Nantucket

"When the expanse of more recently formed land on which Nantucket stood was submerged, Nantucket was insulated by the advance of the sea around it, and the other islands in the same chain—, , , and s—were similarly left standing in the ocean. Nantucket was, therefore, a —a halting-place of the glacial movement,—that is,it was formed by the advancing lower rim of the glacier which, melting, deposited its accumulation of —sand, clay, and s—caught up in its southward march, and frozen within its substance, in great heaps where they exist to-day as islands in the ocean."

"Nantucket is one of the last remaining authentic places in America. It has streets and Quaker meetinghouses and no traffic lights and no s. It also has fifty miles of pristine public beach. It's one of those places that people fall in love with because there is no place else like it."

"Since the island was settled, Nantucketers have been grappling with coastal hazards which, in many ways, are an accepted part of island life. Formed after the retreat of the , most of the island is composed of glacial outwash materials, including sand and , which are especially prone to erosion ... Over time, Nantucketers have adapted to coastal hazards by moving lighthouses, homes, roads, utilities, and other structures away from the coastline in both managed (i.e., planned) and emergency situations. However, with climate change, coastal storms are increasing in frequency and intensity and erosion of the island’s bluffs, dunes, and beaches is becoming more rapid with sea level rise, bringing impacts to Nantucketers’ front doors and threatening their homes, infrastructure, and natural resources."

"Social and political upheavals of the 1960s spurred many reactions in the arts, from optimistic modernism to nostalgic historicism, that resulted in a widespread revival of . On Nantucket, the 1960s craft revival coincided with a renaissance of the island itself, as it looked towards the past to shape its future. The wharf transformed and was promoted, the island a time capsule of its nineteenth-century glory days as a port. In 1961, the Nantucket Historical Trust renovated the Jared Coffin House, a historic whaling merchant’s mansion turned hotel, decorating it with custom reproduction interior textiles. A weaving workshop was established, and the Nantucket Looms was born. While historicism is Nantucket’s trademark, a study of the Nantucket Looms in the 1960s reveals that modernism is equally apparent in Nantucket’s craft history."

"... in 1762, seventy-eight s cleared from American ports, of which more than half were from Nantucket. The year of 1766 saw 118 vessels, measuring 75 tons each on the average, clear from Nantucket alone. They brought home 11,969 barrels of valued at $129,983. In 1770 the Nantucket fleet numbered 125 ships of the average size of 93 tons. During that year they took 14,331 barrels of oil worth $358,200. The ship owners of other ports, seeing Nantucket's prosperity, had tried to share in it. Their success was fairly good, but Nantucket owned at this time as many whale-ships as all the other ports of America combined."