News and Events for Nantucket Island
~ by Amy Jenness ~ In mid-September of 1961 Hurricane Esther gathered itself into a category three, and the category four, hurricane as it moved north-northwest from the Cape Verde Islands. The storm peaked with sustained winds of 145 mph, made landfall in North Carolina and continued north. Early on […]
~ by Katherine Brooks, Maria Mitchell Association ~ The story of the striped bass skeleton hanging in the Maria Mitchell Association’s Hinchman Natural Science Museum begins with an old Nantucketer, Granger Frost, who caught the striped bass off of Tuckernuck in 1971. The bass, lovingly named the 7th Earl of […]
The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA) is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of a generous gift from Glynn Christian, a direct descendent and biographer of Fletcher Christian, the leader of the 1789 mutiny on the British Royal Navy vessel Bounty. The artifact is a piece of copper hull […]
~ by Frances Ruley Karttunen ~ Nantucket’s Scout camps threatened by developers! Bites to be taken out of Mill Hill Park! Something should be done! And lots has been by the Nantucket Civic League. Recently, the Nantucket Islands Land Bank purchased Camp Taupawshas, the 5.2-acre Nantucket Girl Scout camp south […]
More than three decades ago, well before artisan chocolates were all the rage, Kathy and John West created a Nantucket startup dedicated to offering the best hand-crafted chocolates and sweets to Nantucket residents and visitors. Their shop, Sweet Inspirations, is now an island landmark celebrating it’s 35th Anniversary. Recently they […]
~ by Amy Jenness ~ In 1849 three Folger brothers left Nantucket for the gold fields of northern California. By April of 1850 Edward Folger, age 20, Henry Folger, age 16 and James Folger, age 14, had reached the west coast of Panama after a ship voyage, rafting trip and […]
Commonly asked questions and misunderstandings about antiques… and the odd or end fascinating bit! What are those little brass torpedoes attached to long ropes? They are ship’s logs and were used by sailors to measure their speed under weigh at sea. Ever since sailors first ventured out of sight of […]
by Amy Jenness Despite its reputation as a 19th century antislavery stronghold, Nantucket’s first generations of European settlers owned slaves and the process of integrating the island has at times been a difficult one. In 1659, nine English families purchased large portions of the island and came here to establish […]
Commonly asked questions and misunderstandings about antiques… and the odd or end fascinating bit! One of the most common questions we are asked, almost on a daily basis, is what are these intricate lattice-work devices? When I press them to guess, people most often say a device to hang laundry […]
~ by Amy Jenness ~ Siasconset’s new Marconi Wireless Station received its first signal from the Nantucket lightship on August 12 in 1901. The two crews established a connection and then the ‘Sconset station asked the lightship crew: “How are you all? What’s doing?” The lightship crew responded with the […]
