News and Events for Nantucket Island
Access to quality medical care is key to keeping a community healthy, particularly on an island where, without a hospital, inclement weather could prevent a patient from getting urgently needed care. Nantucket’s first hospital was founded in 1912 in a homestead on West Chester Street. In 1957, the hospital’s facilities […]
Most visitors expect to see portraits of stiffly-posed sea captains or stuffy businessmen in a museum. However, Nantucket’s history is more than white whaling captains and wealthy merchant families. Nantucket Historical Association’s collection contains thousands of painted portraits and studio photographs of people from many parts of the island’s diverse […]
One of the first questions newcomers to Nantucket ask (after do people live here in the winter? and are there schools on Nantucket?) is often “does Nantucket have a hospital?”
The answer, of course, is a resounding YES. And thanks to years of dedication, determination, and dollars raised by generous donors and local residents, in February of 2019 Nantucket Cottage Hospital’s new facilities opened to patients. Thanks to an unprecedented $120 million capital campaign, the largest in Nantucket history, the new hospital was built entirely through private donations: debt-free, using no taxpayer dollars.
If you know the meaning of ACK, either you love Nantucket or you’re a pilot. It was her love of Nantucket that inspired artist and photographer Susan Fairgrieve to start ACK 4170TM four years ago in 2017.
Susan and her husband first visited Nantucket in 2000: “My husband and I would always go to The Vineyard. When a friend suggested we visit Nantucket, we thought we’d give it a try. We did, and we never went back to The Vineyard!”
For more than 45 years Jean Rioux has advocated for the North Atlantic Right Whale and legislation to protect it. She has spent countless summers set up day and night on Main Street or Federal Street offering education, facts, and ways to help. Jean has collected thousands of signatures and shared her passion with each person signing. When COVID-19 struck the island last year, Jean was undeterred.
Nantucket is not without its fair share of history, and much of that resides in the many museums and island institutions we love. Being 30 miles out to sea, the ocean is very much a part of our story, which is why we are grateful to have the Egan Maritime Institute.
I looked out over a Nantucket beach one Saturday morning and saw people moving purposefully up and down the beach. I thought these early risers might be vacationers staking out a prime plot of sand for the day or perhaps beachcombing for shells and sand dollars. But as they came closer to the parking area where I stood, I saw that instead of swimsuits they wore long pants and gloves. Instead of beach towels they carried large trash bags. Their t-shirts were emblazoned with “Clean Team,” marking them as members of a very dedicated group of volunteers who help keep our pristine island clear of trash.
by C. Oscar Olson Many buildings on Nantucket house their fair share of history, but not all can hold a candle to the icon that is 2 Union Street. Just a stone’s throw from Main Street behind the Ralph Lauren shop, standing sturdy and proud for nearly 200 years, its […]
This Sunday, August 1, 2021 marks the 203rd birthday of Maria Mitchell, America’s first woman astronomer. Unfortunately, last year due to pandemic restrictions, the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) was forced to cancel her birthday open house that the MMA has been hosting since they opened their doors to the […]
