Jul 12, 2015
Nantucket! Take out your map and look at it. See what a real corner of the world it occupies; how it stands there, away off shore, more lonely than the Eddystone lighthouse.(Herman Mellville, Moby Dick, Chap. 14)
Nantucket, an Island 30-miles south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, is
historically one of the main centers of Whaling in the U.S. -- whaling
ships based in Nantucket traveled all over the world. It is also home
to the characters in Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick--and home
port to the whaling ship Essex, on whose true story the adventures in
Moby Dick were based. The island and its whaling history form the
backbone of the novel and indeed are central symbols in the epic
journey of the Pequod in its hunt for Moby-Dick, the white whale.
Melville based the essentials of his plot upon all that he had read
about Nantucket’s whaling history, and in particular, the tale of
the Nantucket whaleship Essex. After the publication of Moby-Dick,
Melville finally visited the island, and met face-to-face with Captain
George Pollard Jr., who survived one of the most harrowing
ordeals at sea in human history.
Moby Dick – book illustrations
The cobblestones enabled heavy, oil laden carts to move up from the wharves without sinking in the mud.
The Oldest House – built in i686 by Jerry Coffin – Coffin Family reunion
Jared Coffin House is a stately 1845 brick mansion in the heart of Nantucket Town.
Flowery homes
Nantucket has over 82 miles of pristine beaches, about two miles of which belongs to the town. The remaining beaches belong to private non-profit
organizations and landowners, who open them to the public.
Tower steps The first Great Point Light (also known as Nantucket Light) was
built in 1785
Great Point Light
Top of a lighthouse
Oil press
The sperm whaleis a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale(odontocete) having thelargest brain ofany animal
Nantucket Daffodil Festival’
DAFFODIL
Festival
Old Baptist Church
A sumptuous beach house
The Brant Point light (1746) was the second lighthouse built in the American Colonies, after the light in Boston.
Cranberry Festival
Natucket cranberry pie
A row of mansions lines Main Street, Nantucket, reminders of the golden age of whaling
The Three Bricks, commissioned by Joseph Starbuck for his 3 sons during the golden age of whaling.
Buildings of the Maria Mitchell Liones Observatory - Maria Mitchell was the first woman astronomer of America
Historic Maria Mitchell Housebuilt 1790
-Typical Quaker style
Sankaty Head Light - built in 1850, automated in 1965, and still in operation.