The island of Nantucket has its own history, its own climate, and its own connections to the rest of the world. It is known mainly today as a tourist destination for the wealthy, but that transformation only began in the last century. 100 years earlier, Nantucket was a hard-working, entrepreneurial island and international port of call with a reach that pulled in connections from around the world.
Thirty miles off the Massachusetts coast, Nantucket has a year round population of about 14,000. In the summer, that number can rise to 50,000.
As you approach by ferry, you see a three story skyline along the north shore, of homes of brick and shaker shingles and the occasional white church steeple. Much of the architecture in the town center is preserved from the 1800s and before. An exodus at the end of the civil war left many buildings vacant, but intact for decades, until investors began to see Nantucket's potential as a tourist destination.
Positioned as it is, at the edge of the open ocean, yet somewhat protected by the southern New England coastline, Nantucket has its own micro-climate that keeps temperatures moderate and often shrouds the island in fog. Winter lows are in the high 30sF and summer highs are usually in the mid-70sF.
Most of the population is centered in the vicinity of the main harbor. There is plenty of modern housing development further inland, but most of the beaches trimming the island from north to south are open, accessible, and free of the closely built cottage life common in New England shore towns.
In the first half of the 1800s, Nantucket was known as one of the whaling capitals of the world. A variety of factors contributed to the decline of whaling in Nantucket, both natural and man-made. The Nantucket Whaling Museum, on Broad Street, has a full history. It is much more complicated than the discovery of oil in Pennsylvania.
The worldwide influence of whaling brought people of different nationalities and races to Nantucket and may have contributed to an open-mindedness about humanity that made Nantucket a center of the abolitionist movement in the United States.
Frederick Douglas made his first public address at the Atheneum in Nantucket's town center in 1841. The occasion for the speech was an abolitionist convention. The building still stands today and also serves as the town library.
Just off the ferry landing, the first streets you will hit by car or on foot are paved with cobblestone. Cars move slowly. The streets have huge swales and dips that keep the functional speed limit below 15 MPH. In some places, below 10 MPH. It is easier and more enjoyable to walk Nantucket town center's main streets. The cobblestone adds to the historic character and makes it easy to imagine life here at the height of Nantucket's economic influence.
I visited in early March. Over two days I walked miles of Nantucket beaches and ran across a total of four other people. Only two close enough to say hello.
In the neighborhoods of New England vernacular homes, most of the shades were drawn. No one was home. I had a full bed and breakfast stay near the center of town almost completely to myself. Most of the homes, closest to the beaches, were fully boarded up against the winter. Based on the seasonal parking restrictions, it seems the high season doesn't start on Nantucket until June.
It is expensive to live on an island anywhere, but of the three islands I visited for this series, (Block Island and Martha's Vineyard), Nantucket seemed clearly the most expensive, both in the daily cost of living, and if you were ever lucky enough to consider buying property on the island.
Coffee, lunch, dinner, gas - the staple purchases of any visitor - were noticeably high priced. Who can visit a place like this and not browse the local real estate listings? I found it difficult to find any listing under $2 million and further research, once I got home, confirmed those initial observations.
Regardless, of the cost, if you can get there, Nantucket offers seaside charm, history, and natural beauty. If the crowds of summer are part of the appeal for you then a winter visit may not be the best option.
If you are looking to explore nature on Nantucket, then winter is a perfect time of year to visit. The cost of a hotel stay is substantially lower. It is easier to get a reservation on the ferry. The beaches and other conservation areas are quiet and offer the chance for a full appreciation of the island in its raw state.
For most of us life on an island may be unrealistic. Out of reach financially, impractical for obvious reasons. But there is some psychological benefit to escaping for a time to a place like Nantucket, or any of the islands I visited for this series. Islands provide a feeling that you have truly gotten away, you cannot be reached, under unbroken sunlight, you can breathe. The rest of the world is somewhere else, no longer exists, or is simply unimportant.
Islands provide perspective.
Credits:
© Dean Pagani 2022