News and Events for Nantucket Island
~ by Amy Jenness ~ In 1778 Captain James Cook and his crew were the first westerners to visit the islands of Hawaii, and they found there a rich Polynesian culture built over many centuries. But things did not go well for Cook, who was killed by the locals after […]
~ by Amy Jenness, author of On This Day In Nantucket History ~ The sun will be an economically viable source of electricity within a decade, and solar panels have the potential to surpass fossil fuel, wind, and nuclear power production by 2050. That is the opinion of the International […]
~ by Amy Jenness ~ In June of 1916 the Inquirer & Mirror ran an item in its “Waterfront” column recounting the story of a recent Nantucket visitor looking to hire a car. The man, who had never been here before, asked a group of local men for information about […]
~ by Amy Jenness ~ In the days following the Confederate Army’s attack and capture of North Carolina’s Fort Sumter in 1861, island residents worried that the South would also target Nantucket. In April a voluntary group of men called the “Island Guards” met at Mill Hill each day to […]
English Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin visited Nantucket just once, in 1826, but his visit led to the creation of a school that educated generations of Nantucket children. To mark the 190th anniversary of the admiral’s trip, the NHA invites visitors to explore The Coffin School through rarely-seen artifacts from a […]
~ by Carl Oscar Olson ~ With a global population of over 7 billion human beings, it’s hard to imagine that any open space free of houses, highways, or high rises still exists. That is especially so for a very small and very attractive destination island like Nantucket. Short supply […]
~ by Amy Jenness ~ When 200 women and 100 men gathered in upstate New York in 1848 for America’s first women’s-rights convention, they unanimously agreed that women should be given the same freedoms as men: the right to speak publicly, pursue an education, get a job, practice a religion […]
~ by Amy Jenness, author of On This Day In Nantucket History ~ Isolated out to sea and staunchly Quaker, and therefore pacifist, Nantucketers nonetheless got pulled into British conflict long before the American Revolution. Island whaleships had to contend with European privateers capturing their ships as early as 1744. […]
~ by Rebecca Nimerfroh ~ You may recognize Libby Gibson’s voice from the weekly updates she does on 97.7 ACK FM, reporting the latest happenings of the town in that oh-so-relatable, down-to-earth tone. Or perhaps you have spotted her walking her dog down one of Nantucket’s many gorgeous beaches, Libby’s […]
