Nantucket Official Guide 2014-2015 | Page 36

©Katie Kaizer

Vineyard, in 1641. Considering the collective
value of Nantucket’s real estate in current
dollars, it is stunning that Mayhew sold
his interest to Nantucket’s “nine original
purchasers” – Tristram Coffin, Thomas Macy,
Christopher Hussey, Richard Swayne, Thomas
Bernard, Peter Coffin, Stephen Greenleaf,
John Swayne, and William Pike (some of
these names are still common on the island)
“for the sum of thirty Pounds, and two
beaver hats.”
An island anchored to an illustrious past,
Nantucket is the former Whaling Capital of
the World, a leader in social enlightenment,
abolitionism, land conservation (nearly
half the island is deeded as conservation
land) and historic preservation. Nantucket’s

1872 - Nantucket
emerged as a popular
summer retreat.
1881 - The Nantucket
Railroad was put into
service.

1885 - The public
drinking fountain was
placed at the head of
Main St. where it remained for many years
before being moved to
the lower square.
1900 - The Atheneum,
built in 1847, was
opened as a free public
library.

34 • 2014 Official Guide to Nantucket

first woman astronomer, Maria Mitchell,
discovered a comet in 1847 from her
telescope perched atop the Pacific Bank. She
received a gold medal inscribed: Non Frustra
Signorum Obitus Speculamur et Ortus (“Not
in vain do we watch the setting and rising of
the stars”), presented to her by King Frederick
VII of Denmark. Islanders are stewards of this
remarkable history, preserved historic places,
and the land. Indeed, the island is under
relentless attack from the wind and tides, and
many preservation and protection efforts are
ongoing.
Nantucket’s Main Street, one of America’s
most prestigious addresses, was also
proclaimed one of the most beautiful Main
Streets in the world by Travel & Leisure.

1918 - Cars were first
permitted on the island,
after the demise of the
Nantucket Railroad.

1955 - The town of
Nantucket was proclaimed an Historic
District by the
Commonwealth of
Massachusetts.
1962 - The first jet
airplane landed at
Nantucket Memorial
Airport in early July.