Nantucket has been an independent sort of place since the early
settlers arrived. Originally part of New York State, it became
part of Massachusetts in 1692 after a petition to Parliament by
the island proprietors.
The story of Nantucket is the story of whaling, which established
itself there in the mid-Eighteenth Century. Whale oil,
particularly spermaceti whale oil, was prized for its bright,
clear light and drew generations of hardy Nantucketers to sea.
Beginning in 1672, they ranged the world, taking whales and
acquiring exotic artifacts at their various ports of call.
Long sea voyages gave them plenty of time to keep journals that
have enthralled readers ever since. Many took up scrimshandering
on those long journeys, decorating whale teeth and other bits of
bone with fanciful images that are highly prized today. Many of
these artifacts are on view.
The nest of eight lightship baskets was made by Davis Hall on
Nantucket in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century.
As the capital of the whaling industry, the island was home
to a wide range of ancillary businesses, chief among which was
candlemaking. The island's first candleworks opened in 1770, by
which time canny islanders controlled the supply of whale oil to
the colonies and to England. By the end of the Revolutionary War,
candlemaking moved from the mainland to Nantucket. Early in the
Nineteenth Century, the island was home to about 30 candle
factories where most of the world's candles were made. Whaling -
and candlemaking - brought the island profound prosperity over the
next 100 years.
As Niles D. Parker, chief curator of the museum, puts it,
"Nantucket was a one-horse town for about 150 years." But, what a
horse! The island enjoyed a standard of living and sophistication
equal to or higher than that of Salem. Grand houses, like the
Hadwen House, were furnished luxuriously with the most desirable
objects and art. Nonetheless, the small island retained its
insularity at the same time it adopted far-flung international
tastes and trends. Quakerism, which drew many settlers escaping
the harsh Puritanism of Boston, was a strong influence throughout
the whaling era, and the Society of Friends remains active on the
island today.
When petroleum was introduced around 1838, it lessened the need
for whale oil, as it proved cheaper and more readily available.
This occurred in tandem with a depletion of the stock of sperm
whales. A few years, later a massive fire swept the town of
Nantucket destroying homes and businesses. As a depression set
in, hundreds of islanders, around 60 percent of the population,
heeded the call of the western gold rush and departed.
Nantucket languished for several decades until around 1880 when
it gained favor as a tourist destination. A railroad was
established to transport visitors from the ferry dock to the
beaches and later to Siasconset. It operated between 1881 and
1917. A route map is on view.
As tourism grew in the late Nineteenth Century, town fathers
recognized the need to preserve the island's unique history. They
met in May 1894 at the home of Elizabeth Starbuck to organize the
Nantucket Historical Association (NHA.) Soon thereafter the
organization purchased the 1838 Quaker Meeting House on Fair
Street, which served as its headquarters. By the time of its
first annual meeting, the collections included 295 donations of
artifacts and manuscript material and another 120 loans of family
heirlooms and papers. Down the years, the impressive furniture,
ceramics, textiles and paintings acquired by Nantucket whaling
families found their way into its collections.
Nantucket's Whaling Museum occupies the newly restored candle
factory on Broad Street.
Along the way, the NHA acquired a total of 24 historic
buildings and sites. They include the Oldest House, a 1686 wedding
gift to Jethro Coffin and Mary Gardner, a marriage that resolved a
family feud. There is also the Old Gaol and Fire Hose-Cart House,
both of which are open from May through October. The 1800 House,
actually constructed in 1801, exhibits the quintessential
architecture of the early Nineteenth Century, with strong Quaker
influences. It remains intact and is used today as a resource on
preservation and design, and is the site of classes in traditional
decorative arts and crafts.
When the 1847 Mitchell spermaceti candle factory on Broad Street
came on the market in 1929, the NHA purchased it and opened the
Whaling Museum in the renovated space the next year. Initially
the Mitchell candleworks and then the Hadwen & Barney
candleworks, the building also served as the offices of the New
England Steamship Company and, finally, in 1919, an antiques
shop. Some modifications had been made to the building over the
years, but they were mostly add-ons. The original two-story beam
press that was used to extract spermaceti oil for candles was in
place but partially obscured by the construction of floors and
walls around it. The recent restoration peeled away the
alterations to reveal the press in all its imposing mass. The
large brick ovens of the original tryworks have also been
revealed.
