association and the Nantucket Whaling Museum. Nantucket is home to both visual and performing arts. The island has been an

art colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission ...

since the 1920s, whose artists have come to capture the natural beauty of the island's landscapes and seascapes, including its flora and the fauna. Noted artists who have lived on or painted in Nantucket include Frank Swift Chase and Theodore Robinson. Illustrator and puppeteer Tony Sarg moved to the island in 1922, and in 1937 created an inflatable creature which sailed across the harbour as part of the "sea monster" hoax. Artist Rodney Charman was commissioned to create a series of paintings depicting the marine history of Nantucket, which were collected in the book ''Portrait of Nantucket, 1659–1890: The Paintings of Rodney Charman'' in 1989. The island is the site of a number of festivals, including a book festival, wine and food festival, comedy festival, daffodil festival, and a cranberry festival.

Popular culture

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

's classic novel ''

'' is based on the Nantucket whaling industry, with narrator

Ishmael In the Bible, biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Isla ...

starting his voyage from Nantucket. *

's ''Away Off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602–1890''. *

's '' In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex''. *

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

's ''

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket'', written and published in 1838, is the only complete novel by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The novel is set between 1827 and 1828 and relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, wh ...

''. * 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 The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. * Most of the

Joan Aiken Joan Delano Aiken (4 September 1924 – 4 January 2004) was an English writer specialising in supernatural fiction and children's alternative history novels. In 1999 she was awarded an MBE for her services to children's literature. For ''Th ...

novel ''

Nightbirds on Nantucket ''Nightbirds on Nantucket'' is a children's literature, children's novel by Joan Aiken, first published in 1966 in literature, 1966. Taking place in an alternate history (fiction), alternate history, the story presents the further adventures of ...

'' 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

. * 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. * 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. * The island's name is used as a rhyming device in a noted

limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, beginning " There once was a man from Nantucket..". * Elin Hilderbrand's novels are set on Nantucket. * Nantucket is the setting for the Merry Folger series of mystery novels by Francine Mathews.page 161–164, ''Great Women Mystery Writers'', 2nd Ed. by Elizabeth Blakesley Lindsay, 2007, publ. Greenwood Press, * Nantucket is the setting for Josephine Angelini’s Starcrossed (novel) series. * 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 visual novel ''Psycholonials'' takes place in 2020 on Nantucket. * In the

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

film, ''

Inglourious Basterds ''Inglourious Basterds'' is a 2009 epic film, epic war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger ...

'', Colonel Hans Landa of the German Sicherheitsdienst negotiates a deal where he is awarded a property on Nantucket Island. * A

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series by

Hidekaz Himaruya , also romanized as Hidekaz Himaruya, is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga series '' Hetalia: Axis Powers''. He emigrated to the United States to study at the Parsons School of Design, but dropped out. He currently lives in Japan ...

, '' Chibisan Date'', is set on Nantucket during the 1960s. In Himaruya's other manga, '' Hetalia: Axis Powers'', America, the anthropomorphic personification of the United States, has an ahoge that represents Nantucket.

Transportation

From 1900 to 1918, Nantucket was one of few jurisdictions in the United States that banned automobiles. Nantucket can be reached by sea from the mainland by Seastreak, The Steamship Authority, Hy-Line Cruises, or Freedom Cruise Line, or by private boat. A task force was formed in 2002 to consider limiting the number of vehicles on the island, in an effort to combat heavy traffic during the summer months. Nantucket is served by Nantucket Memorial Airport , a two-runway airport on the south side of the island. The airport is one of the busiest in Massachusetts and often logs more take-offs and landings on a summer day than Boston's

Logan Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...

. This is due in part to the large number of private planes used by wealthy summer inhabitants, and in part to the 10-seat

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplanes, Second Edition'', page 108. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. All seats are easily removable so ...

s used by several commercial air carriers to serve the island community. Nantucket Regional Transit Authority operates seasonal island-wide shuttle buses to many destinations including Surfside Beach, Siasconset, and the airport. Until 1917, Nantucket was served by the narrow-gauge Nantucket Railroad. File:Nantucket light 1.jpg, Sankaty Head Light

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

File:Great Point Light.jpg, Great Point Lighthouse File:Light house at Brant point in Nantucket harbor.jpg, Brant Point Light in Nantucket Harbor File:Nantucket Wharf by Don Ramey Logan.jpg, Nantucket Boat Basin

Transportation disasters

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 south of Nantucket, resulting in the deaths of 51 people (46 on the ''Andrea Doria'', 5 on the ''Stockholm''). * On August 15, 1958, Northeast Airlines Flight 258 crashed on approach to Nantucket Memorial Airport, killing 25 of the 34 passengers and crew. * On December 15, 1976, the

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...

'' Argo Merchant'' ran aground southeast of Nantucket. Six days later, on December 21, the wrecked ship broke apart, causing a large

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

. * On October 31, 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, traveling from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, crashed approximately south of Nantucket, killing all 217 people on board.

National Register of Historic Places

The following Nantucket places are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

: *

Nantucket Historic District The Nantucket Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District that encompasses the entire island of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The original December 13, 1966 listing on the National Register of Historic Places included only the hi ...

, a

(added December 13, 1966); Expanded to encompass the entire island in 1975. * Brant Point Light Station—Brant Point (added October 28, 1987) * Jethro Coffin House—a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

, Sunset Hill Road (added December 24, 1968) * Sankaty Head Light (added November 15, 1987)

Notable people

While many notable people own property or regularly visit the island, the following have been residents of the island: * Askamaboo, a 17th-century female Wampanoag sachem * William Barnes Sr., attorney and Republican Party political leader * Eliza Starbuck Barney, abolitionist, genealogist * Caio Canedo, Emirati national team soccer player *

Donick Cary Donick Cary is an American writer and producer. Early life Cary grew up on Nantucket Island, graduating from Nantucket High School in 1986. Personal life He is the son of actors Richard and Mara Cary and the brother of actress Martha Cary, the l ...

writer, producer * James H. Cromartie, artist *

A. J. Cronin Archibald Joseph Cronin (Cronogue) (19 July 1896 – 6 January 1981) was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known novel is ''The Citadel (novel), The Citadel'' (1937), about a Scottish physician who serves in a Welsh coal mining, minin ...

, novelist * Doug DeMuro, Entrepreneur, founder of automotive auction website Cars & Bids, automotive journalist, automotive content creator * James A. Folger, founder of the coffee company bearing his name * Mayhew Folger, whaling captain * Peter Folger, missionary * Anna Gardner, abolitionist, poet, teacher * Robert Moller Gilbreth, businessman, educator, and politician * Phebe Ann Coffin Hanaford, first woman ordained as a Universalist minister in New England * Elin Hilderbrand, author * Dorcas Honorable, last of the Nantucket

s * Pauline Mackay, golfer * Rowland Hussey Macy, 19th-century retailer, founder of Macy's department store *

Maria Mitchell Maria Mitchell ( ; August 1, 1818 – June 28, 1889) was an American astronomer, librarian, naturalist, and educator. In 1847, she discovered a comet named 1847 VI (modern designation C/1847 T1) that was later known as " Miss Mitchell's Comet ...

, astronomer * Allison Mleczko, ice hockey player * Raymond Rocco Monto, orthopedic surgeon *

Mary Morrill Mary Folger ( Morrell (Morrel/Morrill/Morrills/Morill); –1704) was the maternal grandmother of Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father of the United States. In Herman Melville's 1851 novel ''Moby-Dick'', she was cited as an ancestor of the Fol ...

, grandmother of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

* Lucretia Coffin Mott, minister, abolitionist, social reformer, and proponent of women's rights * Cyrus Peirce, educator *

, author *

Joseph Gardner Swift Joseph Gardner Swift (December 31, 1783 – July 22, 1865) was an American soldier who, in 1802, became the first graduate of the newly instituted United States Military Academy in West Point, New York; he would later serve as its third superint ...

, first graduate of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

* Nancy Thayer, author *

Meghan Trainor Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (born December 22, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached ...

, singer and songwriter * Charles F. Winslow, physician, 19th-century science author * Mary A. Brayton Woodbridge, 19th-century temperance reformer, editor

Sister cities

• - Beaune, Côte d’Or, France

Citations

General and cited references

* Bond, C. Lawrence, ''Native Names of New England Towns and Villages'', privately published by C. Lawrence Bond, Topsfield, Massachusetts, 1991.
I Once Had a Chum from Nantucket by Drs. Ernest and Convalescence Bidet-Wellville
on Neatorama

* ttp://travel.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/travel/18hours.html?th&emc=th 36 Hours in Nantucket in the ''New York Times'' of July 18, 2010

External links

Town of Nantucket website

US Census Bureau map
of cities, towns, Native American reservations, and census-designated places {{Authority control 1641 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies County seats in Massachusetts Coastal islands of Massachusetts Islands of Nantucket, Massachusetts Massachusetts counties National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Nantucket, Massachusetts Populated coastal places in Massachusetts Populated places established in 1641 Port cities and towns in Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts Wampanoag Consolidated city-counties