How long and wide is nantucket

The island was primarily a refuge for Native Americans who were displaced in the region while Europeans began to populate the areas now known as New York and Massachusetts. The Paleo-Indians were the first humans to live in the Cape and Islands area after the glacial retreat. The Paleo- Archaic Indians arrived in the area on the coastal plain that would become the outer islands of Southeastern Massachusetts well before Europeans settlers came this continent to live.

Nantucket was mostly undisturbed by Europeans until when the island was deeded to wealthy merchants Thomas Mayhew and his son by the English authorities.

There was still fairly little population by Europeans on the islands until Thomas Mayhew sold his interest in the islands to a group of investors. Shortly after this time the islanders began hunting whales for meat and whale oil, initially in the North Atlantic but eventually, and most famously, in the South Pacific, on journeys that would last from three to five years.

Nantucketers became famous around the world for their whaling. Moby-Dick was the story of the whaler Essex, whose journey and disastrous encounter with a white whale also prompted present day island historian and national bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick to write his book In the Heart of the Sea, now being adapted into a screenplay for major motion picture.

The wealth generated by that trade built huge mansions on Main Street, Orange Street and Union Street, as well as large and beautiful houses elsewhere in the center of town, although its early prevailing Quaker ethic limited the showiness of the early houses until it was supplanted in the second quarter of the 19th century.

Many residents left at this time for those reasons and many joined the California Gold Rush. During the long post-Civil War period Nantucket slumbered, awakened only gradually by the rising tide of vacationers, when its salubrious climate was thought to protect visitors from the bad summer air of cities. Land development was very regulated by the investors and developers themselves. This helped to create one of the most exclusive areas in the country. Because its hundred years of prosperity were followed by an almost equal period of stagnation, Nantucket contains an unparalleled trove of Georgian, Federal and Greek Revival period architecture.

Today over nine hundred buildings built from to are still in everyday use on Nantucket, the largest such collection in the United States and one that affords visitors and residents the extraordinary experience of walking streets substantially unchanged in the last two hundred years. Recognizing the value of that experience led to Nantucket Town being the second location in the United States after Charleston, SC to be denominated a National Historic District, in , followed by its extension to the entire island in As a result, all new and remodeled building since then has been subject to regulation by the Nantucket Historic District commission, to assure its compatibility with existing architecture.

These numbers are primarily for residents who live on the island year around, whereas many of the rich and famous residents are only there during the summer. With the population of Nantucket growing by over five times during the summer months it is obvious that this island has a lot to offer. Many of those who come to the island live there all summer and others stay only for a week or two for a beautiful vacation.

There is no shortage of things to do while visiting the island of Nantucket. There are homes, cottages and timeshares for rent for those who want all the comforts of a luxury home during their stay on the island.

There are also a number of hotels and inns spread in town and throughout the island for visitors to enjoy as well. For those who can afford it there are luxury resorts which offer incredible accommodations looking out over the ocean. These resorts are popular vacation destinations for individuals and families who want to be pampered during their visit. Getting to Nantucket is not especially easy at any time, especially during the popular summer season, but it can be done either by sea or by air.

There are two commercial ferry services making regular trips back and forth from Hyannis, on Cape Cod. It is also possible, of course, to come to the island on a private boat, although dockage and mooring charges are high. Quick access, MV; more remote, N. Preppy or Boho? Women often wear bright frocks in hot pink, lime, turquoise, white and yellow, particularly from Lily Pulitzer, while males sport whale logo belts.

For the ultimate female status symbol, nothing beats carrying a Nantucket Lightship Basket, an oval, woven, rattan handbag often with a decorative scrimshaw top. Cheerful prep, N; effortless chic, MV. Food, farms, and spirits. Both islands pride themselves on farm-grown, seasonal produce, superb seafood, and almost no chain restaurants. Nantucket has nearly 80 restaurants, 17 farms, and spirits from Triple Eight Distillery-Cisco Brewers. The island also has several coveted foodstuffs, including Nantucket Quahog chowder, Nantucket Bay scallops; cornmeal from The Old Mill built in and the oldest functioning mill in America , Nantucket Portuguese sweet bread that sailors from the Azores and Cape Verde originally brought to the island, and wild beach plum jam.

Movie mecca or festival hotspot? The island also hosts multiple film festivals. Folger, born and raised on Nantucket, founded the Folger Coffee Company in Nantucket desegregated its public schools in , more than a hundred years before the rest of the nation.

It was blown down in , burned and was rebuilt in , burned and was rebuilt again in In , Brant Point Light was again destroyed in a storm. At the peak of the summer, there are as many as 56, people here with their cars.