Nantucket Trivia
 
• The name Nantucket is derived from a Native American word meaning "faraway island" or "land far out to sea."

• Nantucket was populated with approximately 1,500 Native Americans of the Wampanoag Tribe when it was discovered and charted in 1602 by Captain Bartholomew Gosnold.

• The history of Nantucket's settlement by the English begins in 1659, when Thomas Mayhew sold his interests to the "nine original purchasers": Tristram Coffin, Thomas Macy, Christopher Hussey, Richard Swayne, Thomas Bernard, Peter Coffin, Stephen Greenleafe, John Swayne, and William Pike for, "thirty pounds...and two Beaver hats one for myself and one for my wife."

• During its whaling days, Nantucket was the third largest city in Massachusetts, with a population of 10,000. Only Boston and Salem were larger.

• At its peak, there were 88 Nantucket whaling ships sailing around the world. Nantucket Island was considered the Whaling Capital of the World from 1800 to 1840.

• The Great Fire of 1846 destroyed the wharves and much of the business district. This fire, the dwindling demand for whale oil, the silting-up of the harbor, and the discovery of gold in California in 1849, all marked the end of the whaling-era prosperity and the beginning of an economic depression that lasted until tourism replaced whaling as Nantucket's economic base.

• The "roofwalks" atop many Island homes were used to spot incoming whaleships or for pouring a bucket of sand down a burning chimney.

• Cars were not permitted on Nantucket until 1918, after the railroad was washed out.

• Maria (pronounced Mariah) Mitchell, the first woman astronomer in America and discoverer of a comet, was born on Nantucket and is buried here. The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in her memory.

• Nantucket was home port to two ships that were involved in the Boston Tea Party, the Beaver and the Dartmouth. The ships were owned by the Rotch family whose offices were located at the foot of Main Street in the brick building now called The Pacific Club.

• From 1881 to 1917, a railroad ran from Steamboat Wharf to Surfside, Siasconset, and Tom Nevers. The tracks along the south shore were swept out to sea in a raging storm in 1895, although it continued service to Siasconset until 1917.

• Herman Melville based his novel Moby-Dick on the true and tragic tale of the Essex. This Nantucket whaleship was whaling off the coast of South America in 1820 when it was rammed by a whale. He received his information from Owen Chase, a mate on the Essex who kept the ship's log.

• Lower Main Street, originally called State Street, was paved in 1837 with cobblestones, brought here from Gloucester, where they had been stockpiled after serving as ballast to stabilize ships' cargoes. The cobblestones enabled heavy, oil laden carts to move up from the wharves without sinking in the mud.

• Nantucket is an island, a county, and a town. It is the only place in America with the same name for all three.

• Brant Point is the site of the second oldest lighthouse built in America, constructed in 1746. Only Boston's Beacon Light is older.

• The Pacific Ocean is dotted with islands that have been named for Nantucket families who made their fortunes and brought their money back to Nantucket, and include: New Nantucket Island, Swain's Reef, Swain's Island, Starbuck Island, Russell Island, Gardner Pinnacles, Nantucket Inlet, Gardiner Inlet, Mitchell's Peak, Rotch Harbor, and the Folger Cape.

• Nantucket has over 82 miles of pristine beaches, about two miles of which belongs to the town. The remaining beaches are owned by private non-profit organizations and landowners, who graciously open them to the public.

• Nantucket Island is located 30 miles at sea from Hyannis on the southern coast of Cape Cod. The island is 3 1/2 miles north to south and 14 miles east to west.

• The population of Nantucket Island is approximately 12,000 year-round and 55,000+ during the summer season.

• Nantucket is usually 10% cooler than the mainland in the summer and 10% warmer in the winter because of its proximity to the Gulf Stream.

• The highest point on the Island is Folger Hill at 109 feet above sea level, followed closely by Altar Rock at 108 feet.

• Nantucket Memorial Airport is the second busiest commercial airport in Massachusetts after Logan International Airport in Boston.

• Because of the grey shingles and frequent fog, Nantucket is affectionately referred to as the "Little Grey Lady of the Sea."

• The Milestone Road cranberry bog is one of the world's largest. The land, over 260 acres, is owned by the Nantucket Conservation Foundation.

• With the help of ten private and public conservation-minded groups, more than 36% of the Island's land has been protected and will never be built upon. This land is open to the public for hiking and bird watching. The Nantucket Conservation Foundation owns the largest portion of Island land, followed by the Nantucket Land Bank.

• The Nantucket Land Bank, the first of its kind in the U.S., receives 2% of the purchase price of Nantucket real estate to acquire open space resources for the use and enjoyment of the public. Since its creation a decade ago, the Land Bank has purchased more than 1,300 acres at a cost of nearly $40 million.

• Nantucket has a greater variety of vegetation than any other place of similar size in America. Many of our plants and flowers have been imported-- heath and broom from Scotland, ivy from England and rugosa roses from Japan.

• Approximately 1/3 of America's heathlands (moors) are here on the Island of Nantucket.

• About 1,000 deer roam the island, as well as a host of ring-necked pheasant, rabbits, ducks, and geese. Nantucket is also on the north/south flyway of migrating birds and is a popular venue for serious bird watchers. Endangered species here on Nantucket include the piping plover, least tern, and osprey.

• Petticoat Row, once located on Centre Street, was named for the many women who owned and operated the shops that lined the downtown thoroughfares. Women traditionally ran the town of Nantucket, as their husbands traveled the seas for years at a time.

• Nantucket has more buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places qualifying as totally preserved buildings than anywhere in Massachusetts including Boston, Plymouth, and Salem.

• Nantucket has more than 800 houses still standing that were built before the Civil War.

Special thanks to: Helen Winslow Chase, Roger A. Young, Ben Garneau, John McLaughlin, and Coleen J. Barth of the Nantucket Historical Association's Research Center. Reprinted from the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce site: www.nantucketchamber.org