A PHOTOGRAPHIC COPY OF THE FIRST ISSUE OF THE INQlJIRZR.

W· t 1Juquirtr nub trrnr• _Qt.enttnnial Number Nant~rkrt~ ilas!i. 1821--llun.e 23--1!121 Issued as a Supplement to the Regular Copyright, 1921 Edition of June 25. 1921. by H.B. Turner. ======-======--=-=--=-=-=-======- ======The History of Nantucket The first issue of The Inquirer was Newspapers. dated June 23, 1821, and it contained GREETING! a two-column announcement signed With the enterprise characteristic It is with veneration that the writer takes upon himself the task of put- by Mr. Melcher, in which he outlined of Nantucket in the early part of the tin~ into print the history of Nantucket newspapers and more especially that his intentions and the policies he · hteenth century the first of the of The Inquirer and Mirror. which this week closes its first century of life, eig ' would pursue in the publication of the b · 1816 ancl faces the opening of the one hundred and first volume. island newspapers was orn 1n • No one can fully realize the wei1rht of the task. flooded as it is with sen- little newspaper. The size of the It was called The Gazette and was timent and resp~t for those who have Jtone before. It does not mean mere- page was 12 x 20 inches, four columns issued for the first time on Monday, ly recording the names of the various newspapers and their editors and pub- to the page, and the files of the paper M 6 ·th Abraham G Tannant and lishcrs. It brings upon or.eself a study of the prosperities and adversities of ay , WI • are in excellent condition to this day, bl. h It this ..purple isle of the sea.. durinJt a full one hundred vears. Hiram Tupper its pu IS ers. s l From the first issue of The lnQuirer on the 23d of June. 1821. it has. considering the lapse of years. A pages were 12 x 20 inches in size, Wl•rked diligently for the welfare and advancement of Nantucket and we are photographic copy of. the first issue of five columns wide, and the first copy cor,fident that whatever success it mav have had has been solelv due to the The Inquirer is printed in this issue. printed was purchased by Sylvanus courage and painstakinJt efforts of its editors and oublishers who cluna- to it. In Mr. Jenks assumed full con- fif anrl worked for it and with it. through these one hundred years. laboring hard 1823 Macy for the sum of ty cents, as at times and often actually strugglin: for existence. trol of The Inquirer and for over he was curious to have the first copy The men who have filled the editorial chair in,the passing years }lave been twenty years he ably filled the posi- of a newspaper ever issued on Nan- mer, closely identified with the island. with brilliant minds and ready pens, tion of editor and publisher, and by tucket. The Gazette was printed in I who have been a force for JP:ood in the communit:v. In scanninJP: the record hi·s efforts did much for the bene- th of those who have preceded us. we can but feel both humble and reverent, a building which st0od on e corner especially when we realize how feeble are our efforts in comparison. fit and development of Nantucket. of Main (then State) and Water There is a sense of Dride. however. in the Drivilesre that is ours toda:v- Mr. Jenks was one of Nantucket's streets, and sold "for $2.50 per an- to fill the editorial chair of one of the oldest weekly newspapers in brilliant men-a gentleman and .a num," yet it did not survive a full ! thP. country when it reachi!S its centennial and brings to a close its one bun- scholar in every sense. In writing dredth volume. May the standard set hv Samu-el Haynes Jenks. the_ first Year, being issued but thirty-six I · of the successful emorts of ~r. Jenks l editor of The Inquirer. in 1821. remain with The lnGuirer and Mirror as bJS 11 times, its last being on the 1st day I benediction through the years t.o come. in the publication of The Inquirer, of March, 1817, when it died from HARRY B. TURNER. the late William Hussey1Macy said: want of patronage. Nantucket. June. 1921• "The Inquirer grew rapidly anC- .';'.C- A few months later Mr. Tannant Quired mere than a local reputation. took en renewed courage and from ______-----·•·--- _____ ... ·- ______. ______I Mrd. J~nks was a_ live edditor, .a readyt · J _. an vigorous writer, an an e~r--es the ruins of ~e Gazette issued a 10 Icessful newspaper 0:1. Nantucket for The Inquirer and Mirror. Joseph I ~pd fearl~ advoca_te of '!9'hat he he- x 12 sheet which he ~alled Th~ N~n- the. three succeeding years, but in I Melcher was only the publisher of I lieved t~ be the · ne:ht side of each tucket Weekly Magazine. This bny I 1821 Joseph C Melcher laid the foun- The Inquirer however for he had as- C?rrent issue. Although not ,a na- kl d f f th tive of Nantucket, he was for so many wee y covere our pages o ree Idabon . c-f what· became a permanent sociated. with. ' him. as·' editor. Samuel .I years closely identified with the town columns each and was "devoted to institution-a newspaper which he Haynes. Jenks, than whom no more I in all that concerned its prosperity literary a~d commercial reading." It called The Inquirer and which has talented and forceful writer ever itl_ia~ he !s deserving a place among its was published on Saturday even- survived the trials a~d vicissitudes of filled the editorial chair on Nantucket distmguished men and '!9'0 men._ It · ·t fi t · b · J 28 . . was doubtless through his persistent ing, 1 s r_s issue emg on une , I a full century, today bemg know:1 as island. efforts with pen and voice that public 1817, and its last on January 3, 1818, ______------schools were established on Nantuck- when Mr. Tannant gave up his news- · 1 et." I paper efforts in despair, printing the Five years after its birth, The In- following announcement in his last is- quirer had a rival, the Nantucket sue: Journal having been started by Wil- "It is with extreme regret that we liam H. Bigelow, a Bost.on man who announce to our readers that with moved to the island. The Journal this paper the publication of The was first issued on •the 14th of Sep- Nantucket Weekly Magazine and our labors as Editor, Publisher, et cetera, tember, 1826, but the paper survived at Nantucket, cease. Imperious cus- only a little over a. year, passing out tom demands from us some few re- of existence on December 1st, 1827. marks in regard to the decline of the The Journal was the only contempor- paper. The local situation of Nan- ary The Inquirer had until the year· tucket, the still more local views of its inhabitants, and the evident want 1840, and during that period The In- of popular excitement, comming-led, quirer was issued as a weekly, as a are the ostensible causes of its fail- semi-weekly and, for a few months, ure; and our repeated trial will war- as a tri-weekly. Between the years rant us in the remark that until a paper shall be better appreciated and 1830 and 1840, Mr. Jenks was assisted more public spirit manifested, there in the publication of the paper by G. can be no hope of a simihrr enterprise F. Bemis, T. J. Worta., Charles C. hereafter." Hill, John Morissey and William A. The first issues of the Weekly Jenks, respectively, and for a brief Magazine were quite readable, how- period in the early 30's he relin- ever, for among other things they Iquished t_he editorial chair to Charles contained some interesting private , Bunker. correspondence of Dr. Benjamin l The Inquirer was one of the old Franklin, published by his grandson, IWhig papers and strongly opposed William Temple Franklin. In pe- the re-election of General Jackson 1 rusing the copies of this little paper 1· (who was, however, re-elected, al- one can see at a glance that its edi- though Nantucket gave him but four- tor and publisher was using his best ! teen votes, and was thereby called efforts to make it interesting to his .! "the banner Whig town.") readers and was bravely striving to I During the 30's The Inquirer wan- "make good," but in this Jte failed. i dered from place to place for its Mr~ Tannant's rather pessimistic . l home. It was first printed in a. back farewell when he retired from the j room of the second story of a build- newspaper field doubtless prevented 1 SAMUEL HAYNES JENKS I ing owned by William Coffin, which apy more attempts to launch a suc- j The First Editor of The Inquirer. 1stood on the corner of Main and Can- I dle streets. The lower part of this tempts were made to prevent the ab- !commenced issuing a daily, which was several months a bitter rivalry was building was then the postoffice with olitionists from holding meetings in , the first daily paper ever printed on waged between it and The Inquirer, George W. Ewer as postmaster. Nantucket, The Islancer championed Nantucket. but on December 27, 1845, a third In 1830 The Inquirer moved to a the cause of the lecturers and deal:: The Telegraph's enterprise caused paper made its debut in Nantucket, three-story building owned by Charles vigorous blows against those who at- The Inquirer to follow suit and for a "making it hard scratching fc.r all G. Stubbs, where the shop of C. W. tempt.eel to break u:p the meetings. 1 time both papers were issued · daily, three to make a living," as Edward Ellis now stands on Water street. The paper was· printed in a building with the result that neither was a W. Cobb said when reciting his news­ It then: moved to the building of which stc-Od on the corner ·of Cam- paying proposition, and both papers paper experience a ht1lf century after­ Philip H. Folger and in 1833 went to bridge street and Coal Lane, until I were purchased by Edward W. Cobb ward. a buiMi~g standing on the west cor- March,· 1843, when it was discontin- l in 1845, who continued publishing The The third paper was called The ner of Main and lrederal streets, ued. ' Inquirer for ten years. Weekly Warder and it was pub1 ished where it remained but a few months, The equipment of The Islander was I After an absence from the local by William C. Starbuck ar.d edited i>y when it again moved. purchased by two young aspirants for I newspaper field of only a few mopths. Sa~uel Haynes Jenks, the former edi- This time it took up its residence Ijournalistic honors-Woodbury Brad- j John-Morissey returned to Nantucket I tor of The Inquirer. Thus the Old in a building on Union street ere~ted ford and Alexander B. Robinson-who j in 1845 and commenced the publica-1 Inquirer was agair:st stiff competition, by F. F. Hussey, but in 1836, Mr. commenced the publication of The I tion of The Weekly Mirror in opposi- with two live contemporaries and each Jenks having built a residence on Weekly Telegraph in the same build- j tion to The Inquirer, which he former- edited by one of its former editors, Union street, the office was trans- ing, in June, 1843. r3oon after the l ly published. The Mirror met with and when the "great fire'~ occurred in £erred to a small building on Coffin first publication of the weekly, they i excellent success at the start and for July, 1846, there were three newspa­ street, near the head of Commercial ------per offices doing active business in wharf. The transfer was made just Nantucket. in time to escape disaster in the This memorable conflagration de- Washington House fire, which also stroyed the . plants of both The In- destroyed the building belonging to quirer and The Mirror, but each re- Mr. Hussey, vacated by The Inquirer covered from the disaster, issuing sin- a day or two before. gle 7 x 9 sheets for several weeks The Inquirer continued to be pub~ from temporary offices. It is record- lished on Coffin street up to the yeai- ed that while the fire was at its 1841, when William A. Jenks as-, h.P.ight, the wife of Samuel Haynes Slimed control on the first of April, Jenk!':., who was a -.-,orthy helpmeet and moved the office to· the new build- I to "lim in his Pewspaper work, wrote ing of Frederick Hussey on Main an account of the conflagration, street, the paper being sold to Hiram went to the· Warder office, put it in- B. Dennis in December of the same to type, and ran off an edition telling year. Mr. Dennis continued in the brief details of the disaster. Mr. charge until August 12, 1843, when I Jenks in later years, offered large John Morissey assumed the editor- sums of money for a copy of this lit- ship. I tle sheet, but he was unable to secure In the year 1840 Nantucket's fifth one. newspaper and The Inquirer's second i The Warder, although the only one rival appeared in the role of The Isl- of the three. pape!"s which withstood ander, a purely Democratic medium the great fire of '46 unharmed, had whi~h was financed by the island but a short life~ for it was in exist- Democrats, who at that period num- ence less than two years. bered quite strong. The editor of After the fire of 1846, Edward W. The Islander was Charles C. Haze- Cobb issuerl The Inquirer from a lit- well, a young man from the Bosto"l tle school-house on Flora street, i'l Post, who afterwards won consider- the sc-uth part of the town. firially able fame for his writings. · Haze- moving to the rear part of Thomas well was a vigorous writer· and he d1d B. Paddock's store and later to Vai- yeoman's work for the Democratic entine Hussey's new brick block on party during the fierce political cam- Main street. Seven weeks after his paign which resulted in the electio.., plant had been destroyed by the of Generai Harrison to the presiden- fire, Mr. Cobb issued The Inquirer cy. During the anti-slavery troubles JOHN MORISSEY restored to its former size and ap- of the next year or two, when at- The First Editor or The Mirror. pearance. The flames had wiped . ,._,: . ..

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SAMUEL S. HUSSEY'

away all he possesed in the world, !merged it with their own publication Mirror office, immediately er.tered the j' May, 1890, when it was again moved but with the assistance of friends he I under the name of The Inquirer and opening and issued the first number \ to a building erected for its use on borrowed money enough to purchase: Mirror, under which title it survives of The Nantucket Journal (the sec- I Milk street, remaining there t.en a new equipment and on ~ugust 81, i today to celebrate the centennial of .ond, of that nam~) from the ante-) years. In October, 1900, the paper 1846, issued The Inquirer in its old I The Inquirer. / rooms of Pantheon hall ( over what is . moved to its present quarters in Fol­ familiar fol'In. That he fully real- j For ni,.e years after the union of, now Small's drug store) on the ger Block, corner of Main and Orange ized the difficult task set before him I the two papers, The Inquirer and I 26th of September, 1878. Mr. Gard- streets, where it has "resided" near- is apparent from the following para- Mirror was the only newspaper pub- Iner later removed the plant to the ly twenty-one years. . graph which appeared in that issue: lished on Nantucket. . In 1874, how-) brick block ?n ~ain street, over Jer- j For twenty years a~ter the retire- "We recommence our publishing ever, Isaac H. Folger started The I negan's penod1cal store, continuing J ment of Henry D. Robinson from the deeply involved in debt. The pro- Island Review, in the block on the i its publication as a weekly until No-1 firm, The Inquire::- and Mirror was prietor: of this paper lost his all by west corner of Main and Federal vember 23, 1899, when it was discon- published and edited by Roland B. the ~rhe., ha?d hffie has bt~en forced to dr_et- streets, running it wee.kiy for a time, tinued. · Hussev, whose effol:ts brought the p1 ems 1s o ce en ire1 y on ere 1 • • • • • • .- His real struggle is just commer.cing, then semi-weekly, at times tn-week- Samuel S. Hussey and Henry D. paper up to a high standard as a for with but little to depend upon be- !1ly, and even daily for a brief period.! Robinson continued publishing The country weekly. In July, 1907, Mr. yond the z:ecE:ipts of The Inquirer, _he I Later he moved the plant to Centre; Inquirer and Mirror until 1877, when Hussey retired from the business and }asdgof, wittm a f eh montbs, to ~is~ street, and S. Heath Rich, now editor i the former retired .. from the business , was succeeded by Arthur H. Cook and un s O ma e some eavy payrnen s. of the Brockton Enterprise, became l in favor of his son, Roland B. Hussey, l Harry B. Tun:ier, under the firm name Howev~r, ~or ten_ years E~ward V'!: associated with Mr. Folger on the: who continued the partnership with y of Cook & Turner, -the present pub- st 6 Cobb maintamed his rugg e, but m Review, ar.d they continued publish- I Mr. Robinson under the old firm name! lishers. · July, 1~55, the control of the pa~er- ing the paper until the autumn of• of Hussey & Robinson, until Septem-; The plant of The Inquirer and Mir­ passed mto the hands of John Mons- 1878, when they purchased The Ad-, ber~ 1887, when Mr. Robinson retired. j ror has gradually, but steadily, been nd nd sey . a Alexa e: P. Moore, who vance 1n Brockton, and removed some ; ln June, 1878, the newspaper plant J modernized. Prior to 1887 its press th published Th~ Inqmrer over e :firm of their equipment to that place. i was moved to the rooms on the upper was turned by means of a crank with n~me of Monssey & Moore. . At the With the field thus left open for i floor of the brick block on the east a man at the wheel laboriously turn- time of the '46 fire Mr. Monssey was ; · • · · b t · th t th ft t bli h" Th M"' d 1another newspaper, Arthur H. Gard-' corner of Mam and Orange streets, mg 1t over, u m a year e rs pu s mg e irror an as soon as j ner, a graduate of The Inquirer and where it continued publication until mechanical power was installed-a he could get a temporary p13:nt ~o- \ ______..... , one-horse keroser.e engine--and since gether he had renewed publlcat~on ! ·---· ·-·•------· ,that time numerous further improve- over the grocen: store of ~re~er1ck , ments in power have been made. A. Chase on Union street, 1ssumg a :-<-. · I In 1890 a modern cylinder press little 7 x 9 sheet until he could make ----a· was instaHed a:r:id shortly afterwards a complete recovery. an automatic folding-machine was add- In 18491 when Morissey decided to ed, and in 1902 the nrst type-setting go to California, he sold The Mirror machine on the island was installed to Samuel S. Hussey and Henry D. -a Simplex- the first issue of The Robinson, who published it over the !Inquirer and Mirror under machine firm name of Bussey & Robins :-n. composition being on the 29th of Mr. Morissey remair.ed in California Mareh. A Linotype machine was six years and it was on his retur purchased ill 1916, capable of setting home that he again entered the news- six different faces of type. The days paper field by purchasing his former , .. · of "hand composition" were then -rele- rival, The Inquirer, from Edward W. , gated to the past and for five years Cobb, ard, associated with Moore, he teach issue of The Inquirer and _Mir- eontinued its publication until 1858, ; l ror has made its appearance pnnted· when he retired. direct from "slugs." Other mf-dern After the retirement of Morissey, applianees have since been added to The Inquirer was published by Moore the mechanical equipment, the while for nearly three years, be serving as I an earnest and painsta,dng effort has_ both editor and publisher. In 1861, been made to maintain the standard however, the paper passed into the 1! of newspaper inaugurated by Joseph control of William H. Beekman as Melcher and Samuel Haynes Jenks a publisher, with Edward M. Gardner J Icentury ago. as editor. / Having had many contemporaries In the spring of 1863 Alfred M~cy ( since The Inquirer was first 1mblished assumed the editorial chair of The ) I in 1821, The Inquirer and Mir-or is Inquirer and continued there U"'ltil \ I now alone in the newst>aper field on April 1, 1865, when Hussey & Robin-/ Nantucket and is-considered one of son, of The .Mirror, purchased the., A VIEW OI-" "THE LOWER SQUARE·· IN 1870· the island's "institutions," making its The Inquirer and Mirror was at thi, tirne published in the rooms on the upper floor plant, good will, etc., of The Inquir- ! of the buildin~ on the left of this picture, over what was then the hai-ness shop ot Geor,re w~ekbl visits to every quarter of the er, from William R. Easton, and ' w. J'enks and the Union News Room. J?lobe. . l Printers' Apprentices of ing its foreman and publisher, and re­ Nantucket. maining with it until its purchase by the publishers of the Weekly Mirror, B::v ROLAND BUNKER HUSSEY. when be went to wider fields, and my latest knowledge of him was as an as­ "Give us a reminiscent article on sistant f creman for Alfred Mudge & the apprentices of Nantucket printing Sons, one of Boston's largest com­ oftic~" was the appeal made to me mercial printing establishments. one day last winter by the insatiable To return to the Weekly Mirror, we news-man of The Inquirer and Mir­ find that the late Allen Coffin was its ror. . "We want it for the centennial first apprentice under Hussey & Rob­ number of the paper for June, and inson and after leaving the island, he come to you as the one who can prob­ followed the trade in Milford, Mass., ably recall more 'devils' of long ag-o Boston and other place3, completing than any other." his career as a printer -as a proof ·· Thus. once again my pride received reader in the Government Printing a shock; for it brought me face to Office at Washington. He studied face with the fact that the news-m11n law while there employed, and at one had classed me in the list of old­ time edited a newspaper called the timers of the local printing trade-­ Washington Republican which was and as I have stirred my gray mat­ short lived. . After that he returned ter, the truth forces itself upon me to Nantucket and practised law U".ltil that he was correct. A young man his decease. to some of my fellow-townsmen, but, William Breed Drake was the next today an old-time printer and publish­ office devil, and I have always heard er. Well, Father Time is ever busy, him referred to as a person of su­ and none of us escapes. perior intelligence, who later became But I agreed to take a hand. The a publisher of a paper in Meadville, son of a local printer and publisher, PenTJsylvania~ I naturally am possessed of material Next came James H. Coffin, who for this special article none otbc:.-r upon "completing his trade," went to may be cognizant of, and if I am sue­ San Francisco and followed it a num­ cessful in presenting these memories ber of years, eve · tually returning and entertainingly, shall be content. engaging in the grocery trade with My father, the late Samuel S. Hus­ his father, under the firm rame of sey, was the first printer's apprentice ROLAND B. HUSSEY O. G. Coffin & Srn, they having erect­ I have· knowledge of. He began bis Editor and Publisher of The Inquirer and .Mirror from 1887 to 1907. ed for them the combinatio, residen­ career as errand boy in the office_ of tial and store property next ~outh the The Inquirer when 13 years of age, central fire station, Centre stre~t. and excepting a brief term ( during call, in the order of their apprentice- cis, the elder, was a fine fellow, with Next.in order was Daniel W. Farn­ which he mastered the cooper's trade) ship, were: whom the writer was brought in daily. ham, one of the velccipedes in type­ was associated with the local press Frederick Murphey ( eldest brother contact for several years in the com- setting, who later went to Providence, until bis death. of. our fellow townsman, Josia:1 l. posing room of the Boston Herald. where he followed the trade until his The late Henry D. Robinson, was Murphey), who settled in Bo::;ton, and Fat and jolly to his fellows he was decease. another apprentice of the old school, was for years connected with tht> known as "Skinny."· He died in During Mr. Farnham's term of ap­ and a· rapid and c?rrect compositor. l Herald of that city, beco_ming supe~- early manhood._ Among his etfects, prenticeship there appeared necessity He and my father, m 1849, purchast:d mtendent of the composing room m Itreasured by his son, are the follow­ for other "help," and William Mitchell The Nantucket Weekly Mirror of the the days when R. M. Pulsifer & Co.,· ing recommendations from bis em­ Bunker entered into service; and that late John Morissey, and he also \!On- Dublished that daily. Mr. Murph<>y, ployers here, given him on completion these lads determined then a..,d there tinued his active interest up to wjth- under whom the writer at one time of his three years' apprenticeship: to make their mark is attested ( or in a short time of his decease. Dur- served, was credit.ied as being re- [Copy] Inquirer Office was the last I knew) by their initials ing their partnership the stock and markable as a make-up man on the · Nantucket, October 2, 1860 carved on the frame of the scuttle on good-will of The Inquirer was bought type forms. This is to certify that the bearer of the old Mirror office (possibly it has in 1865, and the two papers mergP.d Another brother, the late Franklin this ~etter, Francis E. Folger, hais been removed in repairs that have into The Inquirer and Mirror. But B. Murphey, served an apprenticeship been m my. employ three _years! and since been made), while until very . . that I have ever found him faithful I must not go mto newspaper history, in local offices; and for years was an and trustworthy in every respect. As recently the writer had in his pos-;es­ for it is probably covered fully by the employe on the Clinton, Mass., Cour- a compositor he is correct, and -I wiU sion the screwdriver used on and present publishers in some other col- ant. After his service in the Civil recomme,.,!1 him to ~IJ of th_e fra~er:ii- about the antique Adams plate~ p!'ess umn of this centennial number. War his work "at the case" ?Tas inter- ty as a faithful and mdustr1ous young that served in his earlv appre,tice · man. Eben P. Raymond was another of mittent, and eventually he left the Alexander P. M0ore, -lays, O"l the handle of which were cut the boys of the late '20's and early trade for other pursuits. Pub. Inquirer. the initials "D. W. F." and "W. M. '30's, who in later life became owner And still another brother, the late [Copy] B." What memories mention of that and publisher of The Whalemen's Roland Murphey Barnard, got his Nantucket, May 6, 1862 rcrewclriver will recall to all who Shipping List of New Bedford---a start sticking type under tutelage of To whom it may concern: worked while that old press was in rather eccentric and blunt man, but, some of those above named, _:finally The bearer, Fra,..cis E. Folger. has service! bPen for some years in the 1>rintin4? as I recall him, of genial manners, working in New Bedford, and later office of the Nantucket Inquirer. He Mr. Bunker left here for California, upright and of sterling worth. on the -Boston Herald, where he con- is a competent mechanic, capable of via Panama, during the Civil War Roland R. Bunker is also of the list tinued until old age compelled his re- carrying on every part of the printing- period, to enter his father's employ of early days. He was among the tirement. of a newspaper. He is a quick and faithful workman, and has always on the Contra Costa Gazette, where many who went out to California, Oliver C. Hatch worked at the case given full satisfaction to his emplov- he remained but a brief time, going where he finally settled, becoming for a brief period. ers here. Depression of business in from there to San Francisco, where owner and publisher of the Martinez, Most of the above-named were em- !his _place is ~is onl~ reason for leav- he later becan,e oTle of the reportorial . f ·1 t t to . mg 1t. He 1s a native of Nantucket. Cal., G azette. H1s am1 Y wen ou ployees of The Inquirer before the Resuectfully, staff of the Bulletin of that city, be­ him during the '60's, via Panama, Mr. Weekly Mirror was started by John I E. M. G~rdner. ing their special correspondent during Bunker having been home once dur- Morissey. I will cofuplete the list Ed. Nant. Inquirer. the Modoc Irdian war. Later for a ing the time. of the Irquirer boys before taking up A brother, the late Roscius W. Fol- number of years he uublished the San The above were the real 1>atriarchs those of the Mirror, although some ger (known to "us fellers" as "Ross" Francisco Stock Report, and- subse­ of the art preservative of its c~rlie3t on the latter paper antedate them. Folger) started his career with the quently, as Hon. High Comrnissk-ner years on the island, as I knew them There are those who will recal1 •Inqui.'.-er. He died in early manhood represe.,ting the San Francisco They were followed in successive Francis E. Folger, father of "Frank," being at the time an employe of the Chamber of Commerce, went across years by a score or more of "devils," now employed by the Wa...,nacome' Police Gazette, of Boston. Russia from Vlacliovostock, and h most of whom went to wide-r fields. Water Co., and whom be typifies very William H. Beekman was the last several countries of Europe. He is Among these~ and, as near a:.; I te- closely in personal appearance. Fran- ·of the Inquirer's apprentices, becom- now living in retirement, and experi- menting with Nantucket pumpkin . -..-~- Charles T. Hall, proprietor of the seeds in soil adjacent to· the city of - ~ · · ~ ·· .· ~ ~...-::111 E\'"erett Herald. his adoption, and is the oldest living Arthur C. Wyer, now publisher of representative of the art preservative 1 a weekly paper in Delhi, N. Y. of Nantucket. I I William F. Keane, an employee of My good friend, Joseph E. C. Farn- I the New Bedford ·Times. ham, head of the firm of Snow & j Harry Cathcart, who died before he Farnham, leading commercial printers , had completed his time. of Provider.ce, R. I., is the close-up I George, r-. Swain, with the Alber­ contemporary of "Billy" Bunker, and I type Co.: New York. he spent about two years in the old ' Edgar S. Smith, an employee of the Mirror office, before his family re­ Brockton Enterprise. moved to Providence. "Joe" is stilf Andrew M. Myrick, with Wright & on the active list, and retains to a Di.tso':", Boston. wo-::derful degree a keen interest in Harry B. Turner~ editor and junior his childhood,s home. publisher of The Inquirer and Mirror, Herbert M. Dunham was an ap­ at the present time. prentice at the same time as Mr. ·tFrederick McCleave, an employe Farnham, and finally went to Provi­ of The Inquirer and Mirror as jour­ dence i 'l the employ of the Press Co. neyman, and the last representative After several yea.rs he went on the THE INQUIRER. AND MIRROR OFFICE FROM 1890 TO 1900 of the old-time apprentice system on Bosto, Transcript force, where he This building stood near ·Milk street, at tile rear- of the residence of Mrs. Ann L. Lewis. In 1900 it was removed to Steamboat wharf, where it has served a variety of uses,· the island. finally was placed in charge of the first being for flying horse;, then as a steam laundry, and now (1921) it is to be convert- "Ship News,. department, a position ed into a tea-room. Besides the above, a number ot he held up to his untimely death. ______---·-- ______. ___ .. __ .. ~- _ young ladies have worked at the case, Henry Lee Pitman was next in or- · 1 and as operators of type-setting ma- der, and he went no farther than New record is probably made elsewhere in· engaged in the meat and provision chines. They include: Bedford upon completing his time, this number. I business with his brother. Amelia Holmes (Mrs. James W. and was employed by the Standard, S. Heath· Rich, now editor of the Arthur H. Cook (one of the pres- Westgate). fl.rally becoming ship news reporter Brockto.1 Enterprise, entered the em- ent publishers) and Oliver C. Coffin, Linda Small (Mrs. James A. Bac- on that paper, and later was given ploy of Hussey & Robinson about this now of San Francisco, took their tum kus). · the post of harbor master. period (1873), not as an engaged ap- at the case, and both later went to Mamie Veeder (Mrs. Elmer ·Hall). Frederick Mitchell Coffin was next, prentice, but to procure knowledge San Francisco and became employees · Mary Smith (Mrs. Charles H. Fur- but did not cc-~ tinue long b the busi- of the printer's art. He had published of the Daily Stock Report. \ ~r). .. ness after serving his time. an amateur sheet and "knew the Charles E. Veeder; whQ went event-/ · M~bel Brown (M1. Eugene S. Bur- The writer took up the stick and c~e," an~ went_ on duty to perfect ually to Minneapolis, died in early gess). rule about a year after Mr. Coffin himself, v.:ithout idea of remunerati_on. manhood, as did George D. Coffin, who I Mabel_. Perkins (Mrs. William H. started, remaining here only one year, He remained a?out a year, gomg was contemporary with him. Jones). thence going to the Press Co.'s em- 1 h:11c~ to_ Provid~nce, Bost0n and The following .. list comprises all Lola Holdgate (Mrs. Stanley Cook). ploy in Providence, where he re- Cmc1?nat1, returnmg to . Nantucket lads who subsequently seTVed as ap- Olive C. ~ymond. mai-ed several years, going to Bos: late m 1876, when be assist~d Isaac prentices. It is possibl~ the order of *Min,,.ie Lockwood (Mrs. George to!l to take up service on The Globe H. Folger on the Island Revie~, aDd their service as given may not be ex- M. Lake). on it~ first issue, when George M. became a _partner later, going to act, as it is wholly from memory; but Maud Thomas (Mrs. Huram Macy). Ballou was publisher. He later was ~rockton W1th ~r. Folger and buy- it.is not far amiss: . Mariotte Gibbs (Mrs. Jam~s Frye). in service c-n the Boston· Herald u _ mg the Advance m 1878- When that Herbert Parker, now in the employ Beso::ie Co~•k (Mrs. William C. til returning to Nantucket to su;ce:d venture failed,. he joined forces witb of a refining company in San Francis- Brock). his father on The Inquirer and Mir- IA. H. F~ller, his prese~t part~~r. and co. tEvelyn F. Murray. ror. And as he reviews the forego-1 launch:d the Enterpnse, -~•'hlch has Sinon J. Nevins, foreman of the Viola Thomas (Mrs. Ralph I. ing, he finds that he is one of the been a success from the start- make-up room of the Boston Globe. Bartlett). three oldest living representatives of Alexander M. Myrick became an James H. Bunker, for many years tFlorinda M. Murray. the old-time printer's apprentice sys- employee about this time, but did not with the Norwood Press, but now on Employees of the office i:n other ca- tern of the island, with William M. i follow the business, later engaging· in the Boston Transcript. pacities have been Mrs. L. C. Selden. Bunker and Joseph E. C. Farnham , th: clothing trade here, ~hich he is Allison Greene, now with the Davis Lillian Murphey (Mrs. Byron E. preceding him. 1still successfully conducting. · Press of Worcester. Pease), Mrs. , W. C. Marde""', Mrs. Thomas s. Sayer, Jr., was the next! Henry Nelson Lamb was another of William F. Macy, insurance agent Lucy Eddy, Miss Ida Cathcart. Mh~ in order, who, after leaving here, I the short term employees, who later and auction~er, ~os~?n. Alice Ayers, Miss Rose Collins went to Providence in the Press Co.'s ------Charles A. Selden and Jesse Brown. employ, and later to Boston, serving .------·- • Deceased. ~= .~~.. ~d:i,~~.~ i!~!:i. ~"!'. ;~~';" "'""'--,, ;.f.".oc;_is;;,~~J', \. t Present Employees. f essi,.-n he was active, and for a time ' ··· ·· preached here i-1 his native t'.'.'wn. He The Last Nantucket "Daily." is now living in retirement in New I The last daily paper published on Bedford. · · .. , Nantucket was "The 'Sconset V:sit­ Edgar Derby followed Mr. Sayer or," issued from the Journal office a ... d later became a compositor on the durin1:? the summer of 1889. The ., - ' Boston Herald, "holding a frame" previous season "The •sconset Pump ' there u-til his death. had been issued as a daily from The "Wime" Wood T>ext appears in the Inquirer and Mirror office, but neither rr,Je of an a!)!)rentice in memory's lht, . was a paying investment, and each but of his whereabouts later in life 1 was a diminutive aff'air. I have ro knowledge. In 1873 S. Heath Rich issued an Edward McCleave, Jr., tried his amateur journal from a small hand hand at the business, but remained I press, it being a four-page sheet, 8½ only a short time on account of ill I x 12 inches, called "'rhe Magnet," tw. health. He died only a few years I columns to a page, six inches Ion'!. ago in Waltham.· Later in the 70's Fred V. Fuller, Al:­ Our fellow townsman, Arthur H. [ THE INQUIRER AND MIRROR OFFICE AT PRESENT. bert G. Brock and other young men

Gardner, was in the <'ffice at the 3ame f Situated on Orange street, at the rear or the Folger Block. This building was erect­ of that day published a little pauer time as the two p..-eeedine:, and later: ed in 1900. It is of ..ship construction... -with large ..knees .. and heavy timbers support.. called "The She·bur'le News," whicb ing the fl:u: roof. The south side of the building is glass. flourished for a brief period. For followed the bucii:riess for a time h j' Not exactly an imposing looking structure from the exterior. but inside a very con­ Boston. until his return ho,ne. when venient and well-equipped ''print-shop:• well-ligh.ti!!d and "steam-hestea:• with both gas­ an amateur journal this was a very he established the Journal, of which : oline and electric "p0wer:• creditab1e production. Looking Backward. prentice, though for some time previ- 1 ran a thin strip of metal from each setting machines were unrealized ous to leaving school I ·used to spend end of which projected an. iron, point dreams and ·we boys were often told lb AR'f!IUR H. GARDNER. much of my leisure time there after- which punctured the paper, and when that a good compositor could always I One hundred years ago the "Nan- noons (we had one sessions at the the reverse side was printed care bad get a job, because, whatever labor­ tucket Inquirer" was born and for High School) setting .type and doing to be taken that the paper was so saving things might be invented type four and twenty years held its own odd jobs "for fun." laid on as to bring the punctures over would always have to be set by hand. against all comers until the advent of The wages of an apprentice at that the points, to insure register. As it Could Messrs. Hussey & Robinson the_ "Weekly Mirror" in 1845. Mean- time were $50 the first year, $75 the received the paper the frisket was step into the Inquirer and Mirror of­ time various publications had made second and $100 the third, and the drawn under the platen, the iron bed fice today and witness its Linotype their• entrance on and exit from the waiting list was always full In on which the forms of type rested machine in operation, not only setting field of local journalism, but like the fact, I worked for nothing the first was forced upward., giving the im- type but casting each letter as used, . Jnquirer the Mirror had come to six months to gain a foothold, there pression, then settled down again and what would they say! I can almost stay d for the next twenty years being no vacancy until the following the paper returned l;o the feeder, who hear the former repeating his favorite the ;;-: pursued their separate ways April,_ when my_ wages bega_n- . . lifted it off and replaced it with a quotation: "There a-re more things a:long parallel lines undisturbed by I Besides ~ttin~ and distrib~g fresh sheet. . in heaven and earth, Horatio, than additional competition. type, runnmg Job press, was~g As one sheet passed under the are dreamed of in thy philosophy." With the close of the Civil war the forms and rollers and other details platen another was returned to the The rollers then used were east in Mirror which had steadily strength- incident to a country newspaper office, feeder at the opposite end, thus al- the office, and not as now ordered ened ~ts hold on the community we boys had to bring ~rom a distant ternating throughout the edition. The ready for use. The casting of a bough: out and absorbed its older ri~ pump all the water used in the office, purpose of the frisket, in addition to roller was quite an event. The "core" val and on April lst, 1865, the twain build fires, sweep out! run errands, serving as a "carrier'' for t1:ie paper, of the discarded roller was stripped became one and inseparable the iden- etc. As an offset, however, we had was to prevent its adhering to the of its covering, cleaned and wound t·ty1 of ea h being perpetuated by free tickets to all the local e'1tertain- forms, which were inked by rollers around with wicking, then stood on bin. g ~he names of both. As ments and travelling shows that came passing to and fro across them, and end in the centre of an iron mould :: "Inm uirer and Mirror" the con- to town-not a few in those days. its strings were designed to run be- into which was poured the melted solidatei publication has enjoyed an In the composition of the paper the tween the column rules and type. composition. This was allowed to undisturbed monopoly for thirty of reading matter was set in leaded This required most careful adjust- stand a day or two to cool, then the fifty-five years that have since bourgeoise, communications in min- J m:nt and ~nstant watchfulness, tn forced from the mould by pressure elapsed. ------spite of whi~h they woul~, f~~ently on one end and how anxiously it was My earliest recollection of these lo- Photo by Boyer. i.. get out of alignment and bite upon scanned as it emerged. If poured cal papers antedates their union sev- the c~iumn rules .or letters. How too quickly or conditions were not era.I years Our fa~ily "took" the vividly, I recall that familiar exclam- just right, ''blisters" formed 0'1 the Mirror some. of our neighbors the•I a tion. . "H0 Id up.' String , s b.tii ng. ' surface or other imperfections devel- lnq~r-the majority neither, but l Sa~'l, t~t screw-driver!" Before oped which necessitated re-casti~g. borrowed impartially. How well I ! bemg pnn~d !he paper ~as da~p Roller composition was made from remember the weekly visits of the I ened by spnnkbng each quire, placm? glue and molasses and was furnished Mirror when damp from the press the lot between boards under heavy in bulk by the manufacturers. This it was' thro~ in the door I would weights and allowing it to sweat for was cut into small cubes, water added hold it to my face and i~hale the several days. This materi=3lly added and the mass boiled down to the prop- pungent odor of printers' ink· and to the clearness of the prmt. _The er consistency. In the earlier days later when I had so far master;d the outside (first and fourth) pages were of the Inquirer each printint:r office mdiments of reading as to be able to u~ually printed Tuesd~y and the in• manufactured its own composition decipher· easy sentences and familiar , side or news pages Fnday afternoo"'. from the raw material. names and was possessed with a con- : The motive power was furnished by When I worked in the Inquirer and sumin~ desire to see my own in print, i a huge iron fly-wheel 6 feet in diame- Mirror office· a number of subscribers my grandfather gravely assured me i ter turned by hand, which during my paid in "truck." One old colored that my name would probably appear l apprenticeship ar.d for some time be man-Wesley Berry, I think-used to in the paper twice at least-when I ! fore and after, was operated by bring each of the proprietors a load was married and when I died. One- ! Charles Henry Chase. It was a te of peat annually, while all kinds of half the prophecy has been fulfilled, I dious and exhaustive job for one mar. farm produce and merchandise from but my juvenile ambition has long I and we boys used to frequently lend quintals of salt fish to dry goods were since waned. Ia hand to ease the s~in ~n the mar exehanged for receipted subscription My association with the Inquirer I a~. the wheel. Facmg him, as WE> bills. Even the office paste was fur- and Mirror dates back little more , gnpped the handle bar, brought the ;nished weekly for years by one good than half the century whose comple- Iturning toward instead of from U? · lady which cancelled her subscription tfon this issue commemorates. As I and it didn't take long to get winded:· with~ut the necessity for book-ke.ep- apprentice, reporter, correspondent, ARTHUR H. GARDNER I Following Mr. Chase, John~ Cath ing on either side. competitor and patron, I ha:Ve been ------cart and his son Charles B. t~gether The Inquirer a-rd Mirror office dur­ brought more or less closely m touch ion advertisements ( other than dis- I tackled the wheel for a while, but ing my apprenticeship and for many with its mechanical and_ literary_ ~e- pla~), poetry and ship news in solid J soon gave it up af\d were succeeder. years before and after was located in pan:ments under succeeding admmis- . nonpareil. We had never heard of 1by A!exande~ M. Chase, who stuck to the. upper story of what is now the trations. • . the "point" system as a standard of I the Job until. after the office was Wannacomet Water Co. building on _ In fact, my ea_rly adoption of pn~t- measurement in those aays. Twelve Imoved u~ Mam street, over E. ~· lower Main street, then two separate ~ng _as _a profession dates from a t~v- lines of leaded bourgeoise or eighteen Lawrence s s:°re:o. a new press »ut_ in buildings with f!'able ends to the 1al 1~c1dent when a school-boy, wh!eh of solid nonpareil made a stickful, and. an engme mstalled to furnish street. Now both a-re merged in one possibly shaped my whole after life. which was dumped on wooden galleys motive power. and covered with a single A-pitch Picking up the Inquirer and Mirror as set. The methods and materials em- roof. The lower story of the west­ one day I tui::ned it upside down a_"".d The paper was printed on a double- ployed were crude and primitive com- ern one was occupied as a harness cal~ed attention to the _ea~e with ender Adams bed and platen press, pared to those in vogue today. I maker's shop 'by George W. Jenks, which I could read the pnnting bot- bought some years before from the don't think I ever saw an iron shoot- later succeeded by Obed G. Smith; tom upward. My mother remarked New Bedford Standard-a crude. inf!' stick, a metal quoin or a brass the east one (J. K. Ayers' -plumbinf!' that she believ~ that was how print- cumbersome machine, but a great galley until I worked abroad. All were establishment) by the Uni"n News ers.had to ;ead type. In the _conver- improvement over the old Franklin of wood. The proofs were taken with 1 Roem conducted by Joseph S. Swain., sati0n which followed my 11:t!i:est hand press operated by a levert and mallet and planer, the pa-pers folded Here the principal daily paners of was a:0~ and led to !11Y VlSit,:ng which was still used for posters and by hand, and the mail wrappers ad- i Boston, New Yo-rk~ New Bedfordt the the pnnting 0.f!ice from time to time big jobs. At either end of the press dressed with. pen and ink. None of j local paper and several ('f its ex­ ~hen opportum~ offered and watch- 1 and diagc-nally opposite stood the the many labor-saving devices so com- : chanj?es were ke'Pt on file. The mg the proceedmgs. Pretty soon I pressman. There was no easy "'eed- mon today was in evidence. l room was maintained by subscrintion "learned the case," and I was a proud ing,'' as with the modern cvlind'.'.'r Books and pamphlets were stitched • and hither merchants. b1,siness men boy when. I was allowed to set U'D press. Each paper· had to be lairl with needle and thread, af\d when too and other -patrons resorted daily for my ~~t lm~ · of type and afterwards carefully upoTl a frisket, so-called-a thick to force the needle through their news from abroad. There were saw it m pnnt. frame with strine:s ronni11e: parallel holes we-re pricked with an awl. All Pot so many metropolitan newspapers In the fall of 1871 I entered the the width af a column aparj;. paper-cutting and trimminl? was done taken in those days as now. , Inquirer and Mirror office as an ap- Through the eentre of the frisket with a knife and straight edge. Type- Here also hung ''a slate" with pe-q.- cil attached for jotting down daily stick for th~ Y8:rd stic_k and entered I So f~r these reminiscences have Ithem in after life· the ~armest re­ items of local interest, such as deaths, the mercantile profession. I dealt with the office, employees and gard and respect. So w~th the com­ marine news, accidents, weather con- · S. Heath Rich of the Brockton En-1 ~urroundings. . Now a word regard- i munity at large and in financial _cir­ ditions, etc.-a sort of public diary terprise, "Sine" Nevins of the Bos- I .ng the propnetors. In 1849 the, cles the name of Hussey & Robinson which anyone was privileged to in- J ton Globe, Arthur H. Cook of the IWeekly Mirror was purchased by j stood pre-eminent for good citizen­ spect or add to. "What's on the slate Inquirer and Mirror, Oliver C. Coffin Samuel S. Hussey and Henry D. Rob- l ship and business probity. today?" was a common greeting r.ow of San Francisco, and "Will" I ir.son, both former employes, and as j In after years, when publishing a among neighbors and acquaintances. Macy I recall as "serving time" at a I previously noted they absorbed tbt:, local paper myself and brought more On the extreme east side was par- _later period, for when not otherwise ' Inquirer in 1865. Mr. Hussey had l or less in competition with the ln- titioned off a narrow stairway leading employed, I always had a propensity learned a cooper's trade, but late?- : quirer a:r.J Mirror, and sometimes to the printing office above. Running for"hangiz_ig_ round"the printing o~ce. took up . printing an~ fol~owed . it j differing widely from it on questions up the left hand side was stretched No remm1scences of the Inquirer• through hfe. Mr. Robinsons earlier of public policy or local issues, there a knotted rope with a Turks head and Mirror during the '70's would be I pursuits were of a clerical, rather never was a shadow fell athwart worked in either end, to aid in mount- cc-mplete with Billy Clark left out. than mechanical nature before en- the personal friendship between my ing the stairs to the sanctum. IHe was in his prime at . that _period gaging in printing. Both were men former employers and myself. In In front of the building was con- and always very much m evidence. of sterling character, marked individ- fact, it came to my knowledge later gregated daily a group of teamsters, A printing office possessed an espec- uality and the soul of honor, who that before the first edition of my pa­ their tip-carts lined up near the side- ial attraction for him. He early from the outset indelibly stamped up- per was issued Mr. Robi .• son, being walk subject to call. learned to set type in the old Inquir- on their publication the seal of their in Boston, called at one of the large As stated above, the upper stories er office and was a walking bulletin personality which still lingers. Of paper warehouses and voluntarily c-f both buildings were occupied by of current events. From the tower pleasing address, they differed mate- vouched for mv credit and reliability, the printing office, and were connect- he daily heralded the approach of rially in characteristics. Mr. Hus- which was a great help at that time ed . by a doorway cut through the the steamer and sighted and reported sey was of jovial disposition, a good. for one in mv nosition from cne in his. west room being devoted exclu;ively ve~sels in distress around the· island, story teller; fond of a joke and slow Some yea~ -later when their press to job wcrk ar.d the remainder util- while h his daily rambles through to anger. Mr. Robinson was sedate was disabled it was my privilege fa ized as press roo"ll, composing room the to~m he picked up a budget of gentlemanly, well-groomed, inclined tender them the use of mine. Their and editorial sanctum. current events which his eagerness to. to_ be nervous ~nd quick-tempered, forms were locked in my chases, During the time I worked in the impart rendered him a valuable as- but as quick to recover from any "ac- brought over to my press room and Inquirer and Mirrcr office neither of set to any newspaper office. And he cidental lapse." one edition of the Inquirer and Mir­ the proprietors wrote much for the distributed his favors impartially. Mr. Hussey smoked a clay-pipe in ror printed in my office. And so my paper beyond occasional local items, During the twenty years and more the office, rolled up his sleeves, at- 21 years of journalism contemporary though both could wield the pen with I was publishing the Journal he was tended to job work and the mechan- with the Inquirer and. Mirror were facility if occasion called. The edi- just as eager and elated to furnish ical department in general. Mr. fraught with interchange of frater­ tcrials were written by William Hus- a news "scoop" to one paper as the Robinson didn't smoke, kept his nal courtesies which begat pleasant sey Macy, Esq., who also furnished other, and assumed as his special sleeves rolled down, set the ship news, relations at the- time and pleasant rec­ much miscellaneous matter, frequent- pro_vir.ce to fc.ld papers and do up_ the Ipo~try, death~, marriages and other ollections in future. I ly over a nom-de-plume. Rev. Fer- mail for both offices. Poor Billy! . sobd nonpareil, kept the books, ad- I commenced this article with the dinand C. Ewer I recall as an occas- H~ wore ~imself out' prematurely.] dressed wrappers an~ . att~nded to statement that my association with ior.al correspordent. He contribu- His conspicuous weakness was a Icorrespondence and wntmg m gene:- the Inquirer and Mirror covered a ted at one time a. series of ger.ealogi- craving for notoriety and. for many al.. ~ He was a fine penman. and his pe1:iod of more than fifty years in cal articles over the signature "D:cy:- . years he filled many parts m the pub- writmg attracted general notice. . various relations from <;>ffice boy to as-Dust," and so I considered them! lie eye from newsboy to town crier, Both were kind and considerate patron. Let me make good the last at the time, but viewed from the and· public factctem until he broke toward the boys in their employ and point by the statement that I was the changed perspective that cc-mes with down and faded away. Requiescat the scor~s of ~?YS who :1"aduated un- first subscriber to the Inquirer and maturer years I T'OW cherish them as in pace. der their tmtion chenshed toward 1Mirror under its present manage- a most valued addition to my literary ------. ------. -- - - ment, as-its books will show. When collections. =""=- ~...,,...,==""' ~:::;;;;;;;..:~:=.'..:in::1 I discortinued publication several of Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Hon. my exchanges voluntarily continued William R. · Easto'l"l, Dr. Arthur E. to send me their papers for longer Jenks, William C. Folger, Esq., "Na-i- or sherter periods-the Inquir~r and tucket Jr.," Frederick C. Sanford, Mirror longest of all. After a time Joseph S. Barney, Rev. S. D. Hosmer, 1 I protested and tendered the subscrip- George Howland Folger, and many I tion fee, but was very courteously others I recall as occasional contribu-1 I "turned down" and my money sent tors nearly all of whom have passed back. The advent of the present to the great beyond. management of course terminated The first boy to learn the trade previous relations and I hastened to with Hussey & Robinson when they again tender my subscription, which assumed charge of the Weekly Mir- I was assured was the first one re- ror, as- I have often heard them ceived by them. state, was the late Allen Coffin, who Today marks th~ centennial anni- prior to entering the legal prr.fession, versary of the birth of the Inquirer- published papers in Meadville, Pa., this year the semi-cente"1nial of my Charleston, S. C., and elsewhere a11d induction into the mysteries and call- was later emploved in the Govern- ing of the art preservative. The ment printirg office at Washingto"1. period spent in the office of the In- Of the apprentices who immediate- quirer and Mirror was one of the hap- ly preceded me in the early '70's I re- piest of· my life and the recommenda- call but two now living--Rola..,d B. , tion si~ed "Hussey & Robinson" Hussey, who in later years succeed- ! comrne,.,ding me to the favorable con- ed his father as proprietor, a11d Thom- i 'sideration of the craft a most treas- as S. Sayer, who subsequently studied I ured document. for the ministry and is now a Baptist I Though my later years have been clergyman in New Bedford. Of/ I spent in other pursuits, and through those now living who served with me I I the kindness and forbearance of the I have lost track of all save Alexan- ! I good peo!)le of Nantucket I have been der M. · Myrick, well ·1cnown to the! permitted to hold various official posi- present generation as one of Nan- i tio-,is of honor and trust. no title that tucket's leading clothing- merchants. 1 ==--- attaches appeals to me more than the "Zander" was the most rapid and ! Corner of Main and Oran!?e streets fifty years ago. Note the size of the elm tree; 1 OT'e I earned nearlv fiftv years ag-o best all-round type-setter I ever; :it that time. Store on the corner was occupied by Henry P. Olin, dealer in boots and I when I graduated from the Inquirer shoes. Next was a .:lothin~ store kept by Henry C. Burdick and further along was Craw• • k · 1 ffi • l d • new and a first-class compositor i, f o rd" s b arbe r-s h o!). I n the d oor-way s tands Alex and er B . R o b"1nson, w h o manufa c tured 11.n- and Mirror o ce, entit e to sign my- 1 1VaS lost to the "art · preservative" ; en coats where Stuart. the Tailor, is now located. The corner building is owned by E. A. 1 self when he exchanged the composing l Lawrence and the corner store is now occupied by E A. Lawrence & Co. j Arthur H. Gardner, Printer. ...

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. ~ .. • •w'.'

ROUNDING CROSS RIP ON A SUMMER'S SEA.

COAST GUARD CUTTER "ACUSHNET'' BREAKING UP THE ICE IN NANTUCKET HARBOR DURING A "FREEZE-UP/' The Acushnet was built in 1908 especially for work in Nantucket and Vineyard sounds. She is 152 feet long, 29 feet beam, and of 769 tons displacement. Historic "Oldest House" One I .------''------;------, in the way of smaller fire-places, aml of Island's Land-marks. (· the covering of some of the beams of Two hundred and thirty-five years ~,~-...;... •the ceilings; these have been restoreu, ago Jethro Coffin and Mary Gardner or partially so, to the original plah, were :married in the square-framed ; within a few years, showing how the structure standing just back from the , ! walls and ceilings were intersected brow of Sunset Hill, which for sev- i ,and bisected with beams of various eral generations has been known as I .dimensions in the olden days. "The Oldest House" on Nantucket isl- i The stor.)7' of the Indian closet had and. This house was built for the I been zealously· guarded from my yow1g couple and they were its first knowledge, till one day a schoolmate occupar1ts. Traditi.on says that John said: "I wouldn't sleep in that Gardner, the father of Mary, gave the house, 'cause an Indian fell through land, and that Peter Coffin, the father I §~~ the floor there in the night!" Open- of Jethro, gave the lumber of which . =m::oirt-..-r.- eyed, I went home for enlightenment, the house was built, the home being I only to be told in a very matter-of- 1 prepared for Jethro and Mary as a I )f~t manner that it had happened wedding gift. In it they took up I , years and years ago, and there were their abode in 1686, and in it their I /no Indians now. Still I'm very posi- children were born. i tive that for many a night after, At that time there were but about I there were more Indians to a square thirty houses standing on Nantucket, I inch in that room than there are mi- and the Jethro Coffin house surpassed · i crobes in the most crowded tenement all others. The lumber was brought i :section of New York city today. from New Hampshire in one of John ! But the garret, yes, the garret ( not Gardner's own vessels and the bricks l : the modern attic) was my stronghold; which V:ere used in making the fa- I: ======'---'= ----=--=---- ;with its old sea chest, its spinning mous "horse-shc,e', chimney were . wheels, its rafters hung with herbs, J b-r'>ught over from England as ballast I THE OLDEST HOUSE ON NANTUCKET. and all the paraphernalia of the old- iu the Nantucket ships. The frame- I Built in !686. Photo taken in 1863. ! time garret. I here held undisputed work of the house was built very I------, j sway from the days of soap ~ubbles heavy, and its timbers, stiffened by l George and Mary Turner were the: person born in the "Oldest House." Iand paper dolls to a later day when ship's knees, still bear true evidence i last to rear ·their family in the old ; Of her girlhood memories she writes: l I sought its quiet_ to study my lessons of the quality of the material and ,of i manse. They came into possession : "My very earliest recollection of I of Caesar and .. Cicero. the careful workmanship which en- I of the property in 1841 and lived there : any incident connected with the 'Old- I It was but a year .ago that a school­ tered into its construction. I winter and summer until 1863-the i est House' was the morning after the l mate asked me if I remembered when The sills of the house were laid due / last year the old place .was used as i big fire of ,46, which swept the busi- II lost her rubber ball between the east and west by the compass, that j a permanent residence. Iness centre of the town. Every Iwalls, and offered her, as hostage, my it might front to the south without l The above illustration is from one I available spot, both inside and out- / very best paper doll, resplendent in a hair's variation, and for over t~o [ of the old stereoscopic views which I side, was covered with household I the glory of. its silver and gold dress. ce,.,turies it has stood there, its ex.::: are familiar to all Nantucket families. Igoods, deposited there by families: Oriy too well did I remember how the terior at one time so badly ravaged! It shows the Jethro Coffin house as i who had been compelled to :flee before/ ball balanced for~ moment, then .the by wind and storm that the old build- I it was when last occupied, with ' the flames. They tell me it is but thump, thump, as it descended beyond ing seemed destined to total destruc- f George Turner seated in the chair at! imagination on my part, but I insist hope of recall, and I realized that it tion unless stayed by the hand of . the southeast corner, his wife Mary I that I distinctly remember my father was indeed gone. man. , starding in the open door-way, with: holding me up to the little window: Thus might I go on, waking the Abardr,ned as uninhabitable as a her gingham apron on and three of ! near the front door to see the church / by-gone memories, but only a brief permanent dwelling in 1863, "The , their neighbors "posing" in, the pie- i steeple as it fell. An aunt of mine j word was requested of me, so I go Oldest House" no longer appealed to ture with them. A few years later lost her home, and that all the fine I down the narrow stairs, pausing for manki ·· d, a.nd for a number of years . the house was abandoned and soon be- playthings of her daughter had be~n I just one little look into each room it was looked upon as an "eye-sore,", came a place c-f desolation, from destroyed, was, to my childish eyes,: as I passed, then casting one longing, with its shingles tearing off in every. which it was happily resurrected forty the maximum calamity of the night's! lingering look behind, I step across gale, and the boards even leaving its ye?rs ago, to become one of Nan- , work. l the old threshold and drop the latch rr-ofs at times. However, sentiment tucket's most prominent landmarks. . In my girlhood days, there had been Iof the door of. my girlhood's home­ and historic associations finally re- i Mrs. Amelia (Turner) Cushman,' some few changes in the interior of: the silent, deserted, weather-beate1' 1 suited in its purchase, in 1881, for I r.ow living in Brockton, was the last the house, from the original design, sentinel· of Sunset Hill." the sole purpose of preservation as I ______.__ .. . ___ --··-- ' orie of the real historic landmarks of -~ .. _ ... ___ ... ____ _ 1 i~~1t~~:/~:1~~ ! ... ·· · ·...... ,..,. ... _ . '!,i':1g\(.£½.r . \, _,~; ing as nearly as possible to its origi- "·'· · . .\ .. 7 ~ /<:.,, ... · · ·· .,. :·,. c~:di!;~n.buil!i:~ r;::ii-:10:~;P;;; i ... •· ~\:. :ri}7-~i \:.~.,/ ));-:f:~¥)[t~\. ~=~. t : ...... -.,..,.::,;._, ... ,_. • ·,· _·.· ,. eleven years and it was not until the'. -;:.-.:: ___ :;_:·;.;:-:-7 '\(';'.:.~~t::~; summer of 1897 that its present own- • er decided to ope'l it to sight-seers. i As "The Oldest House" on Nan-·: tucket island, it now appeals strong- l Iv to the summer visitors, who find i11 i the legends, romances and associ- : ations whlch hover about its interior, I a verv• entertainin

8; at this time they were not in_ gen- 1 sent from a ship then fitting, for a mill now owned by F. A. Chase, which Nantucket's Manufactures as eral use, if used at all, in this coun- side of half-tanned leather, to one of stands near New lane, and had for Reviewed in 1872. try. He continued the manufacture those yards, returned and reported he miller a Mr. Mowry. This mill and In the absence of any writte:1 his- of them on Pine street several years could not find any that was a quarter four similar ones for long years were tory of the manufactures of our isl- subsequent to the year 1800. tanned. •~ in full blow when the wind blew; now and accuracy in relation to amount A duck factory was· established by The first steam mill, we think, ever we have only two.:j: ·and periods at which the various Joseph Chase, James Barker and in operation ~n this island, was es- In our boyhood, the western mill of manufactures were established, is out others in 1792 or 3, and carried on I tablished on the North beach by the four in range was Benjamin of the question. The following is six or seven years in a two-story I Daniel Mitchell as early as 1832 r-r Whippey's; the second to the east wa~ from the tablets of memory, chiefly building which stood on the site l 3, for the manufacture of candle Uriah Bunker's. Both gentleme 1 of the writer's, and hence imperfec- where the mansion house of the late ! boxes, and successfully carried on for i had commanded whaleships and both tion will attend our efforts to contrib- Zenas Coffin now stands. The flax: several years; and subsequently an- stood in high repute and had each a ute in some small measure, matter to was spun in the second story by fe-1 other on a more extensive scale was competency, but were very industrious swell the -pages of our as yet unwrit- males, and woven . by males in the f built on the South beach by Levi Star- men. The third was Barnabas Bun­ ten and much-desired history. Es- first. The fabric produced was not buck, and operated by him and his ker's, a good citizen and famous for tablishments for the manufacture of of a desirable quality; it was of a son Obed, for the manufacture of his town meeti.,g speech, 'Piers or no sperm oil and candles were probably dark color, and easily took mildew. casks, candle boxes, grain grinding, Piers.' The fourth or ea.stern mill

the first put into operation in the an- For many years we had a twine J and the planing of boards, and con- was Timothy Swain's, a worthy old nals of Nantucket. When, subse- factory in successful operation, which tinued until the general decline of gentleman." quently, the manufacture of wha~e fabricated an excellent article. A business tied up its whistle. In and elephant oils were added, and woolen factory was established by 1834, a silk factory was erected on Notes. the number of manufactories were in- Obed Mitchell on the New North Gay street by Aaron.Mitchell, as prin- * The Friends' meeting-house re- f erred to in this article as '~the straw creased to thirty-six, the greatest wharf during the war of 1812, and cipal, and silks of a superior quality works ,, later. became the Atlantic number in operation at any one time, continued until 1818. Two hundred were manufactured for several years, Hall ~nd in 1883 the building was the annual product of these institu- persons were employed. The amount and to a considerable amount. Charles mov~d to Brant point, where it be- tions must have reached from one to of goods produced by this enterprise P. Crane was superintendent. came the central -portion of the Nan- h tucket · Hotel. In December, 1905, one and one-half millions of dollars. we know not of; we only know t at The Friends' meeting house on Main. the building was purchased by the lo- The manufacture of such large Mr. Mitchell paid for the ship Two I street was purchased in 1852, and cal order of Red Men and moved to quantities of oils, and the fitting of Brothers, which he purchased in 1818. fitted for working straw, and between a site on South Water street, where so many ships, ninety the greatest with woolen goods of his own manu- two and three hundred females were it is now a lodge room, dance hall and number at one period, besides many facture. Quite extensive salt wc-rkc; employed thereat. The superinten- moving picture theatre· smaller craft, inv_ olved the manufac- 'ftY'.e""e also erected by Mr. Mitchell dent, Mr. Alden, of Foxboro. carried t This shoe factory (known as the " ... West Grammar School) was . de- ture of casks, packages for candles, during the 1812 war, on Quaise point, this, to us, valuable institution, sue- stroved by fire ·on the 3rd of August, boats, iron work on an extensive and, previous to that period, Joh 1 cessfully on for four or five years, 1873. · scale, duck into sails, cordage, aggre- · and Perez Jenkins had salt works on and the:ri a new arrangement was ± This was known as the "Round­ gating in amount at· least one hun- Brant point. The humidity of our made. Almon T. Mowry has unde1 top Mill." . It was taken down ::a dred and sixty thousand dollars an- atmosphere was ascertained by these his superintendence at the present 1873-the year after this article was written by Mr. Easton. nually. We think the amount is not experiments not to be well suited to time a hundred and thirty females over-stated when we consider that the successful manufacture of salt. sewing straw at their residences. This Gas in 1854. Electricity in 1889. white oak casks, equalling at least We also had, during the· war of taking straw home is very convenient. fifty thousand barrels, turned out 1812, and for several years after, a The sewing is a neat employment, The "gas works" was erected in from some twenty-two·coopers' shops,. large brush and bellows factory on and a very advantageous one to this 1854, the stores on Main street being iron work from more than half as Academy Hill, owned by Paul Gard- community.* lighted for the first time with gas many blacksmiths, thirty-five thous- ner & Sons; we should judge that I should have p~~viously said that on the evening of November 22. and candle boxes, from eighty to one Iquite an extensive business was done composition nails and spikes, from a Electric lights were first introduced hundred whale boats, some fifteen at this mill. The articles ma -le there very early period, were made on the in Nantucket in 1889, the current be­ hundred bolts of duck, wrought into were of a good quality; many of the island and in 1821 a brass foundry ing turned on Saturday evening. Aug­ sails, etc., were the yearly require- brushes are now in being, and arz was put in full blast on the South ust 17th. The first places lighted ments, chie~y, · of the principal busi- treasured as precious relics of the in- beach by Macy & Field, and subse­ were the hotels Nantucket, Spring­ ness of this isolated community. I teresting past. We can obtain n" quently carried on for many years field and Veranda. The Congrega­ tional church was lighted the follow­ The greatest number of rope-walks I information in relation to the num- with great success by Edward and in operation at any one time was_ ten, ber of operatives, or the amount of Benjamin Field. In 1859, a boot and ing evening. In 1893 the town vo­ where nearly all the cordage used by capital invested. Daniel Austin was shoe factory was started. upon a new ted to light the streets by electricity. the whaling fleet ~nd other ~essels superintendent, and Edward Mitchel1 principle, with a salaried manager. was made, until Winslow Lewis put Iwas book-keeper, who, during the last It had been but a short time in oper- . · The Town Clock. into . market his patent cordage, and : :fifteen or twenty years of his quiet ation when the rebellious war came The first "town clock" was placed from that time ~heir decl~ne com- and exemplary life in the drug and upon the country, and all was lost. Iin service. in Nantucket in 1823, in menced and continued, until not a .stationery business, in the 'Lodge A new company, Messrs. Mitchell the tower of the South Congrega­ vestige of them ~s l_eft; even the out- Building,' accumulated and left a snug & Hayden, have the past year pur- tional church buildin~ (Unitarian). door cod-line spinning of the Dows, little fortune of some $20,000. Isaac chased the West Grammar school- It was built on the island and re­ on the cliff, has surrendered to health Austin and Alexander Clark were su- house, with its ample grouTids, with a mained in service until replaced by and pleasure-seeking gentlemen from perintendents at different periods of capital of ten thou.sand dollars. and a the present clock in 1881. The lat­ abroad, who have purchased those de- the woolen factory of Obed Mitchell. force of forty-five persons. are mar- ter was a gift to the town from Wil­ ligh'tful, airy sites fo: the future An incident may be stated which keting products in the ratio . of sev- liam Hadwen Starbuck and was first erection _of summer r~siden~es. • greatly assists in showing the exte~t enty-five thousand dollars per annum. set in motion on the 28th of May, A ~lhng and _coloring mill was m of our manufactures and oil trades__ m May success attend their efforts and 1881. operation on the island as early as the years past. We had a coastwise laudable enterprise.t I ------. year 1772, and conducted ~Y a Scot~h- trade and not only coastwise, but l Previous to 1811, Daniel Barney Upper Main street was paved with th man by the name of Nichols, wi coastwide, for it extended from Port- l.manufactured blocks and pumps by Ivitrified brick in 1902. .-'.'-: . ::, ). .-~: ·.. :.;: ::t ::•· .· . . ::-·· : . . .. \' ;~--·./;i

THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S BUILDING AND "THE QUAKER MEETING-HOUSE." The Old Friends' Meeting-house on Fair street, owned by the Nantucket Histcrical Association, and the Association's fire-proof building adjoinirig. The original Fair street meeting-house was erected in 1~33 and stood to the south of the present buil

Hezediah Coffin Judith (Coffin) Folger. TWO NANTUCKETERS OF THE "OLD SCHOOL." The First Steamboat Crossed . the project having been started by I Nantucket Sound in 1818. ! New Bedford capitalists. The "Ham- i ! ilton" was even more of a failure l Eleven years after Robert Fulton ha h "Ea I ,, be" bl to I proved the practicability and feasibil- I t n t e g e, m~ una e i ity of navigation by steam, the island Im~ke any ~eadway against a h~d i of Nantucket was enjoying steamboat Iwmd or tide, and the~~ore ab.e ; service· wi·th the ma· inland ~.1.or the to travel only when conditions. were ,• first time. Nantucket was then one Ifavorable. She was_ a _craft of only: of the leading ports on the coast and fi!ty tons and the _pnncipal fuel was'. 1·t was· 1n· 1·me wit"h the progress1•v e oil barrels, of which Nantucket. and,. spin· ·t . of the is· la n d ers that the l"ttle1 New Bedford could• each furnish a:, steamer "Eagle" was built to op- gene~us amount ~ those days. The "Hamilton's" service was eve:i short- erate across Nantucket sound onl Y a ban h "E , ,, h la .-L t · few months after thefirst steamboat er t t e ag1 e s, er s.. rip had b een seen m· B ost on har bor. Who being made in August, 1828. the promoters of this first steamboat It re~ained for Jacob Barker, the project were is not knowr..-that much famous mercbant---who, by the way, of the first venture bas been lost to assisted Robert Fulton in his earlier She was of 308 tons, 161 feet long •, and Home" made for herself was with history-but it is safe to state that proJect, im1>orting from London the and 23 feet beam, and, with the "Tele- Capt. Nathan Manter at the helm, and they were men closely allied with first steam e"gine used in the propul- graph," became prominent in wreck- j the name .of the boat and her genial N'antucket. sion of vessels-to inaugurate the j ing operations around Nantucket isl- skipper will long live in the memory The "Eagle" was an awkward little first successful steamboat line across and, as well as in the operation of of all Nantucketers. The old steam­ 1 boat of eighty tons and was built at Nantucket sound. Barker was of regular passenger and freight service er, with her bluff but good-natured New Lor.don, Ct., making her first ·Nanru_cket l!neage and dee~ly inter- between the island and the mainland. skipper, fought many a battle with trip over to Nantucket on the 5th of es~d m the island, a ... d firm m the be- In those days, "tugs" were unknown the elements, weathered many a gale, May, 1818. For several months she lie: that a suitable steam~r would re- and it was expected t-:iat the island butted many an ice-field, and ":on made trips between the island a-d ce1ve the sunport of the islanders, he steamers were to go to vessels more laurels than any craft which New Bedford ard on the 30th of .Tulv, had the "Ma.,.co Bozzaris" built and wrecked or in distress, abandoning ever traversed Nantucket sound. She made a "record" of eight hours and! placed her in service in Anril, 1829, 1 their regular service at such times, ended her days as a coal barge, being seven minutes for the passa~e. . The under comyy,and of his nephew, Capt. the proceeds from such exploits often sold by the local steamboat line in "Eagle" was 92 feet lo..,e-. 17.8 feet Edward H. Barker. netting ,the owners of the steamers 1895. beam and was equipped with two cop-. The "Marco Bozzaris" proved the immense sums of money in salvage. In July, 1858--having outlived per boilers, burning wood for fuel. j marked f~resight of Jacob Barker, The year after the "Massachusetts" their usefulness on the island route came in service, in 1843, the passen- -the steamers "Telegraph" and ger travel had increased to such an "Massachusetts" left Nantucket for , extent that the company was oper- good, the "Massachusetts" towing the ating both the "Telegraph" and "Telegr.aph," both boats having been I"Massachusetts," the former going to sold to New Jersey parties. What IWoods Hole and the latter to New Ibecame of the "Telegraph" is not Bedford. This scheme proved to be known, but it is presumed she went Ia losing venture and the "Telegraph" to the junk-heap. The "Massachu- 1 was thereafter used only as a spare setts," however, was rebuilt and un­ i boat. . der the name of the "John D. W. Some of the wrecking operations Pentz" saw service during the Civil Iof the old steamers were fraught with War, resuming at its close her j great danger, especially when the former name and plying the waters 1 "Island Home" was first i , service. of Chesapeake bay as a passenger l This steamer, which made a history boat until the early SO's. It was not surprising that this first for she was successfully operated be-! for herself in a long and hard career, In 1873 steamer "River Queen" was steamboat venture was not a financial tween Nantucket and New Bedford! was built in 1855, to run on the rout:> placed in service on the Nantucket success. Nantucketers were not for four years and was only with- , between Nantucket a··d Hyannis, an~ route as a sister ship to the· "Island ready to patronize "steam" in pref- I drawn when the merchants of Nan- 1 she had some very thril1ing e"'.

·where she was operated .until the sistance, both personal and financial, \I cording to the view:s of the Nantuck dispatch boat on the Potomac river, year 1821, when she was sold for to the islanders' scheme, and as a re- , et men who had formed themselve~ and it was on board her that the cele­ junk, the copper boilers bringing sult the steamer "Telegraph" wa.c:: i into the Nantucket & Cape Cod j brated conference was held between more than they cost when new. i built and placed in operatio·, Jn Oc- ! Steamboat Cornnan"T, fo- the pm•nose j President Lincoln of the United From the time the t'Eagle"' left Nan- tober, 1832, under command of the ! of opening u!) the HyaPnis route. He~ , States and A. H. Stephens, vice-pres­ 1 tucket on the 21st of September, 1818, : same · Edward H. Barker who was i first commander w~s Cn!)t. Thoma"- . ident of the Confederacy. The "River six years elapsed before a second at- captain of the "Bozzaris." l Brown, but the real history the "Isl- 1Queen" was continued in service on tempt was made to inaugurate sue- 1 The new steamer was built especial- ( cessful steamboat service across the'. ly for the Nantucket se"'Vice, with a\ sound. On the 20th of May, 1824, · bow well-fitted for battling with the ! a Nantucket man named Capt. R. S. ! ice in winter. She was of 171 to.... s. J Bunker, brought the steamer "Con- : 120 feet Jong and 19 feet 6 inches j necticut" to the island and endeavored : beam. She had copper boilers and I to create enough enthusiasm and sup- j burned wood for fuel, as did her pre- I port among the islanders to form a I decessor. The "Te1ej!'r&ph" reallv ; company for her operation as a pas- ! proved herself an able boat i"' every l senger and freight boat between the Iway and remained in service in Nan-; island and New Bedford. -Bunker's I tucket waters twentv-three years. ·1 project was turned down, however, I The Nantucket Steamboat C.om­ and four years more elapsed before 1 1>any, which was formed w'he... the, 1 another attempt was made. I"Telej!°ra:oh'' was built in l R~~- ten I In the spring of 1828 the steamer years later bad a i::econd me,,uner con- j "Hamilton" was put on the route in structed, namine- her the "Massar.h11- l 'C

stopping at the Vineyard on the way sett," however, came to Nantucket 1· down from New Bedford, so that many times during her career, both as, Bedford to Hyannis it resulted in the I an extra boat and to force ice block­ formation of the "Marthas Vineyard! ades, but practically her entire serv­ Steamboat Company"' in 1851 and I ice was on the Vineyard route. She three y~rs later in the "New Bed- i ~as wrecked and totally lost in 1904, curred during that period have been The ''Slue" Abandoned in 1906. ford, Vmeyard ,,& ~antu~ket Steam-\ m Sale!!1 harbor. _ ,, . _ many. Nantucket reached its zen- Up to 1906 the steamers had been boat Company -rival Imes. The The Marthas Vineyard, built m ith as a whaling port, suffered a de-. running through the "slue" on Tuck­ I I ! I stock of the new company was large- 1 1871, was 171 fee~ long ~nd _28 feet cline, and dropped, for a time, almost I ernuck shoal in making tbeir trips ly owr:ed in Ne~ Bedford, and the! beam. She was m service m Nan- into obscurity, yet withal, the steam- I across the sound. This was a nar­ promoters determmed to make every ~ tucket sc-und forty years, when she boat service kept constantly improv- row passage, with hardly depth of _ possible effort to prevent Nantucket's • was sold and her name changed to the ing and with the "rejuvenation" water to permit the boats to pass

service from being transferred from: "Keyport." Her career ended when J which came when the island co~- without touching bottollt. !n 1906, that city to Hyannis> as seemed prob-, she sank off the Battery in New York I menced to develop as a summer re- I however, the conditions on Tucker­ able when the "Island Home" was! harbor. _ _ [ sort, new and modern steamers were nuck shoal changedb so tedhat thde .'t'slue" being built. l In 1886, the r1va1 compames- built and the _ service steadily im- could no longer e us . an 1 was The new company constructed the 1 "Nantucket & Cape Cod Steamboat • d Today the island thirty I abandoned. steamer "Eagle's Wing" and while '. Company" and "New Bedford, Vine- ~~:: ~ut at sea, 'enjoys daily' connec- I In the early winter of; 1921 Capta~n the finishing touches were being made. yard & Nan~cket Steamboat Com- tions with the mainland from Octo- i Sandsbury adopt~d ano:~er cha~~e m to the boat placed the steamer ; pany"-consohdated, the new com- , her to June and twice-daily co ... nee- 1the route, run~mg d_--~ to . Half "George Law" in service the "Eagle's : pany taking the name of the "New I • f J t Oct b · fift · Moon" on the mght tnp, where there O O I Wini"" not being ready' and in com- : Bedford Marthas Vi-eyard & Nan- / tJor,s rodm ure er, ~ver thy I is a red flashing light ias well as a ! , , thousan passengers crossing e , b b k · u h bette and mission until October 23, 1854, when tucket Steamboat Company," as at 1 d d . g the twelve months of! e 11 - uoy, m~ mg a m c. r she made a trip to Nantucket in · present. The new concern immedi- .1 soun unn - ! safer course m dark or thick weather. : . f each year. i · command of Capt. James Barker.: ately commenced the construction o ! ) , The Fastest Trip. Few Accidents in a Century. · . · th t f · The quickest passage ever made be- D urmg more an a cen ury o N B d~ d .,:. ' .. ·.· ->'-;~ ·:·-.-..; ',· ., .. -,- .- •" t b t· ,, th h b 1 tween Nantucket and ew e J.Or • s earn °~ mg .. ere . ave een °~ v , by one of the island steamers was by three accidents m which loss of h~e I the Sankaty, on the 5th of January, ..~r~t:, ·· · -· 1 2 , resulted. A boat fell from a davit I h - h d th ·n 3 · d ·k 1913, w en s e ma e e run 1 , on the Monohansett an struc a man j h d - t. Pri th 11 to t , • • h d k b 1 - . ours an mmu es. or a · sitting. . on t e .ec e ow,. causing m- I t·1me the record h a d b een h e Id b y the Junes from which he died. ! Marthas Vineyard, which at one • .·In 1875 a forward .gang-way on the It·1me covered the d.1s tanee 1n· 3 hours : River Queen was acc1dent~lly left _un-1 and 35 minutes. Both of these trips fastened and a man leanmg agamst · d ·th t t . ' were ma e WI ou s ops. i 1t fell overboard and was struck and 1 __ i killed by the steamer's paddle-wheel. Have Been Regularly in Command. : On the ~5th of J~ly, 1890, John The list of men who have been cap- . . ------~--" ! P<'wers, assistant engineer on steam- ta· f. th - d t d ·ng , . · ms o e IS1 an s earners ur1 : er Maz:t;has Vineyard: w~s crushed to: the eriod from 1818 to 1921 is com- . l . · death m the crank-pit Just after the P • • h Nantucket gave its patr~r:iage to the; steamer "Nantucket," which made her; b t ft th d k t t k t i plete with the exception of those w o 1 N "Island Home," however, with the re- I first trip to the island in July, 1886.1 oTah e ~ ~ch a t an utc e · I commanded the first two steamers- ~ult. t hat t h e "Eages l , w·mg ,, was,: She· was of 629 ~ross tons, 190 feet l ed wo.1.::.1.th misth ap f Jo a seamer hoc-. ; t h e E agel and' the H am1. 1t on-wh ose . d k . I curre on e 29 o u 1Y, 1898, w en .d . h b 1 t t h. t Th run .. mg at a loss an she was ept long- and 33 feet beam, and in almost I th G H d d N tu k t .d d 1 entity as een os o is ory. t · . e av ea an an c e co11 1 e 1, . on the Nantucket route but two years, conti· ual service for about thirty: h.l · . the so nd ·n a dense I other captains have been: . - , w 1 e crossing u 1 1 then be1:-g operated between New: years, finally being sold to New York; fog the latter's bow being badly in- 1 Robert s. Bunker Grafton. L. Daggett. Bedford and Edgartown. She ended · parties. She ended her career by i • 'd I Edward H. Barker. George G. Fisher. her days in 1861 whe!l she caught fire • sinking in the Hudson river in 1919, 1 Jure · i•JLoamesh~- Barker. FrGaJncistiJ. HMarsrthall. • • I I t P mney. • us n a • on the Providence river ar.d was to- I her name having been changed to the Wharf Rebuilt. Nathan Kelly. Benjamin Tripp. tally c-estroyed. · ii "Point Comfort." Steamboat wharf at Nantucket was ( Thomas Brown. Aquila P. Bartow. · • Nathan H Manter William B. Cla~horn. Between 1840 and 1870 the steam- Steamer "Gay Head" was built in ! rebuilt during the winter and spring: ; Geo H • B k • Charles H. Fishback. ers which were operating on the route j 1891 and is of 701 tons, 203 feet long: of 1915~ The first landing, headed ! Hol= w. ;c;;:ith, Charles 'H. Furber. I between New Bedford and Edgar- : and 34 feet beam. She made her · south in the new berth on the end Benjamin Simmons. Charles H. Coulter, 1 town occasionally came over to Nan-1 first trip on July 8th, 1891, under of the dock. was made by the Ur.ra- Benjamin C. Ch~e, John w: Merriman. · · · · h 22d f M h p · t Alexander B. Robmson. Owen S. Manter. tucket, although not m service OYl this/ command of Capt. A. P. Bartow. 'tena on. t e o arc - r10r o Benjamin c. Cromwell, Manuel K. Sylvia. line. Among them were the "Nau- i Steamer "Uncatena" was built i,., that time the boats had always Hiram Crowell. .James o. Sandsbury. shon," "Metacomet," "Canonicus" and; 1902, the first steel boat on the island ' docked on the south side. Charles c. Smith, "Helen Augusta," and a few days: route. She is 652 tons, 187 feet long i 3fter the P-reat fire of 1846 a steamer and 31 feet beam. · ! called the· "Bradford Durfee" came to l The latest addition to the fleet is i Nantucket from Fall River. with pro-! the steel prot>ellor "Sankaty," built i visions for the stricken inhabitants. Iin 1911. She- is 191 feet long and 36 / In 1856-7, Nantucket had a propel-: feet deck beam. and her comin~ , I Ior steamer in service between the opened the questio11 of whether !=:ide­ 1 I island and New York. which was wheel bnats or nropellors ar~ best called the "Jersey Blue," commanded fitted for the island service. 0 by Ca'Dt. Nathan Kelley of Nantuck- /' Jt is now one hundred and thl"e 1 et. She was owned by Na..,tuck~ters, years since thle little ''Ea~lti'' / but was not a payinl? investment, al- ' plouf?hed its way across Nantucket , th0t,~h sbe was used occasionally in sou-d and opened up steam naviP'a- i towing vessels up and down the tion between Nantucket and the main- I I sound. One other propellor came to land. The changes that have oc- TWO GLIMPSES OF NANTUCKET'S FISHING FLEET Since 1913 Nantucket island has been the rendezvous for hundreds of fishing craft, with "quahaugging" and "otter trawling'' the leading branches of the ·industry, and the development of the island as a fishing. port has been steady. The greatest shipment of fish products made in one day was 1426 barrels, made on steamer Sankaty, March 15, 1915. In the month of March that year more than 22,000 barrels of fish and quahaugs were shipped from the island.

{:~:.'~ .; ~ -~, J~ •. ·:. The Indians of Nantucket. ---- j Nantucket in February,_ 1659. It has The story of the transfer of the P :t:· been asked, why were they holding Island of Nantucket from the ·English meetings and passing notes ·about Governmer,t to Thomas Mayhew, and their new purchase several months from him and the Indians to the white before they had received their deed ? settlers, has often been told. The answer probably is, that some Nantucket was included in the time in l658, Thomas Mayhew ar- Royal grant to Plymouth Company in ranged with his cousin Thomas Macy 1621, and Lord Stirling and Sir Fer- for a sale of the island of Nantucket dinand Gorges were the Commission- with the understanding that Mayhew ers deputed to promote the coloniza- 77J,~a;; should as soon as possible obta:n a tion of the territory., including the corveyance of as much of Na-tucket islands south of Cape Cod. as he could from the Indian occu- Lord Stirling appointed James For- pants. In pursuance of this ar- ret as his agent in New York for the rangement Macy proceeded to orgar;i- sale or other disposal of the Colony ize his company of associates, and and Forret sold the island of Nan- Mayhew attempted to obtain an In- tucket, in 164i, (when it was under ·tl'e still less. There is some diffi- ackmamack, dated May 10, 1660, in lproves to be tenable. 1 The deed is signed by the marks of culty i11 forming a correct estimate, which the first purchase:·s were grant- The deed from Mayhew to Thomas/ the two sachems and is witnessed by 1 but it is known as a fact that they, ees. This assumption was based on! Macy and associates was dated July I Mr. Harry, also by John Coleman, onlv numbered about 358 before they I two grounds. 2, 1659. But the records in Book 1 ! Thomas Macy and Tristram Coffin. 1 1 became victims to the epidemic which 1. It was recorded on page 1 of , in the Registry of Deeds indicate that i It is therefore clear that these wit­ destroyed so many of them. the first book of records in the Regis- these as~ociates in Salisbury, Mass.,! nesses were at that date in Nantuck- The year 1763-4 was, indeed, a sad try of Deeds. 1, were enacting rules and regulations • et. On the same deed, July 2, 1659, 1 one for the Indians of Nantucket, in- 2. There was a statement that _no! concerning the method of governing I Thomas Mayhew and Martha May- asmueh as, from August in the for------. _____ 'hew conveyed the island to the first mer year to February in· the latter, purchasers. The plan delineates that they suffered from a malignant form section of Nantucket lying to the of epidemic which,· even yet, has not westward of a line drawn from Ca- been identified, althou~h the proba- paum Pond southward through Hum- bility is that it was either typhus or mock Pond. typhoid fever, small-pox or yellow Having obtained this deed from the fever. Curiously enough, of the I sachem whose tribe lived in that see- English who visited them daily, car- tion, with the consent and ·approval of ing for and nursing the afflicted na- the powerful sachems, Nickanoose:, tives, not one was affected by the l whose domains were at the east end pestilence, which ceased suddenly, ! of the island, Mayhew was ready to without previous abatement, on t;tie ! make the conveyance to Macy and 16th of February, 1764. Before the his associates, which was completed epidemic broke out there were 358 two weeks later, or about as soon as Indians on the island, of whom 222 a vessel could sail from Edgartown perished, leaving only 136 natives to to Salisbury and return. represent the race. The deed seems to have remained In 1791 there were but four male in the possessio~ of Mayhew and his Indians and sixteen females left on family until the Indians appealed to the islaT'd, and in 1809 there were the Ge""eral Court to recoveT their only three or ·four persons of pure lands, when the owners of Nantucket blood a-nd a few of mixed race. found the old deed and placed it on In 1796 there were three wigwams record. left upon the island; they stood in H. B. Worth. Sonam. The last wiewam belonged DORCAS HONORABLE to Abigail Fisher and was situated on The last full-blooded Indian of Nantucket, King Pliilip (M.etacomet) visited what was called -Pock Island, in who died at the Asylum, January 12, 1855, the island in 1665 in search of an In­ Squam. aged 79 years. dian offender. Lucretia Mott, Early Advocate Ievery source· of information, as also of Woman's Rights. irom tradition, there is abuadant evi- N ow th;lt women go to the polls dence that she was possessed of sound and deposit their votes as calmly as judgment, clear understanding, and if they had been throwing ballots all an elegant way of expressing herself their lives it seems incredible that a I that was natural to her.· hundred years ago women who dared In 1701, at the age of fifty-six, she say they even believed in equal su.f- I became interested in th-e religious .:frage were often mobbed. Those faith of the Quakers and took the who spoke against slavery were ;piritual concerns o" the whole island . hissed at and scorned. One slight, under her special superintenden~e. little creature, brought up among the She held meetings at her own house, modest Quakers, too, Lucretia Coffin which are ~ften alluded to by visiting Mott, dared say right out what she Friends who have written concerning thought in her clear-sighted, clean- the island's early religious history; hearted way. She was a real Re- wrote the quarterly epistles, and former. She, with three other preached in a most eloquent manner, women, called the first convention for and withal was as distinguished in the discussion of Rights for Women, her domestic economy as she was a and it was her pen that drafted .tlie celebrated preacher. declaration of those rights. A most delightful and valuable Lucretia Coffin was born on the isl- IN DAYS OF YORE. volume could be written upon the and of Nantucket, January 3, 1!793, works and ways of this wo"!'!derful and never stepped foot elsewhere 1------·------early settler in Nantucket, and the until she was twelve years old. She ship arrived home from China, or gentry in England, and conformably manner in which she reared and de­ was next to the oldest in a family of/ from a long, long whaling voyage. with his father's will was to be pro- voted herself to her ten children six children. Her father, Thomas ! At the age of thirteen Lucretia was vided for "according to bis degree and should convince those who may doubt Coffin, was a sea captain who made j sent to a -Friends' school at Nine I calling." · His family papers make that the home need not necessarily be -long voyages to China. Her mother, Partners, N. Y., where her future bus- 'everything clear, save the reason why neglecte~ ·by women whose intere~t band, James Mott, was a teacher, on he left all his comfortable estates in and brams seem to warrant their the boys' side. The Friends allowed old England to embark with his wife I taking part in the public welfare. 1 both boys and girls at their school, and family for New England. I ·· : but th~y were not allowed to meet or All of Tristram Coffyn's children I .speak only over a certain fenced cor- distinguished themselves in some AN IDYL OF THE SEA• ner of their play-ground. good fashion as they took their places Far out at sea, an island lone, Lucretia married James Mott and in the world of men and women; but Whose shores the tumbling breakers bound. Nantucket isle, with p 1acid brow, lived in Philadelphia many years, be- it remained for Mary, the seventh Smiles o"er the waters of the sound. coming a teacher, lecturer, and child, to distinguish herself as a suf- Peaceful the airs above her head : preacher. She was active, merry, fragist. Peaceful the wavelets at her feet ; with a sweet_voice and gracious man-1 She was born at Haverhill, 1645, While myriad shells. with pearh· lips, This tale of answered prayer repeat. ner. She Journeyed through New, married at the age of seventeen Na­ England, New York and many of the thaniel Starbuck, and died in Nan­ More than a hundred years ago-- Old records can the dates recall­ Southern Western States speaking on tucket fo November, 1717. Their Throughout the town a deadly fear the abolition of slavery, and made a eldest child, Mary Starbuck, born in Crept to the heart of one and all : favorable impression and warm 1663, was the first white child born For just without the harbor bar. friendships when she visited the Brit- on the island. Where moaned the tide with stifled breath, There lay at forced anchorage ish Isles, speaking everywhere. Mary Starbuck Coffin developed in- A British frigate armed with death. She died in Philadelphia, November to an extraordinary woman, partici­ In vain the people planned defense. · 11, 1880, aged 87 years. pating in the practical dutiP~ and re- No bulwar~ walled the Quaker town. sponsibilites of public g-atherings and No battlements. no ancient keep. town meetings, on which occasicm her No strength to beat invade~ down. Equal Suffrage Started By words were always listened to -with They saw the captain·s stern command Mary Starbuck. To "man the boats," and well they knew marked respect. No mercy for their hearths and homes At this period, when the women of The -genius of· whatever attached to I Would harbor with the hostile crew. LUCRETIA MOTi'. the nation are enjoying equal suffrage the Equal Rights for Woman move- But stay! A passing gleam of hope! and have. cast their first votes for ment of the present day, in every true The wind' was b!owing from the shore: charming Anna Coffin,· kept a small President of the United States, it is and proper sense, she anticipated by All safe until its breath should change: shop for the sale of East India goods · t t· to th t th t tw tu · d d d th t No landing for the boats, before. 1n eres 1ng note a more an wo o cen nes, an· re uce em o Then from each sad and anxious heart, to eke out a rather scanty income centuries ago the same movement practice without neglecting her do- From hoary sire. and maiden fair, during the long and uncertain trips of was started on the island of Nantuck- mestic relations. She was consulted There rose, uncheck~ by_ form of words, her husband. et by a daughter of Tristram Coffyn upon all matters of public importance, An earnest burst of sobbing prayer. This shop was in a large, square (as he always signed his name) an::J because her judgment was superior. A prayer to Him who rules the winds, room to the left of the front door in Dionis Stevens of Brixton, England. It was. not that her husband. Na- And holds the waters in His hand, their home, and its window-shutters · He, with his. wife, five small chil- thaniel Starbuck, was a man Qf. ..in- To save them in their island home, · d · And keep the wind from off the land. proJecte mto the street when open. dren, his widowed mother, and two ferior mould, that she gained such And then from Heaven, the answer came: Often sman Lucretia, running up the u~arried sisters, emigrated t~ prominence, for he was a man of The gale, unchanging. day by day, lane on her homeward way from America in 1642, and became the l?ood ability. but because of her prom- Swept out to sea defiantly. school, watched sharply to see how founder of the family line in the Uni- inent qualifications that she acquired · And held the dreaded foe at bay. the shutters were. If open, it meant ted States, from whom all persons of so good a re'!)utation whereby her For weeks the scowling monster lay that her cheery mother was at home the name of Coffin in this country are husband's qualifications were appar- Without the port. with evil eye: t k h d But never once a change of wind, o ma e t e inner hour a lively one; descended. e11tly lessened. -· . And never once a change of sky. if closed, it proved that the merchant They lived alternately at several In the language, of John R~ard- Grown tired at length of power denied. had been oblig~d to go to the main- places in the Colony of MassachJi- son, an early preacher, "The island- An~ hopeless watching of the prey, land, to exchange oil and candles (isl- setts until 1659, when he ~ to ers esteemed her as_# judge among w~i:dm;::-edth:u::_;!r ~ed tha~:~e. and products) -for dry goods and gro- ~antucket, then under the jui;iscijc- them; for little of +eflt was done And _ever since. the l~ving tides ceries. tion of New York, and made arrange- without her." At tlir:town meetin~ Have swept the coast with laughing song; A visit to the continent seemed a ments for the purchase of the island : she was accus~~- atte'ld she And ever since, the ·fruitful years gr~t event_ for the children, who by a c~mpany to be organized at Sal- .took an active ~ the debates. With joy and peace have rolled along. awaited t_heir mother's return with isbury. He returned to Nantucket usually beginnin""~;i, address with And He who gave the wind its course, eager desire to hear of the wonders II with his family in 1660, · where he "My husband thiu.ks _so -and so," or Who saved this lone. unguarded strand. Still watches o•er the sunny isle, she_ had seen. B~t the real days of lived until his death. "My husband and I having considered And holds it in His loving hand. excitement on the island were when a j Tristram Coffyn was of the landed_ the subject, think so and so." From -Anna Starbuck Jenks. The Rise and Fall of Nantucket . around Cape Hom, entering the Pa as a Whaling Port. : cific ocean-the Beaver, in command of Capt. Paul Worth: To present a complete list of all of . The first ship to hoist the American , Nantucket's whaleships and whaling : flag in a Spanish Pacific port was the• captains would be quite an undertak­ ' Washington, Capt. George Bunker, • ing-one which deserve.:1 a separate vc.,lume. Alexar.der Starbuck in his . which sailed from here in 1791. ; In 1795 sixteen ships, five brigs and i book on the American Whale Fishery, a number of schooners sailed from · covers this subject in detail, but the Nantucket and in 1804 the island had real story of the voyages spent in ! forty-eight ships engaged· in the quest of the leviathans of the deep, I whaie fishery. · when the Nantucketers cruised the seven seas and met with stirrir.g ad­ On the 1st of October, 1807, the J ship U ni9n, when twelve

i . 'I

A SECTION OF NANTUCKET IN 1915 WHICH WAS ONCE A BEE-HIVE OF WHALING INDUSTRY. islanders to California in 1849 and the Lodges and Societies island town was facing a period of in Nantucket. depression. The whaling business Union Lodge, F. & A. M., was in­ decreased steadily. , 1 stituted May 27, 177"1. Its first The larg~t cargo of whale oil ever Master was William Brock. The taken was brought home on April 20, Lodge observed its centennial in 1871 1859, on the ship Three Brothers, and is to observe its 150th anniver­ Capt. Charles Cleveland, which had l sary this year (1921). 6000 barrels of whale oil on board. Urbanity Lodge of Masons was . On the 28th of October, 1859, the chartered in 1822 and was in exist­ ship Planter was burned on the rail­ ence until 1840. "'!Nay at Brant point. The next year ·1 Rising Sun Chapter, Royal Arch ~nly six vessels sailed from Nan- Masons, was organized in Nantucket tucket. · November 25, 1818, and was in ex­ In 1865, bark Islander, Capt. Wil­ istence until September, 1840. liam Cash, while in the Pacific ·ocean, I Isle of the Sea, Royal Arch Chap­ captured a sperm whale 87 feet long, I ter, was consecrated August 27, 1868. 36 feet in circumference and weigh­ Nantucket Lodge, No. 66, I. 0. 0. ing about 200 tons, yielding 110 bar-, F., was instituted l\:arcii 29, 1845. rels of oil. The jaw measured 17 Island Rebekah Lodge, No. 24, I. 0. feet in length and was brought home i 0. F ., was crganized in 1846. to Nantucket, now being :J. part of the l W auwinet Tribe of Red Men was Historical Society's collection. j organized January 14, 1904. In 1866 unsuccessful efforts were The Nantucket Civic League was made to revive the whaling business, organized in January, 1904. but the industry had received its The Nantucket branch of the Worn­ death-blow. In 1868 the bark R. L. . an's Christian Temperance Union was Barstow sailed. She was the last \ organized in 1880. · whaling vessel owned at Nantuck­ et and was sold at Callao in February, I The Nantucket Agricultural Society was organized in 1856. 1873. The Nantucket Relief Association In 1869 three vessels sailed from was founded February_.25, 1873. Nantucket-the Eunice H. Adams, 1 schooner Abby Bradford and bark l The Ladies' Union Circle was or­ ' ganized January 6, 1846. Oak. The latter was sold at Panama The Union Benevolen-:; Society was in 1872. In 1870, bark Amy arrived on May organized in 1866. 30 with 1350 barrels of sperm, in The Children's Aid Society was or­ CAPT. CHARLES GRANT-MOST FAMOUS WHALING MASTER. command of Capt. Joseph Winslow, gariized June 10, 1869. and two weeks later (on June 14th) ------···-- --·------· · ······- ··--·- · ------The Old People's Home Assodation the brig Eunice H. Adams came home Captain Grant The Most Grant shipped as boatsteerer in the was chartered in January, 1918. under command of Capt. Zenas Cole­ Famous Whaleman. Mount Vernon, a ship just off the The Helping Hand Society was or- man. · She was the last whaleship to The most famous whaling master stocks. He was absent 34 months, ganized March 25, 1884, and existed the ship taking 3071 barrels of sperm ,: until 1919. · return to the island. the world has ever seen was Capt. And thus ended the "palmy whal- Charles Grant, of Nantucket. Ne - a most remarkable voyage. The Nantucket Historical •Society ing days" of Nantucket! After three months ashore he was was incorporated in 1894. one questions the statement-auth- again at sea in the same ship as sec- The Maria Mitchell Memorial Asso- orities admit it. And in reviewing ond mate, and when she returned ciation was founded in 1902. The public drinking fountain was her long list of able captains and M . their most successful and profitable from the Pacific l~ss than four years I The Sons and Daughters of Nan- p 1ace d on ~m street, opposite . later, she brought home 2456 barrels. , tucket was organized in 1894. Orange· street, m· 1886, ,vhere it .re-, ' voyages,·th "d Nantucketh C always• G points Thi·s w as 1n. J u 1Y, 1839 , and 1n. the The p ac1"fl c Clu b was organize. d mamed several years before bemg IWl pn e to er aptam rant as Octobe f O II · G t -1 d • J 28 1861 moved to the lower square. being the greatet of them all. . r owmg ran s~~ e . agam anuary , · H b ht . t t . th m the Mount Vernon, this time as Byron L. Sylvaro Post, American I e t~oug :.0 ~or t{:1°;:. ~i 1 a~ first officer. Whe:1. the good ship Leg-ion, was organized in 1919. The first Memorial Day observance I:::: 0 ~~' caph t ~n h 8 isdory do · rounded Brant Point fiftv-six months Thomas M. Gardner Post, G. A R in Nantucket was on May 30, 1868. ! wor s wtha e s ery anh ma e; later she had' 2877 b~rrels of oil I was organized in 1891. · · l more md oneyh an any man w O ever '. stowed away between decks. The Daughters of the Ame... ican ------, speare. a w a 1e. • • I· When t h.irty years of agEt young R evo Iution · was organized· m· 1897. Whalemen always said t~at Captam . Grant sailed his first voyage as mas------·-- Grant ·was the ?lost charitable m~n i ter. It was the· ship Walter Scott, THE LAST WHALING MASTER who ever trod the deck. of ·~ ship. ! a 340-ton craft, and the voyage net- OF NANTUCKET. A dollar· had no value 1,- his eyes I ted over $100,000. compared to the esteem and gratitude He afterwards commanded the Po­ o~ his fellow-men-he gave. his all, tomac, the Mohawk, the Japan, the Wlth~ut r~g~rd to approachm~ age Milton, the Niger, and the Horatio. and mfirm1ties, and when he died he His voyage in the Milton was the left behind him memories of a real most profitable of them all, for the I ~an as ~ell as a remarkable whal- ship netted $190,000 that trip, and; 1 mg captam. Captain Grant took something over 1

Charles Grant was a mere lad of $25,000 as his own share of the prof- 1 eleven years when he commenced its. i whaling. He was born on Nantuck- During his career he helped to take. I et, June 14, 1814, and in 1825 he was as an officer, over 30,000 barrels of I at sea. sperm, and brought home 22,000 bar- i His first voyage was in the ship rels as master, besides 12,000 pounds 1 John Jay of Nantucket, in the capaci- \ of whalebone and 18 pounds of am-! ty of steward. · The old ship sailed bergris. l on December 3, 1825, but it was ":i I Captain Grart died March 18, 19051 ! broken voyage," although lasting aged 91 years, 9 mor.ths. three years. He next made a four years' vov­ -Two hundred and six Nantucket age in the ship Maria, which brought men commanded ships from Eng-fish CAPT. WILLIAM M. ELDRIDGE Died March 25. 1912, aged 85 years, !O home 1980 barrels, and a few day~ a.nd French ports, in the whale fish­ CAPT. THADDEUS C. DEFRIEZ months, 14 day,i. I after his return from the cruise .. ery, prior to 1812. Died May 2!· 1913, aged 90 years, 7 months. Photo by Boyer. THE PACIFIC CLUB BUILDING-ORIGINALLY THE OFFICE OF WILLIAM ROTCH & SONS. This building was erected in 1772 and for many years it was ·used as a warehouse and office by William Rotch. From it the ships Dartmou, h, Eleanor and Beaver "cleared" in· 1773 for the voyage to London and up-

Capt. Samuel C. Wyer. Capt. George Palmer. Capt. Obed Swain. Cap( William S. Chadwick. Ca!lt. Charles A. Veeder. Capt. .Tames Wyer. Capt. Samuel Swain. SEVEN WHALING MASTERS WHO STARTED THE PACIFIC CLUB. Copied from a photograph taken upon the occasion of their visit to New York in 1861-now faded and yel­ low with age, but still hanging on the walls of the elub-room. The picture was presented to the club upon the death of the last survivor of the group, Capt. Obed Swain, in 1901. ---=---===-=--=-----_-_-_--:..._--:..._-_-::...=..=-======;:======~======:======--:.::=:======The "CameJs" Were a Unique Marine Institution. Nantucket's "camels" were one of I the unique institutions which char­ acterized the progressive spirit of the islanders in the early "forties" of the last century. The "camels" were used to transport whaleships over ~'the bar," which, owing to ''lack of water," was a hindrance in the pas­ sage of ships entering or leaving port. At that time there was a scant six feet of water 011 the bar, so the Nantucketers decided upon the construction of the "camels" to over­ come this obstacle, which was really seriously interfering with the island's whaling business. Nantucket was the first (and prob­ ably only) place in this country to use camels, but they had been used over in Holland as early as 1688. The shallow water on Nantucket bar was a detriment to the prosperity of the island, and it was owing to this shoal water at the very entrance to the bar- 1 bor that for several years it had been A NANTUCKET WHALESHIP necessary for the Nantucket ship­ owners to fit out and unload their was no ship between them, each could ,that Nantucket's whaling industry lshould they be required, the present ships over at Edgartown. 'go from place to place under its own was on the decline at that period, I set would by no means answer. Some Peter F. Ewer superintended the steam. The whole arrangement was how~ver, proved that the camels were I thought them too large, others too construction of the camels, commenc- novel, but entirely practicable, yet actually built about twenty years too I small; and it was the.-general opinio"l ing the work in the spring of 1842 Mr. Ewer and the promoters of the late, for twelve years after their con- ! that ships raised by them would °Qe and completing it the latter pa~. of·. ~amel, Company received all sorts of stt·uction they were broken up (in Imuch injured. Often it was confi­ August of the same year. The !·discouragements on every band, few 1854). The general appearance of dently asserted that they would last "camels" was really two floating! persons believing the project would the camels is preserved in a model on! but two or three years. And again, dry-docks, which could be filled with i amount to anything. The_ total cost exhibition in the rooms of the Nan- I many were of the opinion that there water and sunk, one on each side of I of construction was $2~,000-quite a tucket Historical Association. Iwas an advantage in sending ships to the vessel, and then drawn t~gether / large sum for an expenment. . " ,, . Edgartown to load. What this ad- by means of heavy chains running I The first trial of the camels was l What The <:amels Were Domg I vantage is, I do not know. Were under the vessel's bottom, the craft. made on August 22, when the ship I in 1s45. I there any, it strikes me that our New thus being made secure. When' Phebe was ready for sea, and it was i Regarding the Nantucket camels, I Bedford friends are a long time dis­ everything was in readiness, the wa- !not surprising that the first trial was ithe late William R. Easton wrote for j covering that it is for their interest· ter was pumped out of the camels j a failure. A plank burst out under; the Nantucket Warder in 1845 as fol- to send their ships twenty-five miles and the ship thus brought ·up out of' pressure of the water and on that l lows: or more from home to load them, in­ the water between the two sections. Iaccount the experiment was postponed I "Much has been said for and stead of preparing them for sea at Being flat-bottomed, with a draft of i until the following Sunday. This against the Nantucket camels and the their own wharves. It would be only 2 feet _10 inches, the camels ; trial was also a failure, for the chains ~ Camel Company. Concerning the well, perhaps, for a few among us to eould float in water very much shoal- i beneath the veasel began to snap j action of the corporation, I leave the. call to mind the expression then used er than loaded ships required, and it Iasunder and it was necessary to aban- I public to judge. But as regards the -that they should not wish to live was by their use that the whalers don the attempt that day, the Phebe Icamels themselves, they have per longer than to see a ship brought over leaving or entering port, heavily la- : finally proceeding on her voyage I formed nobly all that was expected the bar and landed safely in our har­ den, could be "ligJitered" over the bar./ without "cameling'' over the bar. !of them, and even more. They were Ibor by the camels. Inherent love Each camel w~ 135 feet long, with i Heavier chains were then secured !built under eyery embarrassment Ifor life might prompt them to take a depth of 19 feet, and a width of 29 , and a month later the ship Constitu-1 The time was not so long ago, but back that wish. But the days of feet on the bottom and 20 feet on Ition was run into . the camels a!1d that we can all ~memb~r the hue and scoffing are over. The p~judiced deck. When "sunk," each section 1 towed over the bar 1n forty-two mm- cry that was raised agamst them. We have been forced to ope"'l their eyes; 1 I ~ontained 12,000 barrels of water, utes, the operation being very sue- 1can all of us l09t back to that day and it is useless to hold up the picture which could be forced out by double- cessful in every_ way and proving the 1•when scarcely a single- friend was of folly, which they presented to the action pumps operated by 6-horse- practicability of the cam~ls-to the ·, found to ra,jse his voice in their favor. world by their actions some years power engines, each camel having a delight of Mr. Ewer and hi~ friends. Many said, with apparent reasonable· back. separate pumping outfit, capable of The first ship brought in by the l ness, that lard oil was such a dan_ger- Let us take a slight review of what throwing 30 barrels of water per min- camels was the Peru, on October 14, ous rival to sperm, that the prosper- the camels have done since they were 11te. Each camel was also equipped 1842, and from that time on the cam- ity of Nantucket was as good as lost. built. We shall see that the favor with a propellor, so that when there els were frequently used. The fact What need, then, for camels? Even of the Nantucket people towards them has increased very fast from year to year. The only reason why less ships took advantage of the camels in 1844 than in 1843, was that during the first mentioned year, the camels were not in working condition, in con­ sequence of certain alterations and additions that were going on. In 1842, fourtee11 ships a!l"ived and thirteen sailed, total twenty-seven. Out of these, four were taken in by the camels, and two carried out. Al­ though the six ships that were cam­ elled seem but a few in C"•mparison with the twenty-one that were light­ ered, still we must remember that the camels were not launched until the Steamer Massachusetts Towing Ship Constitution out of Nantucket Harbor- in the "Camels," September 23, 1842. I middle of summer, and that this was the first year of their existence, when Ir : Should this happen, experience wi! · doubts as to the safety of the oper- : enable the builders to construct a ation ranged at the highest pitch. We [ · much better set at a far less expense." must recollect that the imminent per­ il of the Phebe was still fresh in th€ Camels Broken Up. minds of the ship-owners. How Nantucket's whaling industry -was much praise should we bestow on that on the decline at this period, and al­ noble firm, Messrs. Charles & Henry though the camels were operated suc­ Coffi.:1, who, with the disaster of the cessfully for a number of years, they Phebe before their eyes, promptly were l"eally built too late, for the isl­ came up and o:ff ered for trial their un­ and business s6on decreased to such insured ship, Constitution, that was an extent that there was no further then ready for sea. God grant that use for them, and they were broken they may continue to prosper until up in 1854-twelve yea.rs after their the ultimate of their wishes shall be construction. The last ship on rec­ attained. The ships taken in during ord as being brought into Nantucket harbor by the camels was the Martha this year were the Peru, the Danie! ' Webster, the Rambler and the On-- · which arrived at the bar on June 8th, tario. Those carried out were the 1849, and was "camelled" the follow­ Constitution and the James Loper. ing day. During the last few years the camels were operated, the local In 1843 :fifteen ships arrived and eighteen sailed; total thirty-three. Of ------, press made little mention of them in these, nineteen were lightered, and _ The quantity of oil brought in dur- / When they shall have completed those connection with the arrival and de­ parture of ships. the remaining fourteen camelled. The mg the year 1845 was as follows: : additions and alterations, which they following were brought in by the Sperm o!l, l!ghtered 10,471 bbls.) are now making and which they in- camels: Richard Mitchell, Zenas Cof- Whale oll, hghtered 2,141 bbls. / tend to make,__ the camels will be _Were The ''Tea Ships." fin, Congress, Catharine, Young Total 12,612 bbls. '! brought to such a state of perfection, Ships Dartmouth, Eleanor and Bea- Eagle, Washington, Catawba. The Sperm oil, camelled 34,991 bbls. that _with favorable ~eat~er, a short-, ver sailed _from_ N!ntuc~et in 1773 for following were carried out: Zenas Whale oil, camelled 3,25l bbls. e~ time, eve~ th~t 1S '!1ow · required, / L~n~on with oil, clearing" from the Coffin, Mary, Richard Mitchell, Bar- T tal ----- will be occupied m taking a ship up: Wilham Rotch warehouse (now Pa- clay, Atlantic, Spartan, Catawba. 0 50,854 bbls.. to a less draught of water than when/ cific Club building) at the foot of In 1844, :fifteen ships arrived and The camel company employs about j Iight, transporting her over the bar, , ~ain street. After discharging their nineteen sailed; total thirty-four, out on~-half of their men the ~ear round, and placing her again in her accus- l1 011, the three ships were laden with of which twenty-three were lightered which ensures much greater dispatch tomed element. tea and upon reaching America they I and the remaining eleven camelled. and safety in operation over their There has been no detention to any took part in the "Boston Tea Party." The following were brought in by the first method of engaging operatives l ship, in consequence of using the camel~: Alex Coffin, Peruvian. The I for th~ trip only., and having constant-] ~amels, during the p~st ye~r, except following were carried out: Henry ly to instruct new men. Much cred- m the cases of the ships Ohio, Amer­ Clay, Lexington, Mariner, Phenix, it is due to the present captain of the ican and Enterprise; the first two Peruvian, Mount Vernon, Henry-As- I~arnels, John H. Pease, for his skill having grounded on the bar during a tor, Harvest, Omega. Im the management of them. In course of extremely low tides, when In l845, twenty-eight ships arrived l the ope~tion of carrying a ship over 1 no s~p could have gone over the and twenty-nine sailed· total fifty-! the bar, 1t takes now, on an average, 1bar, hght; and the last having been seven. Out of these' eleven w re\ fifty-six minutes to sink the camels,\ detained six hours, on account of an I lightered and one wa; prepared :or; preparatory to the reception of the accident which happened to one of sea at a'nd sent away fro Bost n / ship; forty-five more are occupied in the between-deck scuttles. Such al­ and the remaining forty~ve w \' : heaving in the chains and making terations are now going on as will carnelled. To these we may :a: i them fast. It requires fifty minutes preve;1t another detention of the Jat- perhaps, the Ohio, that, having been ; to pump them out, an hour and a ) ter l_dnd. _ _ . ht th quarter to go from the harbor to the With the improvements which bave s Old , was taken Wh en 11g over e I, I . . . d i back of the bar; and then at the ex- I been made, and are now making, and bar b th I Th h y e came. t s.th hose b s 1ps raiseth ., p1ra. t· 10n of fifn,.. ~- minutes• more, whic· h . t h e expenence· of t h e men connnected andb roug ht 1n o e ar or were e ' t· . . d . . k" h •th h I II · .I! • Ch d H L . ' 1me 1s occup1e m sin mg t e came1 s, wi t e came1 s, am fu y convmced 11 1 1 J.O owing: ares. anM t enry, Oh"ev1 t h e sh"1p 1s• 1et out, and may b e ready t h at t h e • contmued· patronage of the Starb k F kl · uct , Obran d M"t1n, h on ana,N tu k 10,t f or sea. The fi rst vesse1 k en out s h"1p owners 1s• t h e onI y t h"mg h at 1· s N 11 ta t av1ga or, . e M1 c t·e , anEd c e d, (the Constitu . ti on ) was on1 y f orty- necessary to mak e t h e manne• camels J A 11 apan, mencan,. b th Staon iceb o, F warst two mmu- t es m• gomg- f rom the har- a II, and more t h an a II, t h at was ever Carey, Eliza e r uck, 0 er.. b t th b k f th b Th t· · t d b h · • David Paddack United States Nar- or o e ac o e ar. e ~~es- a1: ic1pa e Y t e1_r most sangume ' B th N ' ent company has expended rising fnends. And as long as the whale tt Th 1 raganseAl h C , reeb - roTh ers, h. apotak eon, th"rte1 en thousan d d oII ars, m• a dd"t·1 10n I fi s h ery 1s• pursued b y our mereh ants, ,i :, t~1 urn ia.l e s 1P; Il en to the sum first paid for the camels, they never will do without camels. oCu Y Ne carneCshwere asd 0H ows: in supplying them with new steam Some even may be in existence now 1 First to Fly American Flag. yrus,. (l" ht)orman, S h aresp k an Ch enry,·st engmes• and pumps of great er power. w h o may see a second set b m·1t . Oh10 1g , ara ar er,- n o- Ship Bedford of Nantucket, Cap- pher Mitchell, Navigator, Franklin, tain William Mooers, was the first Ganges, Orion, Levi Starbuck, John vessel to hoist the American flag in Adams, Montana, Nantucket, Poto­ a British port. This event occurred mac, Martha, Japan, Edward Carey, on the 3rd of February, 1783, the ves- Mo11ticel10, American, Foster, 'David .. sel reaching Nantucket on her re­ Paddack, United States, Enterprise, 'turn fr~m London, May 81st. Elizabeth Starbuck. ,,. The first ship to hoist -the American On May 7th, 8th and 9th, it so hap­ flag in a Spanish Pacific port was the pened that three ships were carnelled; Washington, commanded by Capt. one on each day. From July 12th to George Bunker. 16th inclusive, six ships were cam­ elled; one on the 12th, two on the . The Loss of Ship ''Essex." 13th, one on the 15th, aJ1,d two on the On the 20th of November, 1820, the 16th. From August 12th to 14th in­ ship Essex of Nantucket was sunk by clusive, three ships were camelled. a whale in the Pacific ocean. Her On October 18th, two were brought crew took to the boats and the sur­ in, the David Paddack and the United i vivors were obliged to resort to can­ States. On December 8th and 9th, i nibalism, subsisting on the flesh of three were carnelled in the course of ; their comrades, in order that any twenty-£our hours. 1 might return alive. ..

-✓• -~~ :'. /,;;::~y.. ·: ...:i. J(~: .;;§t

THE SURF AT THE SOUTH SHORE

i ..••·•·~::o;Jm1~:C::;z;,· ·. :~_~;-tit~[~;(~.\ .· . .' •• ..J,' ,I

\-.,:•:' ., ·' '91·· ·•

AT THE BEND OF THE ROUND "BELOW THE BANK" ON UNION STREET (Photo ta~en in 1916). Business People of Nantucket l& · ~ffin, Mitchell & Whitney, David Ship Stores-S. and T. Hussey, : Soap-Thaddeus Hussey, Elisha Prior to the Fire of 1846. Tham, E. W. Gardner. Zaccheus Hussey. ·. Green. . . Hardware-William C. Swain,, .Miscellaneous-P.eleg West, inn- 1 Tanners-Edward Macy, James The following list 0! people m busi- George W. Macy. holder; John Pinkham, painter; Cyrus Hazzard. ness in Nantucket pnor to the gr~at Stationery-Andrew M. Macy, Joh 1 Hussey, shoemaker; Eben Tallant, Miscellaneous-C. G. & H. Coffin, fire in 1846 is worthy of preservatio,n F. Macy. grocer; James F. Chase, rigger; Dix- oil and candles; Joseph Jame,:;, rope- for historical record of Nantucket s Fisb-Meltiah Fisher Zimri Cleve- on & Wiggin, hotel; Allen Kelley,. walks. activity _duri!1g the palmy days of land, George Dunham,' John Beebe. painter; John Coleman, shipwright; I Washington Street. th~ whaling industry. Painters-George P. Whippey, La- W. H. Palmer, painter. : Stables--H. A. Kingslev, A. 0. But- ' . North Street_ l ban Paddack, John Paddack, Freder- Cross Wharf. man, A. Durand, Rand & Sturtevant, Grocers-Mary Coffin, Robert Cal- 1 ick W. Paddack, Seth Paddack. Grocers-Nathaniel Tallant, Daniel William T. Hight. - Miscellaneous-H. A. Kelley, ship Russell, Daniel· Scudder. 1 Barbers-A Nahar, H. A. King. der. stores, oil, candles; William H. Geary, ·Miscellaneous-Josiah Swain, cord-: Painters-William H. Coffin, Mav­ Centre Street. hats, caps; Dr. C. F. Winslow. drugs, age; E. W. Perry, coal, graJn; Frank erick Coffin. Grocers-William Fitzgerald, Sam- etc.; Edward G. Kelley, James H. Kel- Colburn, grocer; David C. Swain,: Miscellaneous--George W. Jenks, uel Barrett, David Joy, Heman Croc1<- Iey and Henry A. Kelley, clocks, coal; Joshua -Parker, wood. harnesses; Gallagher & Drake, soap: er, Clement Folger, David Upham, watches and jewelry. Old South Wharf. \ Federal Street.

Job Coleman, Reuben Fosdick, Ed- North Be'lcli Street. Blacksmiths-Josiah Coleman. Wil- 1 • Dry Goods-Ann Castle, Lydia Ho- ward Hussey, Gor.ham Bu ker, Daniel Ropewalks--Gardner Cdlin, Henry liam Hart, Freeman Sherman, James sier. Macy, Samuel N. Pollard, N. & A. Riddell. Coleman. l Miscellaneous-Nancy Hussey, va- Sprague, Edwin ~yrick. Oil and Car.die Factories-David Lumber-Charles F. _Gardner, Dan-: riety; Benjamin Percival, confection- rd Boots and Shoes-B. F. Ga ner, Joy, S. & T. Hussey, Aaron Mitchell, iel F. Macy, Peleg Macy. _ f ery; Mrs. Thompson, ice cream and William H. Jenks, William Bartlett, Barrett & Upton, Seth Swift. Sailmakers -Robert Coggeshall,! confectionery; William A. Hosier, Josiah Lawton, Josiah Sturtevant. J Box Makers-Alfred Swain, .Moses William Coggeshall. , hardware; Alexander C. Hussey, Miscellanec-us-W. S. French. dry) Folger. Blockmakers-Thomas G. Barney,. blacksmith; Ansel Hamblin, shoema- goods; George A. Lawrence, drugS, i Brant Point. Charles G. Coggeshall. , ker; Mansion House, Mrs. Coffin. st etc.; Avis Pirkham, cake and pa ry. j Marine Railway. . · Miscellaneous-=-Sailor's Boarding I Fair Street. Main Street, North Side. I North Clift" Street. , House, Alexander Wheeler; Timothy: Grocers-T. & N. Fitzgerald, A. W. 1 Grocers-S. S. Salisbury, Joseph II L. M. Wing, brick kiln. 1Gardner, block and pump-maker. • Stebbins. Nickerson, John P. Swain, Orison North Water Street. Commercial Wharf. I Miscellaneous-James M. Coffin, Adams, George Parker, John H. i Tin Smiths-Charles B. Macy, Oil and ships-French & Coffin,; boots and shoes; Sarah Swain, baker; Shaw, R. Pollard, Jr., Charles P. i Swain & Hussey, Charles G. Stubbs. George Starbuck, William Starbuck, Josiah Sturgis, marble cutter; Isaac Swain, A. W. Stebbins, Charles A.) Grocers-Rr,ben F. Park~r, David lLevi Starbuck, ,William Crosby-, Folger, boat builder. Wc-rth, Folger & Brown, Samuel Col-, Parker, Jr., Edward W. Cobb, Alex- James F. Athearn, Joseph Starbuck, Orange Street. burn. !ander Ray, Edward Sanford. Matthew Starbuck, Simeon Starbuck, Grocers-Roland Coleman, Abram Boots and Shoes-Harvey Crocker, Stables-Joseph Hamblen, William Matthew Crosby, James Athearn. Swain. - Winslow Whittemore, David Wood, Langton. Blacksmiths-Gustavus Giffcrd and Miscellaneous - Barrett Beard,

Simon Parkhurst, J. W. Olin. 1 Saddlery-H. C. Valentine~ Zenas Charles Paddack. butcher;- Davis Gorham, crockery. Barbers-Nat Godfrey, •Edward· Coleman. Miscellaneous-,-Thomas D. Morris, Upper Main Street. Center W. H. Crawford, G. F. Glea-1 Painters-William P. Smith, Nath- painter. Ropewalks-Isaac Myrick, Alexan- son, J~hn Reed, William Robinson,-S., an Walker, Thomas Smith. j South Beach Street. der Dow, Matthe~ Myrick. & W. Harris. I Shoemakers-T. C. Hamblen, T. I Brass Foundries-Edward Field, Boatbuilders-George, Coffin, Reu- Dry Goods-George R. Gardner,'. Hodgkins, Seth Clisby, H.J. Stephen- Joseph Webb. / ben Coffin. Frederick Gardner, Josiah Gorham, lson, Charles Lovell, Lemuel Jones, · MiscelJaneous-Samuel Forbes, car-/ Gay Street. Justin Lawrence, Bovey & Coffin, 0.: George Parker, Isaac Frye, F. K. j riages; Thomas G. Barnard, boat i Silk Factory-Edward Crane. & N. Barney. Ford. . builder; George H. Folger, steam I Acad~my Hill. Hardware-Thomas Gardner, Dan- Miscellaneous--Jiames Morse, dry' cooperage and grist mill; Reuben R. j Woolen Factory. rd jel Jones, George W. Barrett, Charles I g<>?ds; Obed Mitchell, ha ware; Joh~ Bunker, twine factory; Barker & I Winter Street. B. Swain, James N. Bassett. l Wmn, ~eats; . Sewall Short, baker, Athearn, ropewalk. Elizabeth Chase, boots, shoes, Clocks and Jewelry-Easton & John Peters, ahas DandY Peters, bar- Union Street. crockery. Sanford; Allen Kelley, Samuel B. ber. Grocers-Frederick A. Chase, Jonas Pleasant Street. Swain, Walter Folger. New North Wharf. : Garfield. Grocers-Peter Hussey, Mrs. Gard.- Auctioneers-George Folger, Gor- Blacksmiths-Edward ~olgeI? _Jo- I Bakers-James Westgate, Benja-1 ner, E. J. Pompey, Elihu Swain, Ab- ham Macy, M. & N. Breed. siah Macy, George Swam, Wilham l min Pike. · salom Boston. Outfitters-N. & L. Sturtevant, J. 1Cobb, Ben Simmpns. / Miscellaneous-Walter Folger, as- Cook, Jr., & Co. Oil and Candles-Hadwen & Bar-. tronomer. 1 Miscellaneous-Edward Mitchell, 1 ney, Richard Mitchell. Mill Street. stationery; Joseph B. Lawrence, fur- I Bakers-Nathaniel Tobey, Tris- Grocers-Hannah Fosdick, Benja- niture; D. Prescott, fruits, ~tc.; I tram_ Tobey. . : min Holmes. Henry C. Worth. hats and caps; Swan Miscellaneous-Samuel Mitchell,: / MisceHaneous-Mrs. Lawrence, dry & Sherman grain· P. H. Folger, cor- ship owner; William R. Easton, cord-\ j goods. dage; T. & 'P. Ma~y, oil and candles; age; Ansel Tobey, furniture; Matthew: t Liberty Street. Dr. John Brock, barber: Reuben Mitchell, cordage, hoops. etc.; S. B. l I Grocers--John Hosier, Elihu Wil- J.\facy, medicines; Henry Clapp, sta- Tuck, merchant; . Ch3:rles Easton,; I son. tionery. sailmaker; R. Ratliff, rigger; Easton.' Miscel1aneous-Nathaniel Earle, Main Street, South Sid~. & Thompson. carpenters. 1 miller; Isaac Thompson, brick kiln. Boots and Shoes-Charles H. Star- Broad Street. Gardner Street. buck, Henry s., Crocker, John V. Merab Pinkham, gro<'er. ! Boat Builders-E. R. Folger, Sweet. Old North Wharf. I Thomas Field. Dry Goods-George ~- Pierce, Painters-George K. Long, Nathan: Miscellaneous--Aaron & Gideon Charles K. Pratt, George H. Riddell, Walker, Obed Long, Thomas and W. Folger, oil factory; Coffin ,.1!::!t' Edwin Coffi n, G eorge B . U Pt on, Ell. - P . S m 1°th . butcher,· Alexander Husse"'!,.,, --.y.. jah Alley, F. W. Cobb, Eliza Riddell, Meats, etc.-H. G. 0. Dunham, weaver. John w. Barrett, Andrew Lawrence. George Pollard, Benoni Nickerson. I Pearl Street. . Tailors-Cromwell Barnard. E. W. Blacksmiths-E. D. Fisher, F. C. Tin Smiths-F. C. Chase, Joseph H. Allen, Morrell & McElroy, William Gardner, George M. Jones. Starbuck, --Pinkham. Summerbayes, A. T. Allen, John C. Sailmakers-George Chase, Geot'ge Furniture-James Tallant, James Mitchell, Timothy G. Clapp. Brown, R. F. Gardner. . CHARLES H. DAVIS . Delano. Grocers--George Shiverick, Alex- Blockmakers-Thomas F. Mitehell, Oldest male resident of Nantucket, Bakers-Charles Cook, S. Wolcott.. ander Cathcart, Joseph B. Macy, D. John Whippey. . I whose memory goes ,back "be!'ore the Grocers-Franklin Nickerson. Wil­ R M · k Spar-makers - Joseph Edware1s, I fire." Mr. Davis was born m Nan- liam Robinson, Thomas A. Folger. ·va:1tyc_.Abby Betts. Isaac Austin. Thomas Davenport. Itucket, June 8, 183I, and was ~ft~en Miscellaneous--John Whittemore,· . h w lter Allen H Winslow. years old at the time of the gr-.at Grain-George B. Elkins, Baker F 1s - a ' s· · fire" in 1846. hatter; William Coleman, boxmaker. The "Great Fire" of 1846 l shock they commenced rebuilding anPed of their all : they ly $1,000,000 destroyed. Had the ef- People could ~mly operate upon the \ considerably over two hundred. These have no hopes for the future. except such as forts to save the Methodist Church outer boun~anes, and the ~ast_ area Ifamilies probabl avera ed r.ot far are found~ upon the humanity of others...... comprehending the burnt d1stnct at Y g We are m deep trouble. We cannot of proved unavailing, the probab1~1tv is one period seemed like an intermina- 'from five members each, so that more ourse·ves relieve the whole di-;tress. and we that the whole northwest section of ble sea of fire. rthan one thousand persons were ren- are compelled to call upon tho,;e who have the town would have been burned. No forms of language can convey I dered homeless by the fire in the not been visited like ourselves. for aid. in The extent of the devastated sec- an accurate idea. of the horr~rs of I space of a few hours. So rapidly was this our hour_ of extreme necessity. We do • • 1.. th . t d that memorable mght. No ram haQ I not ask you .0 make Ul> our loss. to rr~lace tion 1~ suo":1 on e map pnn e fal~en for a long time, and the houses, ! the progress . ~f the flames that most the property which the -conftagr.ition has de- hereWlth, which was made a few days which were chiefly of wood, bad be- I< .f these fam1hes lost more than half stroyed, but to aid us, so far as you feel after the fire c-ccurred. It has al- come by the agency of many long their household goods, and a major- caned upon by duty and humanit:,. in keep- ways been claimed by many that but days of unbr~ken s~nshine, amply ri- ! ity of them well-nigh the whole. in~. direct physical suffering from amon~ us, • f th C t ct En i pened for their destmy. The flames I until we can look round and see what is to f h Ob st O ~r t e macy • e a ara . - , flew from house to ·house, crossing I It is said that more thal! thirty be done. W.e need helP-liberal and imme­ gme Company (which was a nnvate 'streets, lanes and courts. widows resided in the bur~t district diate. If we seem to you importunate. we cr--mpanv ownin" the e-gine which is Explosions of gun-powder and tor-. me-st of them poor and not a few of csn on'y say that could you look upon the now preset"Ved in the rooms of the rerts of water seemed alike unavail- I th ·th h.ld ' d · d. vet ~moking ruinc; of one third of our town- • • • • WI 1 could you walk through our remainin-t streets 1 ing, though directed by the stoutest I em c ren epen ing upon Histortca · Asc:;ociatlon) the flames arms and the most desnerate and de- their ear=iings for bread. filled with houseless hundreds wandering wo11 ld TI"VE'l" haye gone bey<'nd the termined spirits. All night long . The amount of aid sent the stricken -ibout seeking for some roof to cover th'!m, Geary store. were these doomed peonle thus ex, 1. . . - or for such remnants of their household goods The officials failing to exercise au- ercised. harassed and foiled. Human. inhabitants _fro:11 the mamland was as may have been snatched b!• othen from th •t d th 1 of time occa- streTinh and skill were at length e:>t- : large, contnbut1ons of money, cloth- the flames-could you feel as we do, that not . on dv . an tt· e thoss N t another h aust e d . and th e fi re h avmg· eng-o}1?ed: mg· and provisions· · · b emg· sent a t once many d ays can pass before positive want 0 0 s~one m g-e _mg e . • 8 everything within its reach, subsid- from near-by cities and towns. The will be knockinsr at our doors-our wordg cistern and m working order, gave ed onlv for lack of other accessible ·t f F R. d d th t would appear feeble. our appeal certainly not the flames a chance to spread and materials. Men fell powerless in Cl Y O a 11 iver 1oa e e s earner more earnest than the occasion requires. But ontrol and the hhrhwa:vs, utterly worn down and Bradford Durfee and sent her down we are confident that you will feel for us th fi b d C soon . e rerth was deyon d.1s h Partened . F'ire engmes.. wrought t o N ant uck et as a re1· 1e f s h.1p a f ew and Wlt• h us and t h at you will render us sweeping no ~ar · i'" the most dane:erous nositions Ull days after the fire. and thousands of <;tt('h assistance as is in your power. From the Datlv Warder of 1846 we t" the last mome'l'lt were yi· elded t<> d II b .b d . B t d Will yo1;1 take immediate measures to brin9; · · · h • h fl • ' • o ars were su scrz e m os on an copy the followin~ article~ wh1c 19 t e ames which poured m upo11 • • • our suft'.erinst condition before your people. a11 exce11 en t d escnn• ti o n of the "great thP...., fro"""' onnoi::;ite· OlJ,:,-rt,:,r~• • other cities for rehef of the Nantuck- either by calling a public meeting. or in such ,, ·tte b b er• The nhenomenon which wa~ wit- eters. other manner as may seem to you best'! Pro- fi re, wn n Y an ° serv • nessed here ~.t the qreat fl-re of 1838. h vic;ions. Clothing, Bedding. Money-anvthin~ This dis::1ster occurreo between the was a~ain observable. Vast guan- A survey of t e burnt diSt rict was useful which you may have to bestow, will be hours of l 1 p. m. on Monday and 6 tities of oil stored in sheds and oil made soon after the fire and it was most gratefully received. Will you move in ~- m. 011 Tnesday fa.st. Upwards of vards, becoming hE'.ated i11 the casks, founl:3 to cover thirty-six acres. It the matter immediately? three hundred huildings. includine: burst forth upon the ground, became was by- far the most compact section Please to direct anythinsr which you may m~ny -public edifi<-es~ al'd the m~~ at one~ ignited and rolled in fier.. of the town and as the streets run- c;end to the Selectmen of the Town of Nan­ v:t luable stores and warehouses. with floods mto the hflrbor below Be11ch . . tucket. and we pledge ourselves to dispense numerous costly nrivate dwellinj?S. ! street, coveril'lJ!' the surfaf'P of the nmg thr 0 ugh 1t were narrow the whatever you may bestow, ratthfully, and to were in that incre~ibly btief snAce of I wsttPr to ,:, eTeat distance with sheets j e-reater part of the land was covered the best of our ability, judiciously. time rPdur.ed to ashP!=;. A prodisriou!I; of living flame. with buildings. Job Coleman, Chas. G. Coffin, Eben w. Al- l 1 al'Y'ount of TY\e-rchandise~ fumiture and B1!t so anpalline- was the sce-n_e-- A oon as ossible after the isl- en, . Wm. Barney, Jr.. Nath. Rand, Obed other nel'Sonal nronertv wa~ ~ lso con- .!l;O mt.Pnsely e11J?aged ~nd excited s s P ISwam, Alfred Folger, Selectmen of the Town sumed; for such was the furious ve- were the populace of all ages and anders began to recover from the of Nantucket. July la, 1846. ~- \\ ~ \ \\\ LOCI<' J I I 1-,!' "1}

r-----~•StRT'r ST. ' ...... - ) ~ In

< /\ c.. PLAN OF THE TOWN OF NANTUCKET SHOWING DISTRICT BURNED OVER IN THE FIRE OF 1846. 1-Geary's Hat Store, where the fire commenced ,now the site occupied by the Nantucket Fruit Store). 2 -Trinity Church. 8-Atheneum. 4-Washi:ngton HaII, a large building. 5--Citizens' Bank, papers saved. 6-Manufactures and Merchants Bank. 7-Aaron Mitch~U's brick house and the largest hot houses on the isl­ ar d, every part of which was destroyed. 8--Dwelling of George Myrick, which was not burned. 9-Brlck

Office1 Custom House and Commercial Insurance Office, the walls of which stood perfect. 10-Pacific Bank building, not injured. 11-Methodist Church building, slightly injured. 12-Jared Coffin's brick dwelling, sa\1'ed without damage (now the Ocean House). 13-Unitarian Church, saved. 14-Nm:-th Congregational ChuTch, saved. 15-Gosnold House. 16-Sea street.

Drawing C(;J>ied from the original sketch in the Nantucket IrtQuirer or July 27, 184~.

The History of the Nantucket I Fire Denartment. ! The history of ;he Nantucket Fire 1 Department covers an important 1 branch of the real history of Nan­ tucket anvelocity of: The pumping station at Wyer's 130 miles-the highest ever recorded l Valley, built in 1913, to secure an ad­ on this island. Great damage result- i ditional quantity of water, has an ed, with the heaviest sea ever seen in j engine and _pump capable of 300 gal- THE AUTO-CHEMICAL Nantucket harbor. i Ions per mmute. . I Nantucket in the Revolution. ; Between 1775 and 1781 one thous- . ' and six hundred Nantucketers lost' their lives in the Revolutionary war. :I On the 23d of May, :..775, a vessel ; arrived with over 100 Provincial troops, who landed on the wharf and marchea up-town to seize :flour al- : leged to have been 1anded on Nan-; tucket :for the use of the British. ! 0~ the 6th of April, 1779, eight British vessels (refugees) came to the bar and two entered the harbor, their crews plundering many of the island : stores, property being taken to the j value of $50,000. A committee vis- I ited the English commander at New \ York, who assured them that he bad l give:µ orders that no more depreda-. tions should be made. During the winter of 1780 there was great distress on Nantucket for want of provisions and fuel. The harbor 1 was frozen over December 20th and · remained so throughout the winter. MEMBERS OF' THOMAS M. GARDNER POST, G. A. R., IN 1909. Teams drove over the ice on the bar- Front row-left to right-Be:ijamin B. Burdick, *Charles M. Crocker, Charle~ Hyde, J·ohn R. Raymond, bor and brought wood down from Cos-! George A. Backus, Peter Hoy, Frederick H. Barney, Sampson D. Pompey, Franklin B. Murphe~. kata. I Second row-Edward H. Wing, *Josiah.F. Murphey, *J8:mes H. Wood, *James H. )3arrett, Alfred F. Ray, 1784 · Josiah A. Young, Benjamin A. Coffin, Edward C. Be-nett, Hiram W. Reed, ~enry F. Fisher. In !he tidings. of peace w~re I Rear-*G. Howard Winslow, *William A. Barrett, *George Dolby (assoc1_ate), :Horace_ Spencer (son cf vet- received with great Joy by the m- l eran). At extreme. left-*George Fisheit (son. of veteran). At extreme right- Vale:-itme Small. habitants of Nantucket. During the · [Those in this group who are living in 1921 are starred (*).] . Revolutionary war 134 vessels, ------• 1 amounting to over 10,000 tons, had Nantucket' in the War of 1812. 1 Nantucket held a jollification. Word' the half dozen survivors who are st1~l been captured by the British and El N k reached the island on the 16th of able to take an active part in the ob- . h . . even antuc et vesse1 s were cap- . d th many of their men 1ost t eir 1ives, a I d b h B .. h d h . February and bells were rung hghts servance each May ecorate , e total of 1200 Nantucket seamen be-, ture Y_ t e ntfis an t eir crews were burned in the church towers, graves of their comrades and take . "th kill d tu d made prisoners o war. I f h bl" · • mg e1 er e or cap re · A . . f . and men and boys went through the . charge o t e pu 1c exercises. petition or protection was sent . . More t h an a score of N antuck et . b th f N t k t ·streets shoutmg and cheerma. Jon- I . h J h p m 1812 y e peop1 e o ar. uc et o . . ~ k • h S · h W men and b oys sailed wit O n au1 J M d" p .d t f th U . athan Parker with a chair lashed on Nantuc et 1n t e pams ar. f th f th I ames a 1son, res1 en o e m- , . I . Jones as part o e crew ? e It d St t a peat-sled for a sleigh, with a small ( The fact that the Spanish war of Ranger and the Bon Homme Richard. e a es. American flag :flying, drove from town · 1898 was of short duration did not They were: Reuben Chase (mid- On the llth of October, 1814, th~re through the villages of Polpis and call forth a general response to join shipman), Henry Martin, Thomas was an encounter off_ the ~outh side Quidnet, spreading the glad tidings the army and navy, but several Nan­ Turner, Reuben Joy, Nathan Aldrich, of Nantucket, fl:V:e mile~ distant, be- 1of peace. One-half of the vessels tucketers were in service, among James Nicholson, Seth Folger, Free- tween the Amencan pnvateer Ne~-f- belonging to Nantucket had been tak- them being Herbert P. Smith (navy), man Lufkin, Henry Gardner, Barzil- ~hatel_ and five bo:1ts from the Brit- en and condemned during the war. Albert P. Pitman (signal corps), lai Folger, Nelson Aldrich, William ish fngate Endymion. One hundred ------Charles E. Congdon (hospital corps), Roberts, James Chase, Albert Cogs- o! the crew of the British vessel were Nantucket in the Civil War. Joseph M. Grouard (army), and Max well, Latham Gardner, Owen Star- killed, but_ only five of the crew of Wagner (army). The latter rose to buck, William Nye, Paul Worth, Mat- the A~encan vessel, o~e of whom When the War of the Rebellion the rank of a Lieutenant and was thew Starbuck, Stephen Folger, (the pilot, Charles J. H)llburn) was came in 1861, Nantucket responded killed by a bushman's bullet while Charles Crampton. a Nantucket man. nobly ·to the country's call to arms serving in the Philippines. During the winter of 1814-15 there and a total of 339 of the islanders ';"°ne memorial fountain was erected was a great scarcity of food on Nan- enlisted for service in the army and by . the Abiah Folger Franklin Chap­ tucket. A "soup-house" was estab- navy during the four years of strug­ ter, D. A. R., in 1900, a short dis­ lished in a building near the corner gle to preserve the Union. This was tance west of the town on the Mada­ of Main and Gardner streets, where 56 more than her quota and Nantuck­ ket road, near the site of the birth­ soup was dispensed free to the poor et was justly called "the banner town place of the mother of Benjamin families. in the commonwealth." Numerous Franklin. When peace was declared in 1815 other Nantucketers enlisted from ------.---- _ --- - ______------other parts of the country, and many distinguished themselves and won honors and promotion in both the army and navy, wn.ue many gave their lives during the con.fl.ict. Less than a dozen of these brave men are living here today, among them be­ ing Josiah F. Murphey, James H. Barrett, William A. Barrett, Alfred F. Ray, James H. Wood, G. Howard Winslow, Henry C. Coffin and William G. Robinson. In 1874 the monument· was erected in honor of the soldiers ·. and sailors who served in the Civil War and each year since 1868 the town has ob­ served Memorial Day as a testimonial to those who served in the great civil conflict. The Grand Army veter­ ans have had this ~y set apart for them annually in Nantucket, as well as in other places, and although their CENTRE STREET. LOOKING SOUTH FROM THE CORNER OF BROAD. CAPT. B. WHITFORD JOY. From a picture taken in 1870. which shows the three "Napoleon Willows" standin~. ranks have thinned as one by one The last "square rigger" captain Also the tall flag-staff of the "No. 8 .r..ngme t,;ompany·' in 'the distance. they have answered the final roll call, of Nantucket. ... - \:,:.. !:' ..... _. ,;)<;~ /

LOOKING SOUTHEAST FROM us UNSET HILL" IN 1912

VIEW FROM TOWER OF C01'fGRE GATIONAL CHURCH, LOOKING KORTH. (Photo taken in 1912). ,

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THE BRIDGE ACROSS THE DITCH AT MADAKET (Photo taken by Boyer in 1917) .

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·-··. .•·· ...... · ·•,:: ... . ~ . . ~.

A PASTORAL SCENE NEAR THE STATE HIGHWAY IN 1916 (Photo copyrighted by H. B. Turner). ======.-· -- ... ------======-=-:--:-::-::---:-=-:-----:-:---:-~-:-:::-:-:-:--:-:::-:===::-::======:===-=====-====----=-:-:--~- The- Old-time Shearing Festival I 1 in Nantucket. • At the period in Nantucket's his­ tory when sheep were numerous about the island and roamed at will everywhere it became a custom to hold annual "shearings," which were made festive occasions for the island­ ers. For several decades from 1800 on the shearings were held, but the • present generation knows of them only by tradition, although some of our older citizens have p~easant memories of the gala occasions of their childhood. The shearings of those times were halcyon days to all. The two pens, one near the "Old Washing Pond,'' now "Wannacomet," the ether at Gibbs' Pond, were about 1830 con­ solidated, and the then new shearing and washing pens fenced in on the east side of Miacomet Pond. These consisted of two enclosures, each ''ALL THE WAY TO SHEARING" nearly half a mile square~ running I I along the edge of the pond, the north great number, which they did with i ,The price per_ head for shearing· and fore-and-afters, never tiring of one used as the shearing, the south astonishing readiness, as a sheep's; was four cents; the shearer scoring t~e sport, and showering down pen­ as the washing pe'!'l. On the side ear can detect the bleating of its own : down a mark for each sheep, when he , mes upon the board with a reckless­ c.f the latter, next the pond, and but lamb among that of hundreds of had finished shearing it, with th·! ; ness that made the boys look on in a few feet from it, ran a row of lit- others. The word then came "catch point of his shears on the side of the : wonder. The whole air was filled tle pens but five or six feet square, sheep." ' pen. As it got along late in the after- ! with the smell of burning Chinese bearing the initials in paint of the Those of the various owners noon of the last day, some who had a: crackers, for Young America was various owners. Behind this row of were readily known by the marks on number of sheep left in their pens : here allowed to fire them to his pens, for their whole length, ran an the ears; and men and boys moving would have to offer as high as six I heart's con~t; and they were enclosure, perhaps thirty feet wide, about among them, transferred them cents per head. When the outer i hawked around by the boyc:- who were with a partition fence near one end with wonderful rapidity into the circle became somewhat thinned out,! fortunate possessors of a bunch, from and a set of bars to open them into small pens, where they were taken by the sheep were driven into the next: three to six for a penny. one, or separate them. The shear- the washers, carried into the water, within, then to the next, and so on , But all things must have an end, ing pens were built h three concen- given a thorough sousing, and were until the whole .-had been placed in• and so did shearing. A feud be­ tric circles; the inner one being di- then taken to the shore and let go to the small pens. When this was ac-: tween land _owners and sheep owners vided in halves and one of these parts run along the margin of the pond, complished, say about ten or eleven, arose, and it was. finally decided at again divided into parts of unequal until the water-fence turned them in- o'clock, the boys were allowed to go a town meeting about 1846, that the size.· The pers of the respective to the great pasture, where the lambs I to the tents until dinner time, with: sheep must be kept on the lands of owners were built on the outer edge had been put. When the sheep be- / their whole stock of shearing money ; their owners. Field-drivers were of the r-utside circle, with a gate came thinned out in the Ion~ pen I saved up for the year for the purpose.: appointed t? impound all sheep and onening- into the circle to admit the they were crowded to one end, and I 1 nese tents or booths were erect~ct ; cattle runnmg ~t large, and com­ sheep being put into them, and one the bars put up, that they might be a few hundred yards northeast of the ' menced to carry out their program. at the other end for the purpose of more easily caught. gate of the sheating-pen, were gen- : Almost endless lawsuits were the re­ taking them out by the shearers; in Next morning this flock was all erally made of an old sail drawn ever; sult, and finally the last sheep was front of this a large canvas was I driven into the shearing-pen to make poles, and contained everything that; taken from the commons, _and the spread upon which they were divested I room for the eastern flock, which could temp~ the palate of a bun~ i last days of ~hearing,. that peculiar of their :fleeces. ! were to go through the same oper-1 person. Pigs roasted whole, resting Nantucket holiday, which all looked At this time there were nine or ten · ation. The standard nrice for wash- in platters, with a knife and fork ' forward to with pleasure-even the thousand sheep running at lar~e on j inf? sheep was two c~nts per head, !lyi_ng beside them; hams boiled, the '. .sailor, homew~rd b?und from a t?ree the island, the largest portion of them each washer keepirg tally on the edge I skm taken off: stuck full of cloves: ye_ars voyage,. hopmg that the win~s being i11 what was called the eastern of the pen with a nail or knife, every Iand spotted _with pepper; th~ee-cor-: might blow ~air _that he should be m flock, or those living east of the pond. time he came up for another sheep. nered shearmg burs-the hke of, season to enJoy it-became numbered Washing days were on Friday and This was the only account kept and which will never again be seen; hard- : among the things that were. Saturday of the week nearest the the owner paid each man according boiled eggs, with blue and crimson : 20th of June· Sunday was given t.Q his score. [It is claimed that shells, cakes of all ki,.,ds, oysters, : . . 1 ' d . b ..J l ~ The first wireless telegraph station them to dry and on the Monday an there were never any disputes rela- spruce eer anu emona ~- ! • ' · h d • , I dd"t· t th , fl ·n · was erected at 'Sconset m the sum- Tuesday following they were s eare . tive to the number washed by the, n a 1 ion o ese ~ere Y1 g; A day or two before washmg· days men.-Ed.] 1· h orses, d"ice t a bles, te·1 -pm· boar ds • · mer. of 1901. The. :first message re- ' d th · ·table dance board at ce1ved from a ship at sea was from men on horseback were out collect- On Monday morning the sheep of an e ~nevi k" f ' t1.e · steamer Lucania on the 16th of · h th h f th h • . · which "blmd Fran sat rom morn- '1 mg toget er a n es eep o ewes- t e first flock were driven mto the . . . ·n """·• ou can't August This was the first success- tern flock and driving them in one outer circle of the shearing pen; the mg till mght, "f:layi gh_ -. ~- h"l ful wir~less plant established on this herd toward the head of the pond, lambs were put" i-to the next. from ~nd tu you can: upon. is vi~. m, w 1 e side of the Atlantic around which they came on Friday whence they readily found their way i Jolly_ young sailors danced Jigs, reels · ______morning, and were driven along its through the open gates to the large ! - margin · directly into the great en- pasture. The sheen were now caught, i A . closure. A long line of men and carried into the little shearing-pens i .....:. boys formed on the outside of the of their owners, taken from the gate\ -,_. :~· · .. flock and headed them into the long at the other end by the shearers, anrl i yard, just back of the little- pens of when sheared allowed to 1,?:o at large i'l i the owners, where they were packed search of their lambs, who had much i as close as sardines in a box. Word I difficulty -in recognizing their mothers ; was then given to take out _the lambs, 1when divested of their clothing. On : and no sheep was permitted to be Tuesday the same operation was go"'e touched until every lamb had been put through with the eastern flock; the outside into the large pasture, where ones which had been sheared on Mon­ they remained, bleating until their day being allowed to wander at their mothers had been washed and had will to their own homes on the com­ picked them out from among the mons. Iwas dedicated July 15, 1908, and in 0 1 1 Mariao:~=~•~t!~place -_\. ·· ;: ,.:: ·., ~t~;.')t~ti,;'.{· : ·· '. ·. •·· · ' ·· I ~:~ ::'.i: :~ra:..:'f ':!.t ::: Among the _places of historic inter- ·".:: ··:.: ! dedicated. The library building is est on Nantucket the birthplace of \ · · :.. ! opposite the memorial house ar.d is Maria Mitchell holds a somewhat I the same building that, prior to 183:-r, unique position as being probably the .,.·.~ • ·. ··. ; was used as a school-house by ·wil- only house on this continent which is : liam Mitchell, father of Maria Mit- p1·eserved on account of being the ! chell. The building has been rccon- birthplace of a woman. j structed, but as far as possible the Her father, William Mitchell, who . ,, 1 original lines have been retained. was · for some years engaged in _. I school teaching and later became I The Nantucket Atheneum. president of the Pacific bank, w:as ! In 1820, Daniel P. M:acy, John H. much interested in astronomy, and Coffin, Gideon Swain, Peleg Mitchell, almost every clear evening he could Edward C. Hussey, George Fitch and be found observing the heavens. His David Joy associated themselves un- enthusiasm in his favorite science was der the name of "The Nantucket Me- sometimes expressed in quotations chanics' Social Library; Society." There from the works of Cowper or Bloom- were only twenty-six volumes of field and sometimes from the Bible, , books when the library was estab- one of his favorite expressio~s being lished, but this was really the founda- " An undevcut astronomer is mad." tion stone of the present "public Ii- The chronometers of all the-whale- .,___ ==- ~======:::;:::===-===------brary" of Nantucket. ships sailing from the island were ______l In 1823 another society was formed, brought to him to be "rated." · For ------/ called "The Columbian Library Soci- th nd this purpose he used e sexta~t a when Maria made her discovery; two public library of Boston the names ety." In 1827 it was suggested that th the observations were made m e days later the comet was seen by the of but two women occur, the other a union of the two associations would str little backyard of th~ Vestal eet! observer at Rome; on the 7th of the on~ being "Somerville." be beneficial and "The United Library home. month it was· first r.oticed at Kent~ She twice crossed the ocean, visit- 'Associatic-n" was the result. Maria Mitchell, at a~ early age,th Eng., and on the 11th at the Ham- ing the observat?ries at Liverpool, j In 1886 David J_oy ~r<:"posed to join manifeste~ an interest thm he~ fa - burg observatory. Greenwich, Cambr1~ge, Gla~gow, Par-, ~arle~ G. Coffin m g1v1_?g :° the so­ er's pursuits, and when e eclipse of In the year 1859 Maria Mitchell re- is, Rome, Pulkova m Russia, etc., as : c1ety a lot of land on Mam street, d th the sun in 1831 occurre e l2-year- ceived a, bronze medal from the lit- well as being entertained by ma :1y ' which was to sell for $1800. Mr. nd old Maria ~ou:nted the seco s for her tle republic of San Marino in Italy, astronomers while there. In her di- Coffin was· agreeable and the land was th father while he made e observa- which she also prized highly in ad- ary she modestly alludes to her trips offered on cc,ndition that the societ3,· t tions. Fifty-four years Ia er she re- dition to the one received from the by saying, "I try when I am abroad raise $3,500 and erec:; a s1itab~e th 1 corded in her diary at she had king of Denmark. · to see in what way they ara superior building for librarv, lecture and cu- ]for twenty years Maria Mitchell to us not in what way t~ey are in- riosity rooms. For this purpose was librarian of the Atheneum, a·nd ' ferior." ; $4,200 was raised, each subscnl>er of took much interest in the young peo- The building in which Maria Mit- '. $10 having an equal right with all ple who went there. She watched chell was born was erected in 1790, : other donors. closely the reading of her young and from 1816 to 1900 was occupied i Finding the Main street lot too friends, and when she saw a boy es- 1 by some branch of the Mitchell fam- 'small, however, the society excha'rlged pecially interested in any book she ily. It is in a good state of pres- I it with the proprietors of the Univers­ immediately read it herself, and if ervation and any repair3 which have i alist church for the building on the harmiess she encouraged the con-, been made have co-formed to the or- i corner of Federal and Lower Pearl

.. tinued reading of it; if otherwise she iginal design of the premises as far J streets, fitting that building up and I had a convenient way of losing the as practicable. The "knotted paint- : i..,corporating the society as "The_ book. At the time of the annual ex- ing" on the walls of one of the room9 Nantucket Atheneum." aminations by the trustees the book dc-ne sixty or more years ago, is cu- ~ The prese-t building was erected . would be in its place, but the next day rious and the local painters s 1 y it is i in 1847 with money obtained from the "" it would be again lost to readers. ) now a lost art. j insurance on the first building, which On the founding of Vassar college i Her little three by three feet studio'. was destroyed in the great fire of in 1865 she was chosen professor of j is a striking example of the fact that. 1846. The library has grown from astronomy and director of the ob- I commodious accommodations ar~ not : twenty-six volumes, which was the servatory, which positions she filled l always necessary to attain 1!J,arked i nest-egg. with which it started in until 1888, when failing health com- \ results. i 1820, until at the opening of the year pelled her to resign. She died the I The Nantucket Maria Mit~hell as-11921 it contaired 22,113 volumes. MARIA MITCHELL. following year. I soci~tion was formed in 1902, and a! The present librarian is Miss Clara Maria Mitchell wa~ =~he first woman year later was incoroorated and a IPa~ker, with Miss Isabel Coffin as her again counted the seconds during an- elected to membership of the Amer- charter obtained. The observatory i assistant. other eclipse of the sun while her ican Academy of Arts and Sciences. class of eager girls at Vassar c~llege In 1869 she was chosen a member took the observations. of the American Philosophical soci- .. In the veaT 1847 Maria Mitchell, ety, a society fouT'ded by Benjamh I excusing herself from some guests Franklin in Philadelphia. who were at the house, went to the · The American A_ssocitio'!l for the roof, as was her c1;1stom, to "sweep Advance~ent of Science made. her a the heavens" with her telescope, and member m the early part of its ex­ this time was rewarded by the dis- istence. covery of a comet, which later She was one of the earliest mem­ brought her to the notice of astron- hers of the American Association for omers, the civilized world over. The the Advancement of Women, also a king of Denmark had offered a re- member of the New England Wo­ ward of a gold medal to the astrono- men's club of Boston, also the New mer who should first discover a tele- York Sorosis. scopic comet. This was finally She received the degree of Ph. D. awarded to Maria, as it was shown from Rutger's Female college in that it was she who first saw it, al- Uf70. . though others followed closely, and Her first degree of LL. D. was from The above is an old engraving which represents the old Nantucket Atheneum build­ ing, as it appeared in 1836-ten Yeal,"S before the "great fire." The drawing was made supposed at the time they were the Hanover college in 1832, and her last when the whaling business was booming, which justified the ap!)earance of oil barrels in the first to observe it. LL. D. from Columbia college in 1887. picture. The old engraving is interesting for com:iarison with an illustration of the pra­ It was the evening of "October 1st" On the memorial window in the · ent Atheneum building. which was erected on the same site after the fire. FEDERAL STREET, LOOKING NORTH, WITH ATHENEUM BUILD!~ G ON RIGHT. {Photo taken in 1914).

•'. ' ": ~ • l '~ • • .• •• ••.•

"POSTOFFICE SQUARE" IN THE VILLAGE OF SIASCONSET. (Photo taken in 1914). -~~kl.~· :::~;.":i2 ."•!'• ~~-11.:~",\\-;· ~;lit: /~-:l/i:i :-::::,.ff1~:S/ - .

' ...... ·: ..

THE NORTH CONGREGATIONAL MEETING-HOUSE. (Erected in 1834. Dedicated November 6th).

·:- -~.;.-.,._~:...... ::. •. ·. ~=;,•.;=-.-:· :~%~~rt'.\---\.: \ ·,· .....'. ··.-...---... ,,

THE "CHARLES G. COFFIN" BRICK MANSION ON MAIN STREET-A WINTER SCENE FROM RA Y'S COURT. (Photo taken in 1919) .... ::·~ ... :s:-::_,,:~-~:~ . ._l "•·>,• ~~i•-.. ! erected the following year on Sum- The Method.i.st. . l mer street. ~~:lfi)l!)fil . A Methodist society was formed i:-. In 1898 disruption occurred among 1799. The first church building was t~e Baptists, causing a separation, erected c-n the southwest corner of 1 with the formation cf the People's

'1 Fair a:id Lyons streets and was dedi- 1 Baptist cp"irch as the off-spring of , cated o 1 New Year Day, 1800. This the original Baptist society. The building was commonly known as the 1 new society purchased the old Qua­ I I "Te.:izer" meeting-house from the fact ker meeting-house on Centre street

I' that the flag of sloop Teazer was and held services there several years, raised over the church during an early when the two factions re-united. The period ~f its existence. first pastor was Rev. Daniel Round. The Methodist Church build!ng on At the present time there is no per­ the corner of Centre and Liberty manent pastor. Istreets was erected in 1823 and dedi- ·The Episcopal. cated on the 24th of September. In 1840 the massive pillars were con- In 18b39. d~he Trinity (Episcopal) . . church u1 1 mg was erected on the structed· d mh front of the churchh build-f north si"d e of B road s t reet, near the mg an t e roof was c anged rom I pres t O H b •id· - a fc-ur-pitch to its present form. Rev.' 1 bui"lde~n cean touse uit d:ng. T~e THE "OLD NORTH VESTRY." . 1 g was 1a er erec e on Fair J. B. Ackley 1s the present pastor. street k St p 1, E - Orange street. The steeple was Ia- ' nown as . au s p1scopal Churches of Nantucket­ The Unitar:an. church. This was used as a place ter taken down and in its place four. Past and Present. "minarets" were constructed. !!'he Unitarian - (Second Congrega- of worship until removed in 1901 to The original Congregational church tional) Society was formed in 1809, l give place to the present edifice, building, which was used as a place In 1800 a belt weighing lOOO pounds with the Rev. Seth F. Swift pastor. erected the following year and con- of worship prior to 1834, is now was hung in the Congregational tow- The church building on Orange street secrated June 11, 1902. Rev. Moses known as the "Old North Vestry." pr, which remair.ed there until 1914, was erected t h at year and was ded" 1- Marcus was the pastor of Trinity It l·s the oldest church bu1"ld"1ng 1·n when it was replaced by a new bell cated N ovemb er 9th . T h e Portu- Ch urch - R ev. S amue1 Snelling is the Nar.tucket and was built of oak which donated by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lang. guese bell was placed in the tower h present rector of St'. Paul's. grew on the island. A bill for tim- Rev. stephen Mason was first pas- 1815. The first town clock was tor The e t t · R The Catholic. ber used in its constructio:1. dated I Ch· pr sen pas or is ev. placed there in 1823, being replaced R · 1711, seems to estab11·s-n the ·date of ar1 es A. Ratcliffe. oman Catholic services were first by the present one in 1881. The pas- h 1 ' its erection. It was first located on tor is Rev. Josiah Coleman Kent. e d on the island in 1849, the old high ground some distar.ce north of A brief historical statement rela- town hall b emg· the fi rst Pace1 of wor- 1 "No Bottom" pond, where it remained tive to the other denominat1·ons wh1"ch The Universa.list. s h" P and 1a t er P anth eon h a 11 on Main until , when it was moved to the have flourished on Nantucket may be A Universalist :Church Society was street. In 1858 Harmony hall on 1765 site of the present church building~ appropriate in connection with this formed in 1827. This society owned. Federal street was secured as a place There it re:niained untI~ ~ when sketch of the "oldest meeting-house the site of the present Atheneum of worship · and consecrated as St. 1834 it was moved to its present site, to on the island." building on Federal street, upon Mary's church. Services were held give place to the new building. I The Friends. which a church building was erect- there until 1896, when the old build- At first, when it stood on its origi- i N:::.ntucket was· for many years ed. The Universalist Society con- ing was removed and replaced by the ral site, the church ·had no tower! largely populated by members of the tinued in existence in Nantucket but present edifice. Rev. Fr. Hennis was and there were entrances on the east Scciety of Friends-in fact, the seven years. Rev. George Bradbur.1 I the first -permanent pastor. Rev. Fr. and south end. About 1795, a tower Friends were the leaders i.1 the isl- was the paStor. ! Joseph M. Griffin is present pastor. I was erected on what is now the south i r.nd's business and whalir,g activity I e--:1d c.f the building, which was bolted , for generations. A brief summary to the structure by iron rods. The I of the Friends' rr.eeting-houses is giv- 1 holes seen in the timber above +.he~ en in Macy's "Story of Old Nantuck- ! present desk, were for these rods. ; et," as folkws: : The church was originally fitted i In 1795 the Nantucket meeting, i with a high pulpit and its pens were l which was the:i located at the west 1 square with seats hung on hinges, to; corner of Main and Saratoga .streets, 1 be raised or lowered as required. A i divided, and the Friends who lived 1 huge sounding board was suspended! north of Main street built a new I above the pulpit, held by a cord at- I meeting house on Broad street, next ' tached to a hook in the ceiling. I east of the present Ocean House. The gallery extended around the Those who lived south of Main street north, east and south sides of the built on the lot at the west corner, church, the singers occupying the of Main and Pleasant streets. I eastern, beneath which was the main I About 1829 the North meeting was I entrance, protected by a sma11 entry Idiscontinued, and the Hicksites, se- built outside. ceding from the main body, erected j At one time the vestry building I the building afterward known as At­ passed out of possession of the Con- I lantic Hall, elsewhere referred to, on gregational society and was used for Ithe lot east of the Charles G. Coffin school purposes, later being re-pur- homestead on Main street, where they' chased by the church. It is .also a I held their meetings until 1851. tradition th~t this bui1ding was used I In 1834 the original or Orthodox as a court-house at the trial of Indian body of Quakers built the Fair street Quibby, though there is nothing of meeting house and in 1838 they erect- record to that effect. ed the schoolhouse-now owned by I The present Congregational church the Historical Association. This buildinf:?, situated on what is known meeting split in 1845, and the Gur- • as "Beacon Hill" near Centre street, neyite branch built the meeting house ! was erected in 1834 and consecrated on Centre street. on the 6th of November. The edifice After the litigation over the owner­ is 80 feet long and 62 f ee.t wide. Or- ship of the Fair street property both iginally it had a tall steeple, the top factions joined in a deed of the prop­ of which was 123 teet from the erty to Alfred Macy, and the orlgii,al ground-14 feet higher than• that on society, then called the Wilburite l THE BAPTIST CHURCH. the Unitarian church building on Quakers, re-purchased the school- When Presidents Visited President Wilson Came in 1917. The Island. .}tf~':}:,\:.. : ·";,_ji/' · and received an enthusiastic but en- have visited Nantucket, as this island :;_!i,; :atJllliRiilil tirely informal welcome. That year played quite a prominenilt part ind thde t_·i.~~--: his daughter, Mrs. Francis B. Sayre, 1 - commercial and mercant· e wor an ;~-- with he1 husband and family, was a number of its citizens were called , 'C occupying a cottage at Siasconset, 1 to places of prominence at the Na- { 1:=lllii~iiEfifl and President Wilson's visit to Nan- tional Capital, who may have influ- ! ·. · i tucket was principally to see his enced· some of the earlier Presidents l grand-children, although he said that to pay Nantucket a. visit. Nantuck- 1 it had always been his desire to see et has had four Representatives in I1 Nantucket, which had played such an Congress and two Presidential Elec- important part in the history of the tors and in 1882 Hon. Charles J. Fol- . ' country. . ger, a native of Nantucket, was ap- The Presidential party arrived on pointed Secretary of the Treasury un- the government yacht Mayflower, der President Arthur. which anchored in back of the bar at Preside:r:.t Grant Came in 1874. 1.10 in the afternoon. A launch • The first President whose visit to bearing secret service men came Nantucket was made a momentous oc- ashore in advance of President and casion was President Grant, who Mrs. Wilson, and arranged for the came here on the 27th of August, landing of the distinguished party at 1874. He arrived· at 10 o,clock on the pier of the Athletic Club. Shortly the "P..iver Queen," and was greeted after 1.30 the launch containing the by enthusiastic ·cheers from the crowd President, Mrs. Wilson and . Mrs. of spectators. A presidential salute Sayre came in and as the launch ap- was fired from the guns on Commer- proached the pier the crowd which cial wharf. , had gathered along tne water front F. c. Sanford, Esq., was in charge "1illl ' and on Steamboat wharf commenced of the Presidential party, who were \ ~ cheering, giving the President an en- assigned to carriages and made a ===== thusiastic welcome. brief tour of the town. Passing up Mr. Justice Clarke, of' the Supreme the wharf the procession turned d own· I ___PRESIDENT ______AND MRS. GRANT ___ AT THE ______OCEAN HOUSE. AUGUST 27.··- 1874.·-- I Court of the United States, whose South Water street and then onto I . . . i summer home was on Nantucket, was Main. As the party entered Main ! of Mr. Sanford, becoming a little un- ce1ved the PreSident and he was m- the first person to greet President street the carriages passed betwee.1 easy from the demonstrations of the troduced to a few friends upon the Wilson when he stepped from the two lines of children·from the Sunday crc,wd, caught one rein under the har- wharf. Declining any formal re- launch. Dr. J .. s. Grouard, president schools, who gleefully waved their ness, and before it couid be gotten out ception, the Presid_ent stated that he of the Athletic Club, was the next, handkerchiefs and fairly stormed the the animals were under pretty good desired simply to see the town and its and several other persons were privi­

Presidential carriage and its occu- headway down Broad street. Mr. j· objects _of. int~rest. Having _ace:~~- leged to receive a Presidential hand- pants with bouquets. Passing up Sanford, on getting control, promptly ed an invitation to tile hosprtahties I clasp. Main street the party passed down reined up to a tree, and Mrs. Grant of the house of Mr. F. C. Sanford, the The President was kept busy rais­ Orange to York, through York to j and Councillor Macy alighted, pref~r- party was driven t_o Mr. Sanford's, ing his hat as he walked alo~g the Pleasant, down over the really good I ring to trust to their feet the remai~- thence to the residences of Hon. pier through the club-house and en­ shell road to Main, down Main to j der of the distance. The Preside~t Charles O'Conor, ~nd Hon. Henry A. tered a carriage which was waiting Centre, through Centre to Chester, Iretained his seat, however, and was, I Willar~,. of Washington, D. C., and outside,- the people cheering him at through Chester· and North Wate:- without furthe't' trouble, carried to the Ialso visited the Cattle Sho~. He every turn. The party was at once streets to Broad, and alighted at the i boat, and at about 12 o'clock the next made a call at the i::acifi~ Cl~b driven over ~o 'Sconset, where Mr. Ocean House to partake of a collation. steamer left for Hyan~is, and the room, and expressed gratification rn and Mrs. Wilson were entertained The dining hall of the hotel was tow'!'l resumed its former quietness. meeting so i:n~ny of the master m~r- during the day by their daughter and placed at the disposal of the distin- The President occupied the "histor- ine.r~. . A. visit was made to Sui:;fside grand-children at the Sayre cottage. guished guests, and w~s tastefully ic state room" (*) in the River Qu~en by m_vitatI~n cf the Nantucket and It was just a family party, with no trimmed with flags at either end and on his passages to and from the isl- , Surfside Railroad Co. . intrusion from outsiders and no at­ centre and sides, while the tables were and. · 1 On hi~ retu1:1. to town the Presi- tempt at a formal reception. Preside'!lt profusely decorated with flowers. The •NOTE-The "River Queen:• besides gain- dent paid a visit to the Atheneui:n and Mrs. Wilson spent the afternoon bill of fare was cold meats, turkey, ing fame as General Grant·s dispatch bo"lt Museum; then returned to the,resi- and evening at the Sayre cottage and chicken, roast beef, lamb, ham ~nd had considerable notoriet;:Y fr~m the fact that clence of Mr. Sanfor.d, where a se:- then were driven to town, leaving on tongue· salads lobster and chicken. Iit was on board her t~t th... ~elebrated con- enade was tendered by the Massasoit the launch about 10 o'clock and board- , , ference between President Lincoln of th .. A • t· f Uniform Patriarchs Dessert, cakes, Charlotte Russe, lem- United States and A. H. Stephens. the Vice- ssoeia ion ° . B to ing the Mayflower a half hour later, on and wine jellies, ice cream, pears, Ipresident of the Southern Confederacy. took and the Metropr-htan Band, 0! os n. to continue their cruise along the peaches, bananas, apples and grapes. place. and a room on the upper deck in About 5 o'clo~k the P:esiden_t re- coast. Th ·te h wore a tri-color ro- which the noteworthy even:t occurred was turned to the pier-and immed1ately settee wm on t hrse easheou Id er. The co11 a tion afterwards called the_ "state room." · left in the barge for. the Dispatch fi t was entirely off-hand and no display p ,•d t Arth Ca • which soon after weighed anchor and The streets of the town were rs , res1 e-n ur me 1n 1882. h d d t d named in 1797. or speeches were even attempted. President Chester A. Arthur hon-1 ea e eas war . . ------. The party came in headed by Coun- ored the island by a visit on Thurs­ c1llor Macy and Mrs. Grant, followed day, September 7, 1882. The U. S. j by the President with Mrs. Macy, and s. Dispatch, having the Presidential 1 after the dinner many ladies and party on boarc;I, arrived at the bar in gentlemen had the honor of a pres- the morning, and the President, witli entation to President Grant. Besides his private secretary, was rowed the President and his wife there were ashore in a large barge, landing at , over forty others in the party. the steamboat wharf about noo"", During the assembly of the guests I where an ea,:?er throng was assem­ in the dining hall, Postmaster-General bled. who received the nation,s chief Jewell appeared on the piazza of the with waving kerchiefs and thrPe hotel and in behalf of the President rousin,a- cheers, in response to which and his suite thanked the people for Mr. Arthur ti1>1>ed his bat in graceful their :reception. acknowledgment. As the party was leaving the Collector Worthington~ of Boston. Ocean House for the boat the horses and Collector Hiller of Nantucket, re- A-NANTUCKET FISH-MARKE;t' OF ~THER DAYS WARREN G. HARDING !farm where he· raised his family and l CAL VIN COOLIDGE I kept them on duty until the organlza- -- l where his son Warren grew up doing' · t· f 1· f · Twenty~nintb President of the United .States. I b , ' - i I ion o a new po Ice orce. In a tele- 1a oy s work about the farm. The l Vice-President or .the United States_ ; gram to Samuel Gompers he said: Warren Gamaliel Harding was born I yo~ng man was graduated from the , . . _ . !"There is no right to strike against November 2, 1865, at ~loomi~g Ohio Cei_itral College _cnov.: defunct) '. Calvi? Coolidge, V1ce-Pre~1dent of Ithe public safety by anybody, any­ Grove, Morrow County, Ohi~. His at ~erma, ~nd_ he paid his w~y. by i the Umted States, was born ;n Ply_m- where, at any time!" There is . a father, Dr. George T. Harding, not farming, . d!gging roads,: pamtmg r c,uth! Vermont, ~uly 4, 1872. . Li~e ILincoln-like simplicity about Calvin only practised his profession as a barns, pnntmg, and teachm? school.: Preside~t Harding, Mr. C'oohdge s l Coolidge, both in his deali.cigs with his country doctor, but worked the Ohio !n 1884 t~e Doctor ~ught h~s son an! early bfe was spe:it on his father's i fellow-mers and in his speeches. mterest m the Marion Daily Star,\ farm, where he did the usual number I · now owned by the President. 1 of chores that fall to the lot of a

Warren G. Harding entered politics country lad. He entered Amherst j'

in 1900, being elected a member of College in 1891, and received his A. 1 the Ohio Se-ate, in which he served . B. in 1895. He studied law at North- I until 1904, when he became Lieuten-; ampton, Mass., and in 1897 he began!

ant-Governor of Ohio. In 1910 he' to practise in the same place. 1• was defeated as candidate for Govern- He was elected a councilman of or of Ohio, but in 1914 v.-as elected to Northampton in 1899; city solicitor i the United States Senate by a ma-: in 1900; clerk of courts in 1904; a! jority of more than 100,000. During' member of the General Court of: his ser.atorial career, from 1915 un- Massachusetts in 1907; mayor of til 1921, he has always been a con- Northampton in 1910; and a member servative, staunchly supporting the : of the State Senate in 1912. In 19i8 measures of his party. \ Vice-President Coolidge was elected As a member of the Committee on i Governor of Massachusetts, an office I Foreign Relations he worked with l that he held from 1919 until 1921. Senator Lodge and other Reservation- ! .: He came into international prom­ ists. On political and religious ques- i inence in 1919, during the police tions his attitude has been one of tol-: stri~e in Boston, when the city, desert_ erance and consideration. He bas • ed by the policemen, was left to the

j long been noted for eloquence as an J mercy of rioters and thieves. Cool- orator. ; idge summoned the Sta~e troops and

PRESIDENT HARRISON VISITED NANTUCKET IN 1890. ' Benjamin H~rrison, President of the United States from 1889 to 1893, made a brief visit to Nantucket on the 10th of August, 1890, remaining on the island but a few hours. The visit was made on Sunday and comparatively few of the townspeople knew that the President was on the isl~ and. He arrived unannounced and there was no public demonstration of any kind.

PRESIDENT WILSON AND PARTY LANDING ON THE ATHLETIC CLUB PIER, SEPTEMBER 13, 1917. Mrs. Wilson is in frc-nt of the party, nearly opposite the flag, wearing a veil. Beside her is the President's daughter, Mrs. Francis B. Sayre. President Wilson is behind, with his head bared and his hat in bis hand. Beside him is Mr. Justice Clarke, who was the first person to welcome the President upon his arrival. Close behind are some of the secret service men, and a short distance in the rear are Dr. J. S. Grouard, Henry Holding, Fredrik Fischer Meyer, George L. Carlisle and William Flagg. From 1881 to 1917·Nantucket r-....,....--..--- ·-- f be made in comfort. The scheme Owned a Railroad. . I was not a success, so the motor-ear ., was shipped back to t,1e mainland For thirty-six years Nantucket ac­ , \ ~ I, again the next October. · tually owned a railroad, but now it is I . · I The next year ( 1909) the recon- only a memory. From 1881 to 1917 I 1 struction of the road-bed was co~­ inclusive a little narrow-guage line menced and a new line of track was was operated across the island and , · laid. Another locomotive had in the then the track and train went to the meantime been brought to the island, junk-heap, giving place to a more I purchased from the Revere Beach modem method of transportation­ line, to take the place of old "Dionis," the automobile. and it was this outfit (the third of It was in 1881 that the scheme of Nantucket's locomotives) which constructing a railroad between the "turned turtle" down on the south town and Surfside took• tangible form beach on the 23d of July, 1909. No and a company was formed to finance one was injured, however, so the lo- the undertaking, through the efforts "DIONIS" DRAWING NANTUCKET'S FIRST RAILROAD TRAIN. Icomotive was righted again and did of Philip H. Folger. The "Surfside First operated July 4. 1881. Photo taken at Surfside. service several years longer. boom" was then on and great promise ------In 1910, the new rolling stock was was held for that section as a mecca were employing rival bands that sea- was not heard once during the season. brought to the island and the old out­ for summer tourists. son and their "hops,; were largely at- The island· missed its cheery sound, fit oiscarded. The new stock includ­ The first sleeper was laid in. the tended. however, and 'Sconset suffered from ed locomotive, passenger and baggage construction of the road on May 13 But old "Dionis" had been having its inactivity, for a stage coach was car-all built especially f e>r the Nan­ and the first train was run on the her troubles. The seas were at that the principle means of transportation tucket line. It was a gala day for 4th of July. To William D. Clark, period cutting into ti1e i>ank at tat:: between the town and the village that the islanders when the new train went the old town crier, was accorded the south shore and in 1883 the heaviest season, and it was very unsatisfac­ out to 'Sconset over the new road-bed honor of driving the first spike. For surf known at Nantucket for years tory. Delmont L. Weeks, who had on the 7th day of June-in that year. several years .thereafter "Dionis" did pounded its way into the bluff on Au- been manager of the road for several Heretofore about everytbi.,g the line a big business. gust 29th-almost at the height of seasons, announced that the company had possessed was brought here "sec­ Surfside was booming. The Coffi the season. The railroad line was which he represented was "ready to Reunion was held there in August of threatened, but the storm subsided sell out." ondhand," but this outfit was brand new, and the islanders rejoiced in the 1881, about a month after the rail- before the road-bed was reached and I· And then· "the Macy syndicate" road service was established, and th~ all went well until 1887, when it was came to the relief. Nantucket bkod fact. And then came another change in little narrow-guage railroad, with its fol!nd necessary to move the track in (not the Coffins-but the Macys) be­ ownership and manag-ement, but ·New "open" cars (see illustration) -carried from the edge of the_ bluff. And the came interested and finally secured many of the descendan:s of the illu3- next year another heavy storm came the aid of New York capitalists and York capitalists still retained control. The line did business each season, trious "Tristram" out to the Sout'1 .in November and the railroad line was bought the line. The late Cromwell but it was a losing venture and fina 1- shore for their reunion and clam-bake. washed into the surf. G. Macy was president of the new ly, in 1917, the owners decided to junk It was in memory of "Tristram" Cof- Twice the track was moved inward company and Thomas G. Macv ger;er­ fin's good wife "Dionis" that the lit- after it was first laid. Finally, in al manager. a,..d thev nlanned to dis the entire outfit, the market price of tle engine was given her name and 1893, another August storm came and card the familiar little train for a scrap iron bei"'~ at a high mark, due the letters stood forth :m gilt on each 1a long stretch of the road-bed at No- more ·modern eonvevance known as a to the war. The rails and track were side of her tender. badeer was washed into the surf. "gasoline motor-car." · soon torn up and the iron shipped to In 1882 the Surfside boom was at Realizing that it was unwise to con- A little car which soon became the mainland, along with the engine its height and the highway leading tinue to battle against the fc.rces of known as "The Bug" was placed in and its cars. there (known as Atlantic Avenue) nature and endeavor to maintain the service, with the intention of estab­ And thus closes the story of Nan­ was widened that year. In 1883 the road-bed along the edge of the· south lishing an "all-the-year" line. "The tucket's unique little railroad, born "Riverside Hotel" was removed from shore, in 1895 the promoters of the Bug" could accommodate but six or in 1881, died in 1917. It was not its site c-n the Providence river and line rebuilt the railroad by a short.er eight passengers, yet it possessed a strange that, with 'Sconset thus cut brought to Nantucket and erected at route to 'Sconset and Surfside was "trailer'' upon which trunks could be off from regular communication with Surfside as the "Surfside Hotel." It abandoned, the interests and energies piled, and the outfit was known as the mother town, th~ movement to was formally opened to the public on I of the line centering upon the devel- "The Bug and the Birc!-cage." Al­ admit · automobiles received such the 4th of July. opment of the village of 'Sconset. though crude in its appearance and strong suppc-rt~ so when the little "Dionis" was doing a rushing busi- The Surfside "boom" bad vanished in operation, "The Bug" could skim over railroad passed on the voters of NaT'l­ ness and she was very popular, but it the air, and the hotel had long sin::e the rails faster than ·•Dionis" ever tucket put aside their prejudices ancl was a short run of only three miles been closed, the building gradually went and on the 29th of November, in May, 1918, voted to let down the to ~~rfside and s~e longed for more falling into decay until its complete 1907, it made a trip out to 'Sconset in bars and admit automobiles. But ~ct1vity than the little route a:ff'orde_d. collap~e ea~e in November, 1899. \ 19 minutes. The "Bugt-' finally be­ "Dionis" and her little train will long Prospects for the success of the rail- Dunng its career the Nantucket came unruly_and squashed herself to be remembered. road were promising, so the promo- Railroad has passed through many death. · ters decided to extend the track along ownerships, none of which has ever The next year (1908) the promised The Jetties. the south .. shore to :sconset. This become rich out · of the investment "gasoline motor-car" was placed in Work upon the western jetty at was done m the spnng of 1884 and In fact, there was one year (1908) service. It could accommodate some the entrance to Nantucket harbor the first train was run to the village when the railroad ''took a rest" and thirty passengers i>ut its vibration was commenced April 26, 1881, whe'.1 on the 8th of July, when "Dionis" first the whistle of the little locomc-tivE' was so intense th~t the trip could not the first stone was laid. Since then made the acquaintance of 'Sconset. the beach at this point.__has made out That, too, was a gala occasion, but several hundred feet. the stone which the lengthened route proved to be too marks the commercement of tltP .ie4-t"'r much for "Dionis" to cover alone, as work being a long distanc~ in-shore she was getting old, so in 1885 a com­ at the rear of the batbing e5tab1 ish­ pankn was purchased for her and ment. christened "Sconset/' making her first The cost of construction of the wes­ triu on the 25th of June. tern jettv, begun in 1881, was $112,- The latter was a peculiar little en­ 000. The eastern jetty has cost gine. of unusual co..,struction. inas­ $375,000 to date aTld more work is in much · as the locomotive and her ten­ contemplation by the government. der were all mounted on one truck­ The flashing light was installed on that is, the tender was built onto and the end of the eastern jettv in 1912 made a part of the locomotive itself. a,..,d in 1920 the government placed a The island railroad boomed and in -fog bell there. Aua-ust the village of 'Sconset held I a biJ? illumination. The "Surfside I NANTUCKET'S LAST RAILROAD TRAIN .. In the year 1771 a small pox hosui­ Hotel" at the south shore and the Last trip made September 23. 1917. Track torn u, in April, 1918. +al was erected on Gravelly Island by "Nantu~ket Hotel" on Brant point Photo taken when train was crossing the "Goose-pond." Dr. Samuel Gelston. AN INTERESTING VIEW OF THE VILLAGE OF 'SCONSET IN 1919. Phot.c> by H. B. Turner.

THE VILLAGE PUMP.

"BROADWAY" IN THE VILLAGE OF SIASCONSET IN 1905. Henry B. Worth's Study of j l A Christmas Morning on Nan- This Picture. l \ tucket in 1865.

The historic 'value of an old land-: 1 Fifty-six years ago next Christmas scape photograph is the fact that it , : morning there occurred what has been shows what contemporary objects ex-. :a It .2 .. i chronicled as the most distressing isted at that time and if the date is · ; shipwreck on the shores of Nantuck­ ascertained the value is greatly en- : [ et island-the loss of the ship New- hanced. This picture luls no mark ''! ton, a craft of 699 tons, which sailed identifying either the age or the mak­ from New York for Hamburg two er, but fortunately there is sufficient I days previous-and from which every internal evidence to determine the '. person on board was lost. date. 1 Early on Christmas morning a re­ It is the view from the tower of the port was circulated about town that Ui;ritarian Church, looking northeast, a large vessel had gone to pieces on and presents the situatfon about 'the i the south side of the island, eastward· wharves and harbor at some time be­ 1 from Maddequecham pond, and that fore Brant Point was the location of i the shore was strewn with barrels of any summer cottage. At the Straight ' kerosene oil. wharf was a steamer painted black, But one of the crew reached the which middle-aged men would not shore; he was found about half a mile hesitate to identify as the lighthousg inland, naked, and had probably swam tender "Verbena," but a questjon ashore and started for the nearest might be raised by older men who :re­ house, perishing on the way-a man membered that the preceding tender of about twenty-five - or thirty years named the "Cactus" :resembled the I of age. "Verbena" so closely in appearance I 1 Aboot noon a life-preserver was that they were unable to distinguish 1found marked "Newton, Hamburg," which was shown in the picture. This 1 and by reference to New York papers, doubt, however, is restricted to a well it was found that the Newton, Cap­ defined period, because the ~teamer NANTUCIp 16th of December, 1896, an op~nm '?: Y moun c-r escen . . love :Nantucket and wished to retur.1: marked from a distance by in-coming sS1"!1dce t Se _ohss dof _t e hQueen and the probably the oil a nd eand1e factones ! the "Island Home." The former must' was visible at the- head of the broke through the narrow stn, of A comfortable dwelling at the head t th . f d , passengers no small percentage of 1 ney m1t , urmg t e war c-f 1812. . another season o e1r new- oun : • F II · l I l•wned by Joseph S. Barney 3nd John• have been an excursion boat which Straight wharf about in front of the beach at the head of the h?.rbor of the stairway had recently changed . d h D . h f i whom seek its shelter The only re- o owing e ose y upon the wrecli . is11an ome. unng t e o11 owing ! • f h h H W. Barrett. According to the rec- l excludes from further eonsiderat:on office of E. w.' Perry & Co. With- known as "The Haulover," which d:­ hands, and was then occupied as the . t th th t· f taki : grettable incident in its progress was o t e sc ooner aynes, near Hum, olleetion of the writer, they had been ( the period between September, 1868, ! out aoubt it was the "Tawtemeo," rived its name from the fact that m residenee of a retired farmer. Mr. wm er mbon ds e queds 1~dn do fli ng i the neeess!lry grading and filling up I mock Pond, two days before Christ, . summer oar ers was eci e a rma- ' hi h l d :removed befo~ 1872· . ! and March, 1869, because exeursi.o, which arrived that day from New olden days the fishe~en would row Chapman was full of enterpnse and t· Add"t· d t th I of the old Step Lane in order that mas, w e was a so atten ed by ter- I I 1 A~ the Straight wharf was a bng steamers never visited Nantucket dur- !Bedford. The "Verbena" started Iup the harbor, haul their boats across vigor, though well-advanced in years. hive y. .2 ions were ma:- : e Icarriages and other 'vehicles might rible loss of life, there being· no sur- and 1t may safely be assumed ~~t she ing those mc-nths. 1 that morning on a cruise over the the beach and then pull off to the He had become tired of the ceaseless ouse conv;n~nces, am:ng w ic "'::s; reach its veranda of entrance It vivors, the wreck of the Newton cast 1 was a Nantucket whaler, for it is not If these deductions are correct the I district but her arrival was not re- fishing grounds. round of farm work along the rocky andopthen P at orm fon t e watefr s ef ! "Ii··es ~ thus as a memorial of Step a gloom over the whole island, mak- an e summer o 1882 was u 11 o : • '· ' . . · Ch · k f 86 conceivable that. during that period picture was taken in the summ~r of ported ' in the "Inquirer," although The opening in the ";1Iaulover" re­ shore of Long Island Sound, nea_r t"fi t· t Id f . d d : Lane whose foundatic-n was laid m mg nstmas wee o 1 5 one of . 11. h . ted gra 1 ea 10n o o nen s an a sea- 1 • ' th d k st · th · 1 d' h. to any merchant bng could have been at · 1870. The horse in the foreground her identity is beyond question. ) ~aine~ there for tv:elv~ years, at one Mystic, and. se mg. out,. e . mves son o·f ma k"mg many new ones. .'[ the great Coffin reunion in 1881. J e ar e m e IS an s is ry. part of his means in this quiet home, Th th :f h" d d Nantucket. I-is identified as one that Elisha Park- If the sound conclusion has been I ti.me {m l904) having increased to a · · d h" d · e success us ar ae ieve , e- The only whaler of that description ( er "wned and kept in that stable after gathered from all these facts, the I quarter of a ~ile in width,_ available mtendmg to en is ays m peace. 'termined the future efforts of Mr.! • The First "Cattle Show." then ewned at Nant,?cket _was the' _ . photograph was taken Friday after- i to craft drawing up t~ eight feet. 1 1867 . But there were uneasy souls, even Iand Mrs. Chapman in the same di- 1 The Napoleon WIiiows. The first "cattle show" and fair "Eunice H. Adams, onginally a I Excursion boats were not frequent noon August 26 1870 between the ' The fishing boats found it a very easv m. those days, and some of the~ eon- 1 rection. More property was pur- In 1842 three youn~ willow trees was held on Nantucket, October 28, 1867 th ! schooner and in c~anged to a arrivals and always brought tourists arriv'a1 of the "Isiand Home" and the method of reaching e "grou,,ds" ceived the plan of a grand :reumon of ! chased. The house was enlarged ; were brought to the island from the 11856. The cattle were exhibited in brig. After that alteration she made from the Vineyard, New Bedford or departure of the "W. W. Coit." and it was used by steamers Pet"!"el rd th 1 nd me~bers, old a young, c~ e C~ffin northwardly, and raised upwardly. ; grave of Napoleon, on the is and of the lot opposite the Atheneum. cor­ two whaling voyages a about Jan- Rhr,de Island. An examination of the The testimony of the old picture is and Waquoit for several years. fa~tly. The scene of its earliest The open platform so much appreci- j St. Helena, and planted on the ea.st ner of Federal and Chestnut streets. 1 7 uary , l8 l, was ~ransferred to New arrivals for that summer reported in clear and remarkably minute, but The openin':' gr:<>duallv c'osed to­ ' triumphs-Nant:i~~et-was selected ated as a :resort for out-looking, dur- , side of Centre street. n°ar the corner The display of fruit and vegetables nd th Bedfor a<>'am. Two t~ousands of vi~itors, was a problem modest "shingle" bearing i,:1e iegend, heavy storms two of them blew down, odist church. l870, until transferred to New Bed- l)ersons from Oak Bluffs and returned window of the South Tower it is not days later a team drove do~ fro~ difficult of solution. "Veranda House," graced Step Lane. but the third remained standimr un- ___ _ rd th fo · the same aftel"Tloon, Au1n1st 26. 1870. so certain who was the operator. C. Coskata station for e first time m A house-to-house solicitation was The house continued to grow during ; til April 9, 1918, w?en it was cut In the year over fifty thous- At the Commercial wharf was a The re~lar boat between the Vine- H. Shute & Son, of Edgartown, took. twelve years. 1880 needful, and every be:8nf!: up frm th~ 1:i~d in Nantucket by employe u a f whaler "~bby Bradford." In April, 'I ohansett" and in Aul?Ust of that year '!fore 1872. Kilburn_ Bros. of Little- I The elm trees . were planted OTJ 0 were greedily appropriated. Even in a quiet, homelike way. Its guests root, however. snowmg that the old IJ h W H 11 tt • es 1870, a 1..:ad whale was ·· found near a second boat was chartered, named ton, N. H., and J os1ah Freeman, of . Main street in Apnl, 1852. quiet farmer Chapman's disinclina- were largely, whole families, and tree wac; still alive. , o n . a e . . A WATER SPOUT IN NANTUCKET SOUND. On Wednesday, the ninetee"'lth day of August, 1896, a water spout appeared in Nantucket sound, between Oak Bluffs ar.d Cross Rip lightship, of which phenomenon this is a photograph. It accompanied an ordinary thunder storm, first bei11g noticed a1. 12-40 p. m., when a tongue shot down from a dense black cloud, rising and falling a number of times, when a second tongue seemed to leap out of the water and joined the tongut hanging down. from the cloud. Twice the water spout parted, but joined together again almost instantlv. the phenomenon continuing in plain sight. of the residents of both Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket for half an hour. The spout apparently had nc, side motion, and was surrounded by a flat calm. Sea captains who had witnessed many water. spouts in other oceans, where they are a .frequent .c·ccurrence,. ~tated that the one which appeared in Nantucket· sound at this 1.ime, was the· most pronounced of anv they had seen. Its oresence caused no marine disaster. although a small 9'.!hooner and a catboat were becaln,ed within a mile of its base. This photograph was taken from. Oak Bluffs, several excellent exposures being made.

MAIN STREET IN WINTER. Thrilling Experience in Blizzard forty fathoms. • The night was terri- j Prior to 1844 Mails Were j of the mail. When the mail from ble, and we were finally obliged t:> Brought by "Packets." , California arrived, the ball was cov- Near Tuckernuck. 'put out our large anchor. 1 · d "At 5 o'clock in the morning, the . ered with a white sack to annoance Althoug h severa1 o f t h e is1 an It was not until the year 1844 that th t f t d th t ffi steamers have had some very thrill- wind blew the strongest, and as I th St b t C h d a we 1come ac , an e pos o ce made my way along the upper deck, t e t d eam_thoa th ompany a con- was . soon crowded with expectant ing experiences in battling against 1t· seemed as if the h urncane· uec.J k· rac e w1. e . government. fc1 friends of the many Nantucketers in storm and ice in Nantucket sound, the .nust blow off. We ripped open sacks transportmg the island mails, anc th t f ff 1 d L tt ta t. old "Is lan d H ome, " wit· h "Captam- ·o f gram· t o get the b ags · t o wrap along m. the 30's and 40's the maI!. C arf ar-o. . anh . e er pos °o-e fif o Manter" at her helm led them all. ~bout the hawser to prev~nt its chaf f was brought to the island by the nu- a I orn1a m t e ear1 Y cays was ty ' mg. The boat rode bke a duck, , . I cents. There are probably many of our ~ead- though, and when it lighted up tow- merous packets which ran to New J There are doubtless many person!t ers who can clearly recall the ·wmter t.rd morning, made la d close to us, Bedford, Boston and other places, each t·n r . h th ld 0 11 0 1 of 1881, when the steamer was im- which we took to be the Cliff, until, boat carrying her own mail sack, anc. !I~~ wtivmg ,--:- h~e~a e d d s ~:p prisoned in the ice three miles in back later on, we found we were close upon on. the arrival in Nantucket of eithe1 . " a eme~: w IC succee e · e Tuckernuck, ar.d could see the hotel...... I Portugal, and ran as a packet for of th; bar twelv~ days, and horses I realized the precarious situation, a pa~ke1: or_ a whaleship_ it 15 s~ic..: j many years between Nantucket and and s~eds were driven out across the and when the tide had fallen and we the distribution of the mail was quit( I N B df d d d f C t · · · · d 1 l: ·k b t k th t . d . A ew e or un er comman o ap . ice, carrymg provisions an coa. egan to stn e o 'tom, ~ew a an important an umque event. ~ . something must be dcne, and that soon as the boat had docked some quickly, and decided to beach her on · ' the island. J3uoyed the large an- person who ~as the possessor of. a chor and slipued the cable. then cu!: loud, clear v01ce, would mour.t a pile I the hawser, when the wind favored us, of wood, and plunging his hand into and heac-ed us so we could run for the the sack would call forth the names I bar. Oyr co<'k~ William Qrpin, k~ows of the ;ersons who had letters. every mch of the ground up that way, . I ·and he brc--ught her throug-h the slues , In thc-se days 1t used to cost 12 among the Swile islands into five cents to send a letter to Boston, and fathoms of water, when we put for consequently the amount of corre- th~Tbhar. t "fi d t spondence forwarded to and from the e seas were em c, an swep . . clean across: the bow, running aft, and' isl.and was not gr_eat, bemg mostly of Mr. Bucknam, the engineer, was at a· business nature. The arrival of times almost ankle deep in water in the packet, whether the "Tawteme~" his.engine room. The old boat rolled from New Bedford o::::- o:1e from Bos- fearfully, and when we reached the I ' . outer bar, a wave tcwering- above the ton, Albany, New_ York or Baltimore, hurricane deck struck her as she rost was always an important event to U!-)0n it, knockin_g that hole in the I Nantucketers, side, ar.d swee:pmg throug-h to . the I A mast 108 feet high was fc.r a outer saloon. I wouldn't have given I . . . . . two cents at the time for the boat and number of years mamtamed on a site all r.n board, but we have passed at the rear of the postoffice, then lo­ safely through it, with all haTids safe. cated on Main street c-pposite Fed­ b'1~t a slight damage to_ the boat, and eral, from which sig:-als were dis­ with anchors gone, which can be re- played for the information of the covered. It was as much worse than _. . CArTAIN NATHAN H. MANTER. being in the ice as .you can imagine. townspeople denotmg the approach CAPT. JOHN RAY. Born May 18, 1818. Died February 6. 1897. and was one of the wildest times I and arrival of a steamer or packet. Of Nantucket·s Famous Packet "Tawtemeo." And the time whe;-i the "Island·- have known in mv many years' life When the boat was sighted a flag was on the ocean. We backed and filled, flown from the mast-head of the siq;- John Ray. The "Tawtemeo" was H<-me" was caug-ht out in the blizzard aero~~ the bar, and the rest you have I . t ff .J h h . h d ar.d came near being wrecked on seen." na1 s a , ar.\.• w en t e mat1 reac e first owned by the Nantucket Steam­ 1 Tuckernuck is still referred to as the postoffice the flag was haule boat Company, and in 1855 was sold within the memory of the present The first ship built on Nantucket down ~r.d a large black ball run u~ for $2,300 to Captain Ray. This cld g-e-:-eration, fer it happened on the was ramed "Rose" and was launched and by this means the inhg,bitant-: sloop was frequently used for trans­ 5th of February, 1882, and that was from the yard on Brant point in 1810. were kept in touch with the arriva: porting the mails at times ·when the less than forty years ago. But that islard steamers were not in service. was some experience, when those on She continued in service as a "pac- .. \ .. . ·.- 1 board thought the boat was doomed. '. \ ket" until May, 1881, -..vilen she was Richard E. Burgess is the only man \ sold and left Nantucket, the death of living in Nantucket today who was ' : ... her ver.erable skipper having oc- . . ' c,n the steamer that n.gi1t, but there , r ~... ~ • , ~ • •• : . :;-. ~ .. , curred a few months prior to her de- are many people who c:m recall see­ . . , ·. -... l 1 parture. · ing the Island Home sweeping across Few are there of Nantucket lineage the bar that Sunday morning "broad­ who, in speaking of the old "Tawte­ side on," after a terrible night in the meo," do not recall at least a portion blizzard, saved only by the skill of of. the following little "jingle" penned her gallant captain. It was an ex­ by the late William H. Macy: perience that shc-uld be made a mat- I The shades of night were fallinrfast, ter of history and we herewith give -As round Brant :,oint a good sloop passed. And to the pier her hawsers cast- · Captain Manter's own story of the -Tawtemeo! event, just as he related it when he Th'!n music raised its stirrinv: tone. finally ran the boat up to the dock Great guns were fired anci i'og-a1orns blown. that Sunday morning. He said: That her arrival might be known- -Tawtemeo ! "We were detained at Woods Hole until T"early half-past one, waiting for Once· i:nore, in his own native place, the other boat~ and then put out. The Captain, with his Ray-diant face, When nearlv up to Cape Poge, we had Can tell his stories with a grace- fine snow; but the weather was mod­ -Tawtemeo ! erate and the wind E. N. E., and I . How for two months he has been gone, did not anticipate anything serious. ,, Long enough to have reached Cape Horn­ We made all our buoys. but after In Woods Hole, ice-bound and forlorn- leaving- Tuckernuck shoal buoy, the -T:iwtemeo ! snow increased, and we were unable Long may the honest captain tell to see ten feet ahead. Ran out our Of all the mishaps that befell, time to the bar, but could not see the During that long, cold, bitter spell- buoy; then tracked the bar to the -Tawtemeo ! eastward about twenty minutes, but Through ice-fields did the good sloop drive still no buov; came about and ran In eighteen hundred seventy-five twenty minutes to the westward, with She came forth safe and all alive- like result. and as night was coming· -Tawtemeo ! on and the wind increasine: to a Propitious gales the old craft bless · strone: brP.eze. dP"ided to ay,,..ho-r. -out­ ~t.rai.zht antl Cross Wharves in 1870. Note the piles of wood the entire length of Through many years of good success. tine: out the small anchor with fifteen I fathoms of chain, but found we were the wharf. Several coasters and smacks lying on the south side and slooi> Tawtemeo at I And "may her shadow ne'er grow less!" dragging, and increased the chain to her berth on the north. An "apple merchant"" in the foreground. ! -Tawtemeo ! The Life-Saving Service on Nantucket. The location of Nantucket island, thirty miles at sea otr the Massachu­ setts coast, surrounded by countless shoals upon which many a staunch vessel has be.en wrecked and many a life lost, made it one of the first P.laces to be -considered by the United States govemment when it was de­ cided in 1871 to establish a "life-sav­ ing service" for the patrol of the coast and the equipment of stations with men and surf-boats and life­ saving apparatus. Surfside Station First. The first station maintained on Nantucket was that at Surfside, which was established October 24, 1874, with Capt. Joseph Winslow the first keeper. It was manned for the first time on the firs't of December, 1874, and the first rescue was the crew of the bark W. F. Marshall, which was wrecked near the head of Mioxes pond, March 9, 1877. The present keeper is Capt. Albert Rohdin. 7 THE WRECK OF THREE-MASTED SCHOONER T. B. WITHERSPOON. Muskeget Second. The Witherspoon was wrecked near the nead of Mioxes pond, January 10, 1886. She was loaded with a cargo of molasses, cocoa. The next station established on sugar, spices, etc. When the vessel struck a fierce snow-storm was raging with the temperature at 16 degrees above zero. Although ~antucket was that at Muskeget, the beach was thronged with people throughout the day and the life-saving crew from Surfside was on the shore, they were power- less to render assistance, and the crew slowly perished in the rigging or fell into the sea and were drowned. Lines were shot over which was officially put into commis- the vessel, but the men on board were frost-bitten and unable to haul off the hawser. A fearful sea was raging, which made it im­ sion January 11, 1883, with Capt. ! possible to launch a boat. Nevertheless, in ~he face of an a'most certain death a life-raft was launched and nine men attempted to Thomas F. Sandsbury the first keep- haul o~ by the small line to the ve3sel. H~avy seas prevented the raft from reaching the wreck. Later in the day, a sixth and - er. The first rescue made from this _successful attempt with the mortar-gun plan.. ed a line square·~, across the vessel's bow and it was secured to the fore rigging. By stat· th f h L this time only two active men could be seen on board, who were finally landed after dark in the breeches buoy. Of the nine person.-. ion was e crew O SC ooner yn- on board, all but two perished. Six of the bodies were eventually recovered. don, on February 17, 1885. From j ______. ------the 15th to the 17th of February that . . . year a fleet of six schooners were I placed m commission November 24, themselves, consider that made by the , tion from the government in the form

stra~ded near Tuckernuck shoals, and 1 1883, with Capt. Benjamin B. Pease crew of the Coskata station in Jan- i of a gold medal of honor for Captain the Muskeget crew and two revenue 1 the first keeper. The first rescue uary, 1892, ahead of them all. In i Chase_and a silver medal for each of cutters had a busy time. The Mus- made by the Coskata crew was on the fact, the dep~rtment in its official rec- : his men, which were presented by a keget station was destroyed by fire 20th of February, 1884, of the crew ords of the service, cites that expe-: government official at public exer­ December 27 l889 and the life-sav- of brig Merriwa, which went asliore rience as the most remarkable. It; cises held in the Unitarian church. ing crew we~ qu~rtered on Tucker- on Great point. The shipwrecked i was on the 20th of January that the! The details of this exploit are still nuck until a new station was built men were taken otr by the life-.savers British schooner H. P. Kirkham; fresh in the memory of the present on Muskeget in 1896. The present i at midnight. The present keeper at struck on Rose and Crown shoal, generation. With Captain Chase in keeper is Capt. Frederick Howes. 'Coskata· is Capt. Frank Allison. I about fifteen miles distant from the. the Coskata surf-boat that day were Coskata Third. Maddequet Fourth. I Coskata statkn, and the e~loit of; Jes~e H. Eldridge, George ~- i.:1~d, · . . . . The fourth and last station built on Capt. Walter N. Chase and his brave. Josiah B. Gould"·(who are still hvmg The third station established on this N k h G N k crew in going to the rescue of the· on Nantucket) John Nyman Charles island was at Coskata, which was ' . antuc et was t at a-:; reat ec ' . . . . ' ' .on the west end of the island which ship-wrecked men, batthTlg with the B. Cathcart (deceased), and Roland was established February 18, 1891, i elements ~nd _brav!ng death_ by day Perkins. The l~tter died soon after with Capt. Thomas F. Sandsbury as I and by night ur.til a laT?dmg was. the rescue from illness brought on by _keeper. In 1903 the name of this made on the 22d, called for recogni- l exposure and did not live to receive station was officially changed to "Maddequet." The first rescue was the crew of catboat Wild Rose on the 20th of December, 1903. The cut- ting away of the bal"k ;n front of the Istation by the action of the surf has necessitated moving the building back a long distance from its original lo­ cation. When first located in 18ql. it was 600 feet from the edge of the bank and in 1901 the ba11k had cut away so much that it was moved back : 525 feet. It is now (1921) standing, within a few feet of the edge a...,d may have to be moved back again shortly. This shows that h thirtv ·years the shore in front of the Mad- ! dequet station has been cut away over! 1100 feet. The -present keeper of : Maddequet station is Capt. Horace G. i -Norcross. ___ !

The Most Thrilling Rescue. J Although there have been thrillin~ ; rescues made by the crews of the four ' life-saving (now Coast Guarcl) sta-: BARK W. F. MARSHALL WRECKED MARCH 9. 1877, CAPT. JOSEPH WINSLOW . ; The Marshall was wrecked c- n the south side of .the i!lland in First keeper of Surfside station. clad in the tions on Nantucket, the government : a thick fog. The crew, fourte!n in number. also the wife and suit worn by the life-savers at that time. officials, as well as the islanders_ l child of the steward, were landed safely by the life-savers.

i the medal, which was tendered 1m f widowed mother. , - In officially presenting the medals to Captain Chase and his men, the i1 secretary of the Treasury Depart- 1 ment forwarded a letter to .Keeper ! Chase, reciting the details of the res- : cue, a copy of which we have secured ' from the records •Of the department at Washington. This letter gives in de­ tail the features of this remarkable . rescue and is reprinted herewith: I Treasury Department, I U. S. Life-Saving Service, I Washington, D. C. I October 6, 1892. Mr. Walter N. Chase. · I Keeper of Cos'kata Life-Saving I Station, , Nantucket, Mass. I Sir: I transmit herewith a go1d life-1 saving medal of honor, awarded to you under the nrovisions of the Acts I of Congress a:::,nroved June 20, 1874. I and June 18, 1878, in recognition of your heroic services in savin~ Hfe from the perils of the sea Ol'l th~ ~­ casion of the wreck of the Bntish schocner H. P. Kirkham, January 20, 1892. · The circumstances of the wreck and rescue appear from evidence on file in this Department to have been as fol­ lows: The H. P. Kirkham, a three-masted schooner carrying a crew of seven

MEMBERS OF COSKATA CREW WHO PERFORMED THE HEROIC RESCUE IN JANUARY, 1892. From left to right-(standing)-Jesse H. Eldridge and Josiah B. GouJd; (seated)-George J. Flood, Keeper Walter N. Chase, Charles B. Cathcart. (From a photo taken in 1893).

keeper .of the Sankaty light-house dis- I compelled you to ~brow overboard the nary pleasure to be the medium of covered the wreck, whtcn was not vis- I mast and sail, now useless on ad­ the award of this medal, des1gned to ible from the life-saving station, and j count of the direction of the wind, bear testimony to your skill and goad i~mediately · telephoned _the informa- j which was dead against you and so judgment, your unfaltering :fidelity to tion to you. You speedily transport- heavy that at about two o'clock p. m. duty and :.vour heroic disregard of ed your surfboat to the outside beach you were forced to anchor, but not danger. and set sail with your crew for the I until you had weathered the tempest­ Respectfully yours, point where, as nearly as yo-g could uous shoal. (Signed) t;har1es J.,·oster, Secretary. judge, the vessel must be. You did At dark six hours had· elapsed since not sight her until within five miles, you left the wreck and you had ac­ In 1882 a hotel was erected on and it was eleven o'clock a. m., before complished only one mile of the fifteen Tuckernuck island through the en­ you reached her. · that lay between you and the land, It was impossible to go on board but the gale then slackened a little terpri~e of Marcus W. Dunham. It ar.d you therefore ran as close as and you began pulling again. After was called the '~st End View practicable, anchored -.nd carefu1 1v several hours of toilsome struggle the House." men all told, sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, her home port, on Sat­ dropped down between seas until you wind became too strong for you and urday, the 16th of January, 1892, were able to throw a heaving stick once more the anchor- was let go. The well of the village pump in with a small line attached into the The condition of a:ff airs was now 'Sconset was dug in 1776 ·an

any lasted longer or provoked more ! 1 of automobiles had long claimed that 1 dissention than the automobile con- IAnlF-1: I if the question were submitted in this troversy, which continued from year I manner the r~sult would be much dif- to year for about :fifteen years prior lferent than it was in 1914, and the to 1918. · I result of the ballot showed that their The development of the automobile I views were correct. as a means of transportation had no When the votes were counted, 336 noticeable effect on Nantucket untii ballots were for the repeal of the ex- . 1907, although each year for a num-1 clusion act and 296 against it. The ber of years the selectmen passed a bars were down and automobiles WP.re .special c-rdinance excluding cars from I welcomed on Nantucket for the first the island. In August, 1907, how- ! time. ever, Frank J. TyleT, of Boston, came Since then hur.d:eds of machine-; to the island with a small touring-car I have been brought to the island an::l for the expressed purpose of testing CLINTON s'.. FOLGER-NANTUCKET·s FIRST AUTqMOBILIST. several hundred are already ow.:ed by the selectmen's regulation. From i · -- , · _ , the islanders, many of the most active that time on the fight against the ad-! five years later resulted in a victory tion everywhere else but on Nantuck- "antis" having become easily convert­ I 1 vent of automobiles. on N3:ntucket_ for the ~uto. . . 1 et. . . I ed to the wiles of the automobile was waged yearly, with considerable A special act of the legislature was I Finally the "horse2::10~1le" was abol- I within the next two or three years. "spice" and at times a bit of ill feel- secured in 1914, by which it was made! ished and Mr. Folger put his automo- Up to 1918, the island's trucking ing between the two factions. : unlawful for a person to operate an j bile in storage, calmly awaitin~ the business was ali done by horses and On one or two occasions prior to automobile on any highway in Nan- / time which he felt positiV'e would "carriage driving" comprised the 1907 a summer resident bad brought tucket. This act was ..ccepted by I come, when the bar::::1 '\"'/Ould be let Iprincipal summer business for many a car to the island, but the opposition the voters at a ~pecial town meeting/ down and a-Otos would be as welcome. of the islanders. Now the trucking to the presence of a machine was so June 18, 1914, by a vo:e of 376 to ' on Nantucket as horses and wheel-r is done by motor vehicles and the strong among the islanders that no 234, and for a time the ·•antis" were barrows. . automobile has taken the place of And- sure enough when it was an- the horse and surrey to a large de- , ' I nounced that the little railroad which ! gree. .had done such good service between i .town and 'Sconset eacil season for In 1739 Quanaty (Quanato) Hill '.· more than thirty years, was to be was dug away to make land from I"junked," it was generally acknowl- Union street to the shore. This see­ edged that the time had come for au- tion was afterwards commonly known tomobiles to be admitted within the as "under the bank." sacred borders of Nantucket· isle. I Several hearings o~ the auto question I In 1905 the selectmen, as overseers , were held at the State House and the of the poor, voted to thereafter have ) Nantucket automobile controV'ersy re- the asylum or "poor house" called [ ceived plenty of publicity. "Our Island Home." I A bill was introduced into the leJ?- \ islature to _rep~l the_ exclusion la:W In the years 1809 and 1810 Nan­ i ar.d the agitation which resulted m tucket had nine Representatives. one I consequence was the most energet1c State Senator and one United States \ in the history of the island. Both I Congressman. 1 sides became active, but the Legisla- THE ''HORSEMOBILE." ! ture apparently looked upon the sit- Th :fl • N tu k t uation· on N antucket as one callmg• ed Arst marriage. on anh c se oc-h , for local option, so passed the bill curre pn1 11 , 1665, w en ara general effort was made to test an ex- i in high glee, for they thought the I with the provision that it should be- Macy became the bride of WiUiam clusion regulation until the Boston 1 auto had been barred for good. lcome operative if accepted by a ma-\ Worth. delegation came down and actually I But there was more or less dissatis- jQrity of the voters expressing their I sought arrest. faction with the way this vote was j wishes at a special town meeting I The Nantucket golf links were laid In 1907 a little gasoline motor-car. taken, for it was not under the Aus- 1 called for the purp_o$e. • out in 1897. was placed in service between town tralian ballot system, which had bee:i. / and 'Sconset by the Nantucket Rail- adopted by the toWl" for its electio:1s. i road Company and it made many a Mr. Folger anno1.·ll"~ tnat he would: trip over the rails, finally dashing it- test the validity of -::he Iaw. claiming self to pieces. This little outfit was that it was unconstitutional. •, commonly known as "The Bug," For a time he had been defying its doubtless from the manner in which Ienforcement and ha«! succeeded in op­ ·}t~t;~fii, . it skimmed over the rails. It had a erating his automobile on the state ✓ --•~.,:- - .• :.••·i,<~itt.;!t~~~ {. capacity of six passengers besides the highway, by having it drawn through driver. the streets of the town behind a two-• \:..:; ·\··,,"'< The rext year a larger gasoline horse dump-cart as far as the first c!riven car was brought to the island milestone, from which point it pr0- I by the railroad management, and it 1· ceeded to 'Sco,,set under its own actuallv made several trips to 'Scon- , nower. The dump-cart and horses set. but the project was not a success.! would wait for the ret,1rn of the auto· For four vears more the island was: a""n would then tow it back to town.' fre~ from ~otor-cars. And· then, in l This arrangement created much · l 913. caJ\"e the a-nouncement of C1in- P-museTT'ent-and likewise much con- : 1 ton S. Fol~er-:who had received a 1 ~ternation amoTig the rabieculfar attitude ; Th~t was the opening of the bitter . af!'8,inst the automobile, whi-ch was an l ,, POSTING AUTO EXCLUSION SIGNS IN 1913. fight between the two factio-:is, which l acknowledged method of transporta- Selectman Hull (at left) and Joseph Terry (at right). I: i. -1 ! r I i l'' I

THE CURVE AT THE FOOT OF THE HILL ON THE POLPIS ROAD. (Photo taken in 1919, before the oil concrete surface was laid).

AUTOMOBILES LINED UP ON ORANGE STREET. (Photo taken in 1919) MIACOMET POND FLOWING OUT TO SEA. It is the custom in Nantucket to "open" the ponds to the sea by digging a trench through the beach, thus permitting the water in the pond to ''run out." The trench, which is started but two or three feet wide, in­ creases in width rapidly, the rush of water sometimes making an opening through the beach 200 f-eet- or more in width. The condition of the water in the pond, which becomes "foul" and stagnant, is greatly improved by being o~ed to the sea and for a week or two the water of the ocean, with each succeeding tide, flows into the pond after it is "run down," until gradually nature repairs the damage and the opening commences to close up again. This photograph was taken in March, 1915, when Miacomet pond had been rul'lning out about six hours.

CENTRE STREET, LOOKING NORTH. (Photo taken in 1915). ~-·=,======-=---==----==-==------· ·------. Public Schools Established l ... Here in 1827. f. . . The first public school on Nantuck- ! et was established in 1827, in the ! townhouse, which stood on an ope .J ! Ic.t near ·the monument, and· was in I charge of the late William Mitchell. • Pupils were not allowed to enter un- ; til nine years of age, although this : .. ;_ rule was soon after changed to admit ·v~,, all over seven. Finally the public : ..,' school filled to overflowing ·and it wai:. I :.) \ : .':{' ~ decided to have two, one in the north I ;:4: '::--:/ and the other in the south section of the town. Two teachers from abroad ft were engaged, Messrs. Spofford and Crosby; the latter taking the North school, in the old Academy building, and Mr. Spofford taking the place of Mr. Mitchell in the town house, until the South Meeting House, which had been purchased for the South school, had been fitted up, and the · school re­ moved to that building. All scholars living north of Main Street were as­ Photo by Boyer. signed to the North school, and those THE SCHOOL BUILDING ON ACADEMY HILL. living south of it to Mr. Spofford. Built in 1856 at a cost .,f $20,000. Addition built in 1904 at a cost of $10,705. William Mitchell then built a School (which then numbered over for a town hall and court house. a school-house for colored child:-en on rd i schoolhouse for himself, on Howa cne hundLed pupils) while the lower· The next chan~e was when_ ~he; York stre:t, ne~r ~he cor.. er of Pleas­ street, where he taught for a numb~r room· was used as the grammar population had still further d1mm- l ant. This building was afterwards th of years, until called to take e posi- school the building which had been: ished, and the schools were so reduced used as a church by the col:-red peo­ t:on of cashier of the Pacific Bank. previo~sly used for them being taken j in numbers that it was d~emed ad- pie. It is now converted into a The examinations of the public down. ! visable to take the large liigh School garage, owned by Henry C. Chase. th schools were held quarterly,_ a~d e The new High School building cost j building, divide the upi:er and lower The Society' of Frie ds erecte~ a demeanor of all the commit~ee-men $20,000 and was dedicated with ap-: stories i::to four re-oms each and re, school-house on Fair street- in 1S38, st of those chys, as well as_ their ~le 1l propriate exercises on December move all the schola1·s, with the excep- the building afterwards being used as of questio-ing, would rais~ a smile 2 _ tion of those of the south primary, a place of worship. It is now owned st th 1856 on the face ~f the mo~t oical of e 'The population of the town had by into one building._. j' by the Historical Association. . th I pupils of this generation. But ey this time materially decreased, the The tcwn hall and court room was The Mission School was started m were all true men, and no doubt had number of pupils in the schools had once· more removed to the upper J 1859 by Miss Ann Morselander and the good of the schools at hea1:. - - greatly diminished, and it was finally story of the south building on Orange Mrs. Marianna Harper. In 1866 the These old schoolhouses bemg at Idecided to abandon the West Gram- I street, where it now remains. Mission School building was erected length found insufficient to accommo- mar and divide its pupils between ! The west schoolhouse was sold t-:> on Lower Orange street, where the date the rapidly increasing number 1· the ~orth and south districts, and use I Messrs. Mitchell and Hayden in 1872 school was held a number of years. of pupils, the schools ~ere graded, the lower room for a town hall and/ for a shoe manufactory, and was de- This building is now converted into th and new schoolhouses built; e no_rth court room. Soon after this was I stroyed by fire on August 3rd the a dwelling, owne.d by Everett Backus. in the lot opposite the Academy build- done the school was transferred back j following year. In addition to the publ~c s~hools st ing, and the south on Orange reet to the west. and the ncrth room tak2::-: Prior t:, 1831 the town maintained and the Coffin School (which 1s re- (the building now used as a town I .· ______1 ferred to in detail elsewhere in this hall, court room and south primarv . . issue) there were numerous private school). The lower rooms of these_/ schools in Nantu~ket, pez,haps .the buildings were used as g-rammar · ~-:. .: best known of which was that kept. ~chools: the upper rcom of the south I ,.. _'. "·. by Hepsibeth Hussey on Fair street, 1 as a primary, and that of the north I ;.. an illustration.. of which ':e . present ~:h:~• i:t;a:e:::1~1::;~~nW::a:::r i {;_;; ;, ii ~a-::;;::~ed ~h~u::;o;t!:t:ter:~: Cyrus Peirce. ! was use~ as a shop by John W. Hal- The Academy building was taken ,_..,.___ I lett. It 1s now owned by Henry Lang. for the north primary school, and the scho~lhouse in Howard street was moved to Vestal street and used as .... _ hite Village Schools. a west primary school. As the num­ 1/1867 the town voted to maintain ber of pupi1s in the grammar schools a school-house on Tuckernuck and the still continued to increase, the west building on Milk street formerly used 1 I schoolhouse was built, the town di-1 ... I as an engine-house, was taken down vided into three districts~ and the , and carried to Tuckernuck island, west grammar school put in cha:ge of il· where it was used as school-house un­ Matthew Barnard. the west primary til 1913, when the authorities decided beir>~ removed to the unner room. . ·1 to discontinue the school on that isl­ At this time the number of pumls and. e last teacher was Anna Coffin. jn the schools was probablv ?rea~er I A sch was maintained for a num- than at any neriod either before or i ber of yea t Madaket~ being final­ since in the island's history. J ly discontinu~d in 1897. The last On .July 8, 1852. the new West; teacher was Edith Worth. Grammar school building was totallv [ ) A school was maintained in the vil­ destroved bv fire. but another was '1 . lage of Polpis until April, 1919, when immediately· erected on its site, and ) it . was discontinued and the pupils the schools continued. l from that village brought to town. In 1856 the building in which all of ( Gertrude Holland was the last teacher. the schools, with the excentio,, of the I The new school building was con-

South Primary, were held. was erect-1 I structed in the village of Siasconset• ed on Academy Hill; the upper room / during the summer of 1917. It cost being used exclusively as a High ! "HEPSY HUSSEY'S ~CHOOL" ON FAIR STREET. · $6,770.30. Hon. Walter Folger, Jr., Maker 1 It not only requires superior mechan- of The Famous Clock. ical skill, but a perfect k::.owledge of 1 astronomy, to plan the machinery of In the residence of John B. Folger i such a clock, and execute the same. .m Gardner street stands the most I He commenced the construction of wonderful clock man eve_r inve-:1ted. ! his reflecting telescope :n 1819, when It has been ticking away sinca July 4, j 54 years of age, and made it entirely 1790, when it was first set in motion I I himself. With it, he has bee, able by Hon. Walter Folger, then a young I to discover spots on the planet Venus man twenty-five years of age, who I ! which had never bee, discovered bv had been working on it two years., · Herschel's large telescope; which This· clock is known in scientific cir- shows, beyond a doubt, the superi- <:les as "Walter Folger's astronomical r-rity of· this telescope over that of clock," for the ingenuity of its maker I Herschel. was so marvelous that the clock I His equal has not yet been found marked the changes of the sun a.ad I in this country for astronomical and moon and nc.-ted other astronomical mathematical calculations, and ver- phases, as well as ticking off the satility of mechanical talent. He hours day after day. It kept in per- has been no less distinguished as a feet running order until somewhere . lawyer, judge and Iegislat~•r, which, about 1850, but since that time the : if we had time, we might easily prove. astronomical mechanism has been in A few facts on this point will be suf- need of adjustment, and inasmuch as ficient tQ show how he was estimated only Walter Folger himself knew at the time he was engaged in public how to adjust it, the secret died with , i aff'airs. him in 1849.· · No present-day inven-1 ' He was one year in the house of tive genius or astronomer has the I ! representatives, six years in the sen- knowledge or skill to restore the as- 1 ate (Massachusetts Legislature) six tronomical clock to its proper adjust- years judge of the court· of common ment and so the famous clock simply pleas, four years representative b continues to tick off the hours as any i congress and twenty years an attor- other "grandfather's clock" does. i ney-at-law. One of the most interesting and in- I To sum up our remarks on this structive articles regarding Walter I most distinguished man, for his nat- Folger and his clock appeared in the ural abilities, his versatility of talent, Phrenological Almanac in 1845, con------sound, safe and comprehensive mind, taining a statement from the pen of HON. WALTER FOLGER. we would add, that he never went to the inventor in which he says: j ______: a teacher who understood grammar- " At an earlv date I went to a I ! • • • • i never learned a trade, and yet could school taught by Susa'l A. Folger, lated the whole of the New Testa- i applied to him fer n.struction, and for . d II k. d . f chanical work-nor third wife of Jonathan Folger, senior; ment • d h :· h.1s op1mon· · as to t h e practica. b. 11 1ty. of · o a t md. sd o me •th a lawyer nor her roaiden name was GorhaJ'Yl. I do For many years I emp1 oye t e th . h kn . h. b Tt to I ever s u 1e 1aw WI , 0 1 1 1 not remember what was taught, prob- most of my leisure time, which was eir s~ emes, . V: ~g IS a d . Y i went to any institution of learning st ablv nothing more than the alphabet. princi~ally ta~en · from my hours of ~can t e 1:1° m~itive1 Y, •an · m no j above that where the alphabet, spell­ In those days we were taught ~ call sleep, m studymg. I must have had mstance d1~ he fail to arnve at cor-. ing, reading in the Bible, arithmetic, this lette,. A. e:reat a-a"d this a, some h.-ne,wledge of Astronomy as rect conclusions. I • t ht d h little a this I long i-and z ezzard · early as 1788. , 1 and surveymg were aug , an e d h.-& ' d ' ' I began to make my clock that I He commenced the clock spoken of : never sought one of the many offices an t is , emperzan . d . . rat· th 4·h ' b t th f tw t t d i • I afterwards went to a school year, an set it m ~pe 10~ e " I a ove a . e ag~ 0 en_ Y- wo an I which he held. tauJ?ht by Elizabeth Swain, widow of 1 of July, 179~, an_d It PE:rforms well, completed 1t durmg his leisure hours; 1783 th I 1 Josenh· after which to a school now. I believe it was m at b two years afterwards and it was 1 Nantucket Had First Wireless. ta ht 'b B · · C ffin He was I was unwell-confined to the house, I . . ' , . ugld Y ~nJamifn tho h. d b and me-st of the time .;o my bed. My put m rnoticn July 4, 1790. The Nantucket had the first commercial an o man. mv a er a een a . d h f h" f th h h. · h. ·d scholar in his school. father mforme me t at on': o 1s P1 an o e w o1 e ma~ me_ry w_as ma- wireless tele~ph stat1~n on t 1s s~ e Before the Revolutionary war I en- br?thers had a new book w~i~h con- tured and completed m h1s mmd be- of the Atlantic, established at S1a­ tered the school of Elisha Macv. in 11nE:d bethog of t~termmlng thd fore he commenced it. He submit-· sconset in 1901 by the New York Her- f0 1 d whichbook t hweOlhdade an dDNillwortTh'stew es amenspeltlinJ?I . Ih 1•~.:Uo b~rrrw ~h~ebo~k::fur me ' -!iii~h ted the whole plan to his father, who \ ald.. The first message• was re- neve;'saw a dictionarv when I was a he_ did, an~ I le~rned the lunar observ- was al~o an expe,rt astronomer and ceived on the evemng ?f August ~6, scholar. I believe there was some- at1ons whlle lymg on my bed. . mechamc; and he said it could not! from the Steamship Lucama, thinj!" of a j!Ta.mmar, called Dill- . Ie:rs hrcrw:rgs (lh ~~i::ee fail to operate according to the de-, which sent a message to the Nantuck­ ~~89 0 1 wortrs, th~t thedverbI. dto lovte'th~aks belieJe h:u!as o~~ ·of ;h~ first if I sivn. It is made of brass and. steel. et South Shoals lightship, upon which therein coniugate .. o no m in . 'h I k h d f h Th . t d d ·th of the above teachers knew not the very first navigator, · w o I t eeps t e ate ~ _ t e year. e a station had also been erec e , an =~rlhing about grammar. fo~nd his lon~tude by lunar observ- sun and moon rise u::ur set in the the message was then sent ashore. In the· winters of 1782 and 83. I atIAonb, ftrotmh_ th~~ courtg- ht ·1 clock precisely in acco-.-dance with I At that time :fifty miles was about went to Eli~ha M~cy'~ evening school _ k ou is timed • tohgbe ~fr r: those in the heavens; ::--,.d the time the limit for successful transmission and learned navigation by Loe:~-1'- c-.s ~ were_ no . ma e m e . s o · 1 . . ithms, a-rd also learned evemhine- he (1"1 • mvestigatmg the subJect by _a the sun_ nses and sets 1s sho~ on the of wireless messages. could teach me. I was well acqu::ti.... t- :flux1onal press, I found that the di- clock; 1t also shows the suns place In 1904 the Siasconset station was ed with snrveyin,,. as then nr!:lcticed. ~rne~er should be equal to the length. Ion the ecliptic; It keeps the motion taken over. by the Marconi Company, b...,. th~ tables of d1·mere·"ce11 of lati~,,le I directed my cooper to make my f th ' d ct th 1· d · t·1 th t t· ~nd-" det>a-rture- before I went to "'Mr. cask s m· tha t f orm; h e mad e many o. e moon. s no es .....--oun e ec 1p. - wh1°ch operate 1t un 1 e s a 10n M c •s- hool' objections; but at length he consent- tic, takmg 18 years and 225 davs m passed into government control under s!n ~ft.er .this time, Elisha Macv. ed. . the revolution, and it shows both the the navy department, upon the out- Abner Coffin and mvself. began the It was soon ~ound that it was &. sun's and moon's declination. The break of the world war. The gov­ studv of A 1!2'ebr,i,. without aTJy in- nrofita~le alteration, and ~s ado-pted, wheel that · performs the revolution ernment still maintains this station strnctor. and continued until we were by which more than a mil~IOl], of dol- .- , , well acqu,:i,inted with it, and had also lars have bee~ saved to this 1slan~; \ conn_ected with the ~oon s nodes, re- and also a "radio compass" station at ~ot some k,iowledge of fl.uxions, when Walter Folger. volving around once m 18 years and Surfside, established in 1919, by we senarat.ed. . Additional proofs of his superior 225 days, is in continual motion. nieans of which vessels at sea are . About the tune the French _Revolu- "natural" abilities above that-of ordi- The wheel that keeps the date of given their positions by means of the tion bega11. 1788. I determmed to • f h • learn the FreTich language. On in- nary ~en, may ?e 1~e1:ed rom t _e, the year revolves ro~~d one: m a wireless telegraph. quirinS? what books were necessary, I followmg facts m his history. His hundred years, remammg still ten In 1920 the International Wireless Wa!; di;e~ted to get Boyer's Grammar superior knowledge of the principles years, and at the expiration of the Telegraph Company established a and Dictionary. I then found wh"l.t of mechanics made him the oracle ten years it starts regularlv one commercial station at Siasconset, PTarnmar was. and that I must studv f f . t· • d I . .d b · h b t •1 t f the govern En1?lish and French grammar at th·e o many persons o mven 1ve mm s, notch. t 1s cons1 ered v a 11 w o a ou a m::. e a·lS~n -'-- rom - same time. · not only residing near him, but else- have become acquainted with jts now- ment station, which is equipped with F.lisha ~acy, Abner Coffin, WiJ~iam where, who, in numerous instances, ers and performances to be one of the the most improved instruments and is r.offin, Ohver C. Barretf:. mv sister after having promised plans of ma- J?reatest specimens of mechanical in- doing a thriving business. This Phebe. ar,d mvself. met m the even- h. f - f . . . N th tat· h b · uni·cat· n inv. thre~ titnE"!; in the week ~nd !=:i:,,rl- c mery or vanous purpose~ o man- P"enmty m this country. o o e... s 10n as een m comm 10 ied the French lan1?Uage, and trans- ufacture, before consummatmg- them, clock of the kind has been heard of with steamers 1800 miles distant. CORNER OF MAIN AND CENTRE STREETS IN MID-WINTER (Photo taken in 1916).

"MONUMENT SQUARE," UPPER MAIN STR.EE'l' (Photo taken in 1915). "HAWTHORNE LANE" WITH TH~ ELIHU COLEMAN FARM-HOUSE IN THE DISTANCE

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VIEW FROM "BELOW THE BANK" NEAR THE SOUTH BEACH IN 1910. "Connectin~' Nantucket With l .. The Mainland. I The Nar.tucketer of 1921 thinks I nothing of gdng to the telephone in l his house or office and calling up Bos- ! ton, New York or New Bedford, for: "long distance" communication has '. been in operation between the island ( and the mainland for practically five I years. It is now no novelty, but a convenience which gives Nantucket I the privilege of talking with the rest of the world, just as though it were not separated by a broad expanse of ocean. The first project of sending mes­ sages to and from the mainland orig­ inated in Nantucket away back in 1840, when a system of "signalling" was inaugurated and maintair.ed suc- cessfully several months. A tall • mast was erected on the north cliff and when the weather was clear a signal hoisted to the topmast was dis­ WHEN NANTUCKET HAD "HORSE" CARS." cernible on Tuckernuck. From that The above photo was taken when horse cars were in operation on Nantucket in 1890. The first car was island a similar signal was transmit- run on the 20th of September of that ye_ar, from Jernegan's corner to the Sea Cliff hotel. The "line" extend­ ted to Muskeget, then from Muskeget ed from the corner of Main and Federal streets to Steamboat wharf; also through Beach street and down the to the Vineyard, and then across to Point Road to Hotel Nantucket, and also up the Point Road and through Cliff Road as far as the Sea Cliff. The Woods Hole. Several quite impor- scheme was a financial failure. tant messages were actually sent and This picture shows both of the horse cars standing at the junction of Beach street and th~ Point Road, I received in this manner. I with the barge which at that time ran from that point to the bathing beach also in evidence.

Later some of the em.erprising mer- [ ------·- 1 - • --- / chants secu_red a flock of carrier Ibe in excellent preservation. Ai dozen 'phones at first, all connected, Telephone Cable Laid in 1916. pigeons, which would be taken over: piece of this "find" is preserved in· on one circuit, the person ringing the I And so steadily .. did the telephone to Woods Hole on the boat and then: the Historical Rooms, beside a section "call" himself. The system gradual- business grow here that- in 1916 the liberated to fly back across the sound · of the cable cut off when laid in ly developed until a "central" was i company invested something over 1 with messages. For some time this 1856. necessary. It was the old "Bell" J $100,000 and laid a cable across to method of . c~mm~nication was Kept / Government Cable Laid in 1885. system, known as the Southern Nantucket, opening up "long dis- secret and it 1s said the promoters of It was not until nearly thirty years Massachusetts Telephone Company, tance" connection that year. The the scheme took a lot of real pleas-1·-later that another telegraph cable which had for its slogan several new cable was laid in July, but it was ure over the fact that t~ey could tell was laid. In 1885 the gover.1ment years "It is easier to talk than it is not until August 15th that it was of­ news in advance of the arrival of tl}e 'decided to establish a· Weather Bu- to walk." · 1 ficially dedicated and ready for busi- boat. reau station on Nantucket and on the Along about 1897 the Nantucket! ness, and the telephone company First Cable Laid in 1856. 18th of November in that year a tele- Telephone Company was started as a ! made the occasion a notable one. In 1856 the first telegraph cable I graph cable was laid between the isl- l rival company, through the efforts of iWilliam F. Macy in Boston, William 1 was laid, and it was quite an impor- ands of Marthas Vineyard and Nan- Thomas G. Macy. Numerous 'phones l W. Crapo in New Bedford, and Joseph tant event-a real gala day for Nan- Itucket, ~ smaller section being laid were installed, but the system was j C. Bro:k, seated in the ~acific Club tucket. Steamers Island Home and across Vmeyard sound to Woods·Hole. not a success, although the new com-, room m Nantucket, earned on the Telegraph participated in the laying In a severe storm in 1888 this cable I pany _maintained a "central" office at j first conversation over the wire, which of the cable, which connected Mono- was broken and it has bee:1 broken j one time. I ~as listened to by over iour hundred moy Point on Cape God and Great i and repaired upon one or two occas- When the New England Telephone! persons assembled in Atheneum Hall, I Point on Nantucket. I ions since then. In 1900 the govern- & Telegraph Company took over the a telephone receiver being attached This cable was laid on the 19th of I ment sold the cable across Vineyard Southern Massachusetts Telephone to each seat. August, 1856, and for two months! sound to the Marthas Vineyard Tele- Company, the service developed rapid- Nantucket now .has both telegraph messages were received regularly. I graph Company, and in 1908 it sold ly on this island and soon 'Sconset, 1 and telephone connections with the Then it broke, probably from the I the Nantucket end to the same com- Polpis, Wauwinet and Madaket were I mainland, and also two wireless tele­ weight of an accumulation of sea- Ipany, which still maintains it. · connected. The Nantucketers easily: graph stations doing an active busi­ weed. Sixty years later \in 1916) al With the establishment of the tele- became "educated" and soon grew to; ness at Siasconset. What the future section of this 1856 cable was pulled I graph cable in 1885, the telephone depend upon the telephone as a i will produce through the perfection up by a fishing-boat, entangled in a soon after made its debut on Nan- strong factor in the conduct of busi-: of the "wireless telephone" no one quahaug dr~~~e,-~d--it was foun~- t~J t~c~et. There were_ a_ scant hal~j nes~ ______J~a_n_~~y~-- ______

THE FIRST "SAFETY" BICYCLE OWNED Looking east from the corner of Broad and South Water streets, in 1906. The Yacht Club ON NANTUCKET. tennis courts occupy this section today. · Have Served as Selectmen Swain, Walter N. Chase, John Killen, Since 1871- Warren B. Chase. 1916-Henry Riddell, · William T. The list of men who have served as Swain, John M. Winslow, Warren B. "town fathers" of Nantucket during Chase, Ellenwood B. Coleman. the last fifty years is interesting to 1917-Henry Riddell, John M. Win­ peruse, for it includes many who have slow, William T. Swain, Warren B. been actively identified with the Chase, Ellenwood B. Coleman. growth and development of the island, 1918-Edmund Z. Ryder, Emile Ge- as well as in local politics. nesky, Stillman C. Cash, Warren B. In 1875 the town decided to have Chase, Joseph Butler Folger. seven men on the board instead of 1919-Edmund Z. Ryder, Emile Ge- :five, as prior to· that year., but the nesky, Stillman C. Cash, Warren B. · Rext year the idea was abandoned and Chase, Joseph Butler Folger. it was not until 1887 that the town l 1920-Edmund z. Ryder, Warren B. again had seven selectmen. In· that Chase, Edward H. Perry, Emile Ge- ··year a larger board seemed desirable nesky, Joseph Butler Folger. and each year until 1896 seven were 1921-Edward H. Perry, Edmund elected. Then it was decided to re.. NANTUCKET'S TOWN HALL. Z. Ryder, Warren B. Chase, Philip L. turn to five, which has been the size The lower floor is used as a school building and the upper floor as a town hall and Holmes, Walter H. Burgess. of the board ever since.. court room. Building situated on the east side of Orange street. · Those who have served as select­ men of Nantucket during the last A. Holmes, Henry Riddell, Charles E. ) Allen, Hen·ry Riddell, Ellenwood B. half century are as follows: Snow, Almon T. Mowry. 1 Coleman, Richard E. Burgess. Farms And Farmers 1890-Almon T. Mowry, Charles E. / 1901-Edmund B. Fox, Henry Rid- of Nantucket. 1871-Reuben P. Folger, Frederick Snow, Hiram C. Folger, James A. dell, Rollin M. Allen, Ellenwood B. Nantucket has quite a number of A. Chase, Obed G. Coffin, Barzillai R. Holmes, Arthur H. Gardner, Henry Coleman, Richard E. Burgess. thriving farms at this period, aside Burdett, Samuel Woodward. Riddell, Asa C. Jones. 1902-Henry Riddell, Rollin M. Al- from the residents who "farm it" on 1872.-Reuben P. Folger, Freder- 1891-Arthur H. Gardner Almon len, Ernest H. Jernegan, William H. a small scale within the town limits. ick A. Chase, Obed G. Coffin, Barzil-. T. Mowry, Hiram c. Folger,' Richard Norcross, Philip L. Holmes, Charles Among the· larger farms of today are Iai R. Burdett, ~amueI Woodward. E. Burgess, John Harps, James A. C. Crosby. the follov..-ing, listed with their names 1873-Stephen · Bailey, ,Samuel Holmes, Joseph c. Brock. 1905-Philip L. Holmes, Charles C. and proprietors: Woodward, Elijah H. Alley, Andrew 1892_Arth H Gardner Richard Crosby, Horace P. Coffin, John Kil- Ocean View Farm--J. H. Bartlett M. Myrick, Barzillai R: Burdett. E. Burgess, J:hn Harps, H;nry Rid- 1en, John ~-. Winslow. & Sons. 1874-Stephen Balley, Samu,el d H~ C Fol r Jc eph C · 1906-Ph1l1p L. Holmes, Horace P. 11 Mt. Vernon Farm-Edward 0. Woodward, Elijah H. Alley, Andrew it 'k, ~rall; 1 C Bra~~ s · · Coffin, Charles H. Pitman, John .M. M. Myrick, Barzillai R. Burdett. roe anie · · . Winslow, John Killen. Gardner and Charles Gerald Snow. 1875-Stephen Baile~ Samuel 1898-Arthur H. _Gartlner, Hil'3.m 1907-Philip L. Holmes, Ernest H. Edg~water Farm--Joseph M. Grou­ Woodward, Elisha Parker, Andrew M. C. FkolgeCrha, HlenryE RSiddell, JDose?h CC. J ernegan, Henry Riddell, Charles H. ard. 1 Pine Grove Farm-Harry A. Larra- Mync . k , Ch arl es E . Allen, Char l es H . BBroe , w·irres .H now,N an1e . . P't1 man, J oh n M . w·ms 1 ow. Dunham, Thomas S. Sayer. rayton, 1• Jam · orcross. / 1908-Philip L. Holmes, Ernest H. bee. 189 Somerset Farm-Alfred Starbuck. 1876--Charles E. Allen1 Samuel . 4-D~vid W. Burgess, Henry, Jernegan, Henry Riddell, Charles H. Woodward, Allen Smith, Henry Pad- Riddell, H.1~m C. Folger, Joseph ?· IPitman, John M. Winslow. Fairview Farm-W. Byron Snow. dack, Henry D. Robinson. 1Brock, Wilham H. Norcross, Rolhn 1 1909-Henry Riddell, Ernest H. Three Acres Farm-Charles E. 1877-Allen Smith, Samuel Wood- .M. Allen, Allen Coffin. j Jernegan, John Killen, Charles H. Burgess. ward, Henry Paddack, Henry D. Rob- 1895-Joseph C. Brock, William H.1 Pitman, John M. Winslow. Cherry Grove Farm-Reginald inson, Almon T. Mowry. Norcross, Henry U. Bennett., Hiram) 1910-Edward H. Perry, Ernest H. Hussey. 1878-Allen Smith, Samuel Wood- C. Folger, Rollin M. Allen, Horace R. 1 Jernegan, John Killen, Philip L. Laneside Farm-Walter Dawson. ward, Henrv P~ddack~ Henry C. Pink- Coleman, Charles W. Austin. f Holmes, Charles H. Pitman. Englewood Farm-John Roberts. ham, John W. Hallett. 1896-Josiah Freeman, Edmund B. ! 1911-Philip L. Holmes, Walter N. Franklin Valley Farm-Mary E. 1879-Allen Smith, Samuel Wood- Fox, Rollin M. Allen, Almon T. ·. Chase, Henry Riddell, John Killen, Crosby. ward, Henry C. Pinkham, John W. Mowry, Allen Coffin. : Roland B. Hussey. I I s_aI nd View Farm-William T. Hallett, Henry Paddack. I 1897-Edmund B. Fox, Ernest H. '. 1912-Henry Riddell, Jchn Killen, j Swam. F. h 1880-Allen Smith, Samuel Wood- Jernegan, Rollin M. Allen, William: Walter N. Chase, William T. Swain, _Madaket Farm-~w~rd.1 · pis er. ward, Henry C. Pinkham, John W. H. Norcross, Allen Coffin. ; Edward H. Perry. Ramsdell Farm- e~J~mi':l ease. Hallett, Henry Paddack. 1898-Edmund B. Fox, Rollin M.: 1913_\Villiam T. Swain, Walter N. Bob Acres Farm-Wilham E. Mac- 1881-Allen Smith, Samuel Wood- Allen, Ernest H. Jernegan, William: Chase Philip L. Holmes, Oriso!l V. Kay. F R R' 1 ward , H enry C. Pi nkb am, J oh n W. H . N orcross, Alle~ Co ffi n. , Hull, Warren' B. Chase. . Meadowbrook. Farm- Crtfose ding. Fol Hallett, Henry Paddack. 1899-Edmund B. Fox, Rollin M.: 1914-Henry Riddell, Wdlliam T. \ Sea Chff Inn arm- 1 or - 1882-Allen Smith, Samuel Wood- Allen, Ernest H. Jernegan, William! Swain, Warren lt, Chase, .John Kil- ger.. w·ir N L . ward, Henry C. Pinkham, John W. IH. Norcross, Richard E. Burgess. : len, Ernest H. Jernegan. M~lestone Farm- 1 ia; h · eWJS. Hallett, Henry Paddack. 1900-Edmund B. Fox, Rollin M. ! 1915-Henry Riddell, William T. Hensdale Farm-FFred kisE. H I 1 1888-Allen Smith, Samuel Wood------Nobadeer Farm- ran • om ward, Henry C. Pinkham, John W. & Son. Hallett, Henry Paddack. ...---...;_------.---.i Miacomet Farm-Ira Appleton. 1884-Allen Smith Samuel Wood- T~shma Farm-Dr. J. S. Grouard. 'Ward, Henry C. Pi;kham, John W. Plai'1field Farm-Levi Coffin & Son. Hallett, Henry Paddack. Hillview Farm-Charles F. Thurs- 1885-Allen Smith, Samuel Wood- ton. ward, H~nry C. Pinkham, John W. Bunker Hill Farm-Albert B. Pit- Hallett, Henry Paddack. man. 1886-Henry Riddell, Hiram C. Hollywood Farm-Fred B. Mag- Folger, John W. Hallett, Henry C. lathlin. Pinkham. William W. McIntosh. Greenwood Farm-Harry Dunham. 1887-Henry Riddell, Hham C. . Polpis Far-m-Frank P. Chadwick. Folger, John W. Hallett, Henry C. Eat-fire Spring Farm-Fred Heigh- Pinkham, Edward B. Hussey, Charles I ton. E. Snow, Arthur H. Gardner. Su"'nybrr--ok Farm-Louis Co:ffi'1. 1888-John W. Hallett, Hiram C. Ravmoot" Farm-Sidnev Mitchell. Folger, Charles E. Snow, Henry Rid- 1 Sh~wke..,..o Farm-Got'don&Parker. dell, Edward B. Hussey, James A. ;=~;;;;....;== Mr1n-r-,y Farm-Lawrence F. Moon• Holmes, Arthur H. Gardner. "OUR ISLAND HOME:· ) ey i ... So'T" - 1889-John W. Hallett. Hiram C. Not a hotel. as some or the summer vigitors think, but a comfortable I Ba<'ki,s Farm-Arthur F~rash. Folger, Arthur H. Gardner, .Tames l pleasant home for thO!'le in need. ~ Quilly inad~uate to the needs of the town. the Pacific Club building at the foct T. Fitz-Randolph. __ ·- ______of Main street, where the office had Sheriff-Joseph A. Johnson, Jr. been maintained many years, and was Home"_-Mr. and Mrs. Frederick S. placed among the relics in the i·oom County Treasurer--G. Howard I The Weather Bureau And The Chadwick. l Telearaph Cable 0 f th N t k t n· · l A Winslow. Sealer of Weights and Measures- e, • e an uc e istonca ssoci- District Court Officer--Joseph A. Joseph A. Johnson, Jr. ,When the government commenced ation. . Id D · Arth w·ii· to develop its Weather Bureau serv- A list of all men w!lo served as Johnson, Jr. F1e rivers- ur 1 1ams, Probation Officer-Walter H. Bur-, Ch 1 C M • ice, Nantucket island, on account of Collectors of the port of Nantucket gess. Far es v·. orns. Art- W.11. its location so far out a:. sea was se- from 1791 to 1913 follows, with the ence 1ewers- aur 1 1ams,. h lected as a place for a "first class' sta- d ate of the permanent appointment• Town Officers. G eorge J . Floo d , A ugust us L . B. F1s - l • f h • b t er. tion." This was in 1886 and for sev- o eac mcum en : Selectmen -Edward H. Perry, chairman, Warre.1 B. Chase, secre­ Fish Wardens-Stillman C. Cash, 1 eral_ months prior to the actual es- Name Appointed tary, Edmund Z. Ryder, Philip L. John P. Taber, Antho;1y F. Miller. tabhshment of the Weather Bureau Step_hen Hussey March 21. 1791 Inspector of Animais-C. C. Tur- station, a signal station was main- Dam~l Coffin March 1. 1805 Holmes, Walter H. Burgess. tained here. The telegraph cable Martm T. Morton A!)ril 16", 1818 Town Treasurer-G. Howard Win- ner. was laid in November, 1885, by tug William R. EaSton January 1- 1842 slow. Inspector of Slaughtering-John Charles W. Rand January 21, 18d6 Collector of Taxes-Arthur H. Roberts, 2d. 8t0rm King, and the first telegraph William R. Easton Sept. 27, 1850 Gardner. Harbor Master-Charles G. Coffin. message was received over the cable Eben W. Allen January 17, 1851: -Lauriston Bunker. C k f D · G A the following day by Miss Annie Alfred Macy July 20, 1861 Town Clerk areta er o ump- eorge . Ch" Isaac H. Folger March 2, 1867 Assessors-Charles J. Fisher, Peter Ray. mery. Alfred Macy . Januazy 5, 1861 M. Hussey, Edward H. Perry. Bell-Ringer-James H. Gibbs. On the 18th of October, 1886, the Thaddeus C. Defriez Dec. 16, 1871 School Committee-Frank E. Lew- Care of Town Clock-Lincoln ,T. Weather Bureau station was formally JWa~11~s CopddH"ll JaMnuaryh 223, 18874 D 1 1 75 1s,· M• •• c h airman;· E mma· F · H ay- ceely. opened in the Pacific Club bu1·lding, A.lb iamrt A · G der Darc 261 • 11883 ward , Maurice · W . Boyer, G e rtru d e C. ______where 1·t 'Barker Burnell, Francis and between that year and 1874 it, Gardner Macy, Jethro Mitchell; had many men who not only served as\· IGeorge Myrick, Senator. Representatives, but were elected to i 1822-Barker Burnell; Walter Fol- the State Senate, to the · Gov~r.aor's ger, Jr., Senator. Council, to the United States Con- 1823-Hezekiah Barnard, Gideon gress ~nd also as Presidential Elec- Folger; Barker Burnell, Senator, tors. · i Jethro Mitchell, Senator. A.lthough the records of the Massa- i 1824-Francis Gardner Macy.

chusetts Legislature commenced in J 1825-Franeis Gardner Macy; Bar- 1780, for the first three years Nan- I ker Burnell, Senator. tucket had no representation, but in i 1826-27-Hezekiah Barnard; Bar- I 1783 Alexander Coffin, Peleg Coffin,: ker Burnell, Ser:ator. Jr., and Stephen Hussey were elected I , 1828-Peter Chase; Barker Burnell, and sent to the Legislature. Two i ISenator. years later Peleg Coffin became. the' · 1829-Hezekiah Barnard, Jared first State Senator from Nantucket Coffin, George Washington Gardner, and in 1793-4 Mr. Coffin was also James Mitchell, Seth Pinkham; Bar- elected to the United States Congres3., ker Burnell, Senator. Nantucket's greatest representation! 1830-Isaac Folger, George Wash- was in the years 1809 and 1810, when I ington Gardner, Seth Pinkham; Bar- the island had nine Representatives,: ker Burnell, Senator. one State Senator and one United! 1831-Hezekiah Barnard, David States Congressman. ; 1, Baxter, Isaac Folger; Barker Burnell, In all Nantucket has had four Rep- j ISenator. · · resentatives in the National Congress! 1832-David Baxter, John Coffin and two Presidential Electors. Six I Briggs, Isaac Folger; Barker Burnell, were sent from the islana to the Con- i Senator. stitutional Convention in 1820, two in : 1833-David Baxter, John Coffin 1853 and one in 1917. · Briggs, Jared Coffin, Isaac Folger, From Nantucket there have been David Joy, George Myrick, Seth elected one State Treasurer (1797 to · Pinkham; Barker Burnell, Senator. 1801); one State Auditor ( 1855) ; and 1 1834-Frederick Arthur, David four to the Governor's Council (1838, j Baxter, John Coffin Briggs., Jared 1848-49, 1858 and 1872-74). ! Coffin, William Redwood Easton, In 55 years Nantucket has had Sen- 1 I George Myrick, Seth Pinkham, Seth atorial Representation-the last I THE LATE HENRY PADDACK. j F'reeman Swift; David Joy, Senator. 1856 (William Barney) in · I Who served as Re::iresentative from 1878 to 1881 inclusive. Ee was ?>resident of the I 1835-David Baxter, John Coffin The living ex-Representatives are: j Pacific National Bank for many years and wa.-; identified with Nantucket in many ways. i Briggs, George Marshall Bunker, Henry Riddell-1888, one year. . He died December 13. 1919. aged 81 years. g months, 6 days. IThaddeus Coffin, William Redwood Arthur H. Gardner-1891-92 and! ------, Easton, Roland Hussey, William Jen- 1900-1904, seven years. ·!fin, Jr., and Stephen Hussey. j Swain, Daniel Whitney; Walter Fol-_j kins, Seth Pinkham, Wiiliam Watson; John · J. Gardner-1895-97, three J 1784-Alexander Coffin, Peleg Cof- ger, Jr., Senator; Gideon Gardner, u. Samuel Haynes Jenks, Senator. years. : fin, Jr., and Stephen Paddack. S. Congress. I1 1836-Frederick Arthur, John Cof­ ;:., Edward H. Perry-1914-17 (four ; 1785-Timothy Folger, Peleg Cof-1 1810-George Cannon, Micajah fin Briggs, George Marshall Bunker, .;.~rs). I fin, Jr., Senator. : Coffin, Shubael Coffin, Jedediah Fitch, IWilliam Redwood Easton, Benjamin .:,..... Art~ur W. Jones, the pres~nt repre- ; 1786-87-George Hussey; Peleg l Obed Folger, George Gardr.er., 2d, J Gardner, William J~n~ins, S~~uel sentative, was first elected m 1918. · Coffin Jr. Senator. ! Micajah .Gardner, Archelaus Ham-, Haynes Jenks, Seth Pmknam, Wilham The complete list o:r the island's 1788-No Representative. Matthew i mond, Daniel Whitney; Walter Fol-1 Watson. legislators from 1780 to 1.921 appears Mayhew, Senator. l ger, Jr., Senator; Gideon Gardner, U. 1837-Frederick Arthur, John Cof- below: i . 1789-Peleg Coffin, Jr., Alexander , S. Congress. 1 fin Briggs, George Marshall Bunker, 1780-82-No Representative. ! Gardner; Isaac Coffin, Senator. \ 1811-George Cannon, Mi~ajah ~of- IJared Coffin, Benjamin Gardner, Wil- . 1783-Alexander Coffin, Peleg Cof-; 1790-Alexander Gardner; Peleg i fin, Shubael C~ffi~, Jedediah Fitch, j ; Coffin, Senator. Obed Folger, M1caJah __ Gardner, Arch- r------~~======~ i 1791-Micajah Coffin, Alexander elaus Hammond, Coffin Whippey; fl":. Gardner; Peleg ·Coffin, Jr., SenatClr. Walter Folger, Jr., Senator; Gideon ~;-'; ~792-Micajah Coffin; Peleg Coffin, Gardner, U. S. Congress. ~~,f Jr.; Senator. i 1812-George Cannon, Micajah : 1793-94-Micajah Coffin; Peleg I Coffin, Shubael Coffin, Simeon Cole­ : Coffin, Jr., U. S. Congress. j man, Jedediah Fitch, Obed Folger, 1795-Micajah Coffin; Peleg Cof- I Micajah Gardner, Archelaus Ham­ fin, Jr., Senator and U. S. Congress. mond, Coffin Whippey; Walter Folger, 1796-Micajah Coffin; Peleg Cof- Jr., Senator~ . fin, Jr., Senator. . 1813-Gilbert Coffin; Walter Fol- 1797-99-Micajah Coffin; Peleg Cof-1 ger, Jr., Senator. fin, Jr., Treasurer. I 1814-Micajah Gardner; Walter 1800-Micajah Coffin; Isaac Coffin, i Folger, Jr., Senator. Senator; Peleg Coffin, Jr.. Tre3:sure-r. I 1815-Micajah Gardner; Thaddeus 1801-Micajah Coffin; Peleg Coffin, : Coffin, Senator: Jr., Treasurer. i 1816-Thaddeus Coffin. 1802-07-Micajah Coffin, Isaac Cof-: 1817-18-Micajah Gardner; Walter fin, Senator. : Folger, Jr., U. S. Congress. 1808-Micajah Coffin, Walter Fol-• 1819-Jonathan Jenkins Barney; p-er, Jr., Uriah Swain; Gorham George: Walter Folger, Jr., U. S. Congress. Hussey, Senator. 1820-Barker Burnell, Constitu- 1809-George Cannon, Micajah · tio-ral Convention, Hezekiah Barnard, Coffin Shubael Coffin, Jedediah Fitch,! Constitutional Convention, Gideon THE LATE ELLENWOOD B. COLEMAN. ' I THE LATE WILLI.Ak c. DUNHAM. , Micajah Gardner, Archelaus Ham- Folger, Constitutional Convention, Representative in 1907-8-9. Died February 27, Representative in 1905-6. Died December I U h 1919 ed 56 9 th 27 d 18, 1908, aged 78 years, 3 months, 4 days. ; mond, Martin Tyler Morton, ria _J osfah Hussey, Constitutional Con- , ag years. mon s, ays. 1 --· ------·-·--·------·----- ___· - -_-_.- .. - -· ·------.-._-_-____-_- __- __-_-_-_-_-_ -_ -_ -_ -_ -- ======1845-David Baker, George Harris, j sha Smith. -William Coffin Starbuck, Charles I 1863-Charles · Frederic Brow.1, Wold; William Mitchell, Senator. I Andrew Jackson Morton.

! · 1846-George Harr:s, Justin Law- J 1864-Reuben Pinkham Folger, Eli­ i rence; Barker Burnell, Jr., Se.1ator. : sha Smith. 1847-No Represe tative. ! 186&-Reuben Pir:kham Folger, 1 1848-David Baker, William Ba1·- Jos~ph Mitchell, 2d. ney, Justin Lawrence, Joseph Mit- ! 1866-lsaac Hussey Folger, Joseph chell; John E.kins, Presidential Ele::!-1 Mitchell, 2d. 1 tor; William Mitchell, Gover or's-I 1867-William Henry Waitt, An- I Council. : drew Whitney. . 1~~-William Barney, Joseph Mit-1 1868-William Henry Waitt. I1 / chell, John Morissey~ William Coffi i 1869-lsaiah Freeman Robinson. : Starbuck, John Elkins, Senator; Wil- I 1870-Reuben Pinkham Folger. I Earn Mitchell, Gover.1or's Council. ! 1871-R~bert Folger Gardner, An- I 1850-William Barn-ey, Edward I drew Pinkham. Wyer Cobb, Reuben Meade:-, Joseph 1 1872-Robert Folger Gardner; Al­ Mitchell; William Coffin Starback. ! f1 ed Macy, Governor's Council. . Sc,nator. i 1873-74-Edward McCleave; Alfred 1851-James Harkey Briggs, Reu-1 Macy, Governor's Council. I ben Meader, Obed Swa~n; William I 1875-76-Joseph Mitchell, 2d. Barney, Senator. I 1877-Charles Bunker Swain. JOHN J. GARDNER 1852-James Harkey Briggs, Henry 1 1878-81-Henry Paddack. ReI>resentative in 1895-96-97. j Clay Worth; William Barney, Sen- 1882-83-Josiah Freeman. EDWARD H. PERRY. ------.- ·, ator. 1884-87-John William Hallett. Representative in 1914-15-16-17. liam Jenkins, George Bruce Upton, 1853-George Howland Folger, 1888-Henry Riddell. WiLiam ,vatson; David Joy, Senator. j Reuben Meade-, Jc-siah Swain; James . 1889-90-Anthony Smalley. Nantucket's S~bscription 1n 1833--George Marshall Bunker, _____· ______Liberty Loans. Wi.liam Redwood Easton, William Se.::.bury French, William Watson, Nantucket was the banner town in Da.iel Whitney; Barker Burnell, Sen­ the United States in its per capit:l atcr; David Joy, Governor's Council. .subscription to· the five Liberty Loans 1839-George Bradburn, Isaac Iin connection with the great world Brayto ~, Joh:i Coffin Briggs, Samuel war. A total of $1,665,550 was sub­ Haynes Jenks, Frederick Cartwright I scribed on the five loans, which was at Macy, Josiah Swain; George Bruce the rate c-f $555 for'every man, wom­ 1 Upton,· Senator. i an and child residing on the island. 1840-George Bradburn, John Cof­ The island's subscriptions were as fol­ fin Briggs, Benjam:n Gardner, Sam­ lows: uel Hay·es Jenks, David Joy, July, 1917-First Liberty Loan William · $411,000. Bunker Mitchell; George Bruce Up­ October, 1917-Second Lil;>erty Loan ton, Senator. $589,000. 1841-George Bradburn, John .Cof­ April, 1918-Third Liberty Loan fin Briggs, Benj~min Gardner, George $130,000. Bruce Uptc-n; Barker Burnell, U. S. October, 1918-Fourth Liberty Loan Co:igress. $306,000. 1842-Obed Barney, Charles Gard­ May, 1919-Fifth (Victory) Loan $229,500. ner CoggeshaP, .George Gill Folger, r~.vjd Joy; Ba· ker Burnell, U.S. Con- The first sperm candle manufactory gress. _ was established on Nantucket in 1772. 1843-David Baker, .Obed ~arney, The business was first established in H'r::m Banett Den is, George Gill Rhode Island, the art of manufactur­ Folger; Georg~ Bruce. Upton, Sen­ ing candles being kept a secret a ator; Barker- Burnell, U. S .. c·o,gress. number of yeai;s. 1844-Dav~d-.. Baker, George Gill REGINALD T. FITZ-RANDOLPH JOSEPH WALSH Folger, Daniel JQnes_. .rr., C~arles Delegate to Constitutional Conv~ntion in 1917. Congressm~n from Sixteenth District. Wocd; Obed Barney, Senato:c- . Easton, 2d, Constitutional Convention, 1891-92-Arthur Hinton Gardner. Alai:son Swain, Co.~stitutional Con- 1898-94---Antho)ly Smalley. Ivent1on. · 1895-97-John Jackson Gardner. J 1854-Edward Hammond, Josiah 1898-Rollin Morris Allen. I Swain, David Wood; Joseph Mitchell, 1899-David Barnard Andrews. I Senator. 1900-04-Arthur Hinton Gardner. I 185&-Charles Hus~ey Brock, Wil- 1905-06-Willis.m Chase Dunham. liam Cushman Bunker, John Elkins, 1907-09-Elle11wood B. Coleman. Edward Hammond; ·Joseph Mitchell, 1910-13-Benjamin Sharp. Auditor. 1914-17-Edward Howard Perry. 1856-Edward Hammond, John 1917-Reginald Taliaferro Fitz- Morissey, John Hussey Shaw; Wil- Randolph, Constitutional Convention. liam Barney, Senator. 1918-21-Arthur Westgate Jones. 1857-Edward Hammond, John I Morissey, John Hussey Shaw, ·wmiam The Academy Hill school building Wyer Wood. was erected in 1856 and was dedica- 1858-Joseph Mitchell, Peleg Ray, ted on the 2d of December. The Charles Wood; John Morissey, Gover- structure cost $20,000. 1 nor's Council. 1859-James Franklin Cobb, Peleg The first phonograph on Nantucket Ray. was owned by Henry Nelson Lamb, 1860-John Thompson, Charles who bought it in February, 1897. Wood; Alfred Macy, Presidential I Elector., The Masonic Block on Main street THE LATE DR. BENJAMIN SHARP. Representative in 1910-11:.12-13. Died Jan- 1861-Elisha Smith, Alfred Swain. I (where~n _is located the postoffice) ARTHUR W. JONES. uary 23, 1915, aged 56 years, 3 months. 1862-Andrew Jackson Morton, Eli- i was built m 1890. Representative in 1918-19-20-21. · ======::::======:=::;:::======-=-==:-======Lighthouses and Lightships · the ice-field began to move., taking of Nantucket. the little lightship along with it. Slowly the doomed craft swept The Brant point light station, at eastward U(.til it disappeared entire­ the entrance to Nantucket harbor, is ly on the morning of February 5th, cne of the oldest in existence. It fllIIItiII,1 when it passed out by Great Round was one of the first eight in use in Shoal, with signals for help still fly­ the United States and the station ing. There were six men on board, ~rs quite a history. When the who probably· went down when the first lighthouse was erected there or lightship foundered, which seems to how long it stood we have no means have been her fate. Government of ascertaining, but it is known that vessels scoured the sea for several it was destroyed by fire in 1759. The weeks, but found no trace of the miss­ government records say that it was . ng lightship. established "about 1746." ~:•;· , ,·~) Other Lightships Near Nantucket. Ancther lighthouse was built on Brant point soon after, which stood J The next lightship established in until 1774, when it was blown down .:.~ the waters north or east of Nantucket in a heavy gale. A third was erect­ islar.d was the Pollock Rip vessel, ed and it was destroyed by fire in which was placed there in 1849. Next 1783. came the Handkerchief light vessel, The first light maintained on Brant which was .established ·in 1858; then point was at the expense of the ship- I the Great Round shoal, which was es­ owners of Nantucket, but a few years tablished il'l 1890. after it was established the town, SANKATY HEAD LIGHTHOUSE. In 1902 a second lightship was and then the state, took possession; I ______,______placed on Poll"ck Rip, situated a the government of the United States'. . I • • • , short distance from the other vessel, not assuming control until the year I The next year the two r~nge bgh~s j tion _of a lighthouse ard keepers a-d known as the Pollock Rip Slue 1791, when Brant point, with the sev- we;e erected on Br~nt point, and 1n dwelling at Sankat~ H~d, Nantucket. lightship. en other lighthouses then in exist- 19:i::O a fog bell was placed there. 1 Two years later this hght was estab- On the· 12th of JulY'., 1908, the ence, w.as transferred to the govern- Other Light Staticns. !l~shed, it being lighted fc-r the first Hedge Fence li~htship was estab­ ment by an act of· Congre'1'passed Some facts of interest in connection time, on the 1st of February, 1850. lished and on the 2d of June, 1916, in August, 1789. with the other light stations on Nan- The first keeper was Alexander D. that on Store Horse Shoal. The first three lighthouses on Brant tucket , island may be applicable at . Bunker. The "South Shoals" Staticn. point were cheaply constructed and this time: 1· What is undoubtedly the most im­ after the destruction of the third the I Although not as old as the Brant 1 The Cross Rip Lightship_ portant lightship on the coast and town, for economy!s sake, built the point station, that at Great point · The first lightship established in the best k··own to tra-s-Atlantic voy­ next one on sonM3wbat different lines ranks as "one of the oldest on the . this section of the coast was on the agers, is the Nantucket South Shoals from its predecessors. A wooden coast." It was first established in' Cross Rip station, where the gov­ vessel, which was first established on lantern, with glass windows, was 1769, but the first keeper is· un- i ernmenit placed a light-vessel in the 15th of June, 185-i, with Samuel hoisted between two spars, with known. I 1828. This static-n is the best known Bunker as keeper. grooves to protect and steady the In 1820 the "Nantucket beacon" i of any hereabouts, as it marks the Originally, the station was located lantern. ' ' was established on the south side of i turning point for the steamers plying about twenty miles south of Nantuck­ This lamp gave a very dim light, Nantucket harbor. This beacon was I to and fro across Nantucket sound, et, but in 1896 the government decid­ often compared to a lightning bug; l Iocally known as the "Bug light" and I as well as for niuch of the coastwise ed to place it on the outer edge of hence it received the name of "bug it was maintained sixty years, being : traffic. Nantucket shoals, much nearer the light," which term was later also ap- discontinued as a station by the gov- I Numerc,us vessels have marked this line of travel for European steamers, 1 plied to the light located near ~he ernment in 1880. The first keeper · station since it was e§ltablished, some where it is at present, 43 ½ miles Monomoy shore. was Caleb Cushman and the last keep- 1 of which have proved to be far from southeast from Sankaty lighthouse, A few years later, ·the "bug" on er Benjamin F. Wyer. For several I seaworthy craft. · One of the most moored in 180 feet of water the Brant point not proving satisfactory, years after the light was discontinued! distressing marine disasters occur­ farthest from shore of any lightship a fifth light- was substituted, it being the government retained possession I ring in this section of the coast hap­ in the world. merely a frame, fitted at the top for of the pro!)erty and employed Charles I pened in February, 1918, when the the lamps. This outfit was wrecked I Henry Gibbs to live there as care- I little vessel marking the Cross Rip The first square-rigg-ed vessels in a heavy storm sometime during the I taker on a salary of $1.00 per year. ! station was torn from her moorings were fitted out for whaling at Nan­ year 1788. l The "cliff range beacons," located i by the action of the ice-fields and was tucket in 1757. The last "square­ The following ye:ar, the act passed Ia half mile or so northwest from the I swept out to sea, never to be heard rigger'' to arrive was the brig Eu -ice by Congress authorized the general Brant point station, near what is to- Ifrom again. ' H. Adams, on the 14th of June, 1870. government to furnish the sea coast I day known as "the bathing beach," It was on the-· 1st day of February In the intervening 113 years Nan• with lighthouses, and as the inhabi- I were established in 1838. The first that it was noticed that the lightshio tucket climbed to the top as a whaling tartts of Nantucket were tired f:,-f I keeper was· Pelee: East<'n and the last was adrift, but owing to the ice which port and in 1830 was the third com­ maintaining the light station them- 1 keeper George E. Dolby. covered the sound it was not thought mercial town in Massachusetts. From selves, the land at Brant point was In 1848 Conl!Tess passed a bill ap- she was in imminent dane:er. Strone­ 1845 to 1870 the town steadily de­ ceded to the United States and the propriating $12,000 for the construe- westerly winds set in, however, and clined as a whaling port and in 1870 government built the next lighthouse had reached its lowest point. -the exact date not being known. ---·- ____ , This building-the sixth-grew old 0Tt October 1, 1807, ship Union of with years and was condemned, and Nantucket, when twelve days out, was when the seventh was constructed the struck by a whale a11d sank. Her government attached a dwelling house crew were in boats seven days, land­ for the keeper and his family. ing at the Azores. Demand for a more powerful light finally caused the government to con­ , The first power boat in Nantucket struct a brick edffice. This was in was used by Jacintho Leia! in 1906. 1856 and the bric~ tower and keeper's whe built a large dory and installed dwelling are there today, although the a gasoline engine in it. lamp was removed from the tower in 1901, when the new beacon light was The first (Straight) wharf was established on the very end of the built in ·1723 oy Richard Macy, grand­ point. I son of the original Thomas Macy. Six years later, in 1907, the rip-1 rap stones were placed on the beach The battleships of the North At­ in front of the beacon and the keep­ lantic squadron visited Nantucket THE LIGHTSHIP WHICH DISAPPEARED. er's dwelling was rebuilt th!!t year. 0opyri::?"ht, l!ll~. by H. B. Turner. during the summer of 1901. •

BRANT POINT WITH THE TOWN IN THE DISTANCE (Photo taken in 1916).

AT THE "POINT-0'-BREAKERS" ON THE SOUTH SHORE (Photo taken in 1915) · - -· - ·---- from shore, and that two fishing boats ! herd, but will hang around until slain. !and then disposed of the car~sses, Nantucket Visited by Four were driving them in, there was a I The tide was coming i_n when the but as there w~ no outfit a~adable, Schools of Blackfish. d rush for the beach. I school struck the beach at 7.00 o'clock the men responsible for the b~g cateh Four time.-; during the last century g~e next issue of The Inquirer and : and had the fish known enough they had a "white elephant" on their hands schools of black:fish have stranded on Mirror gave the following description , coulc! have made their way off during in the shape_ of some hundred or so the . shores of Nantucket island- of this event: · j the next few hours, but instead of blackfish which they could not sell. 1828 1874 and twice in the year 1918. It was then almost nightfall, but heading off-shore when "gallied" The blackfish were fi1!'ally towed Possibly schools of black:fish visited the crowd gathered quickly. The (as whalemen call it when a whale out to sea a:fld set adnft and_ for Nantucket prior to 1828, but if so sun was just above the western hori- is frightened) blackfish will almost weeks after _the carcasses d~ted t.!?ere was no ·record made of the· event. . zon and the brisk east wind was send- always head towards the beach and ashore on various parts of the island In 1828, on the third of November, ing the ripples onto the beach. Off make no attempts to reach deep wa- and had to ~~ disposed of by the a. ·school of twenty-six blackfish in the distance was the school of ter again. health authorities. stranded in the "chord of the bay," blackfish, swimming to and fro paral- During the night the m~n kept Head Oil Valuable. · and with the whaling industry thriv- lel with the beach, cutting ibe sur- steadily at work slaughtenng the Blackfish are interesting, inoffen- ing, as it was at tbat time, the ~an- face of the water into foam as they! blackfish, and at day-break Sunday, sive animals. They are really small tucketers quickly turned the little rushed back and forth, all' following the cliff bathing beach presented a whales and inasmuch as a whale is · harvest into oil, the fish being slaugh- the leader, as is the habit of this pe- nauseating sight. a mammal, a blackfish should proper­ tered on the beach and towed into the culiar fish. They were a badly fright- Men and boys were at work on the ly be classed as an animal with the harbor to the try-works. ened bunch and it was not surprising, carcasses which were lying farthest whale, rather than as a fish-but it W_hen the second school came in for two g~soline boats were driving ; up on the beach, cutting t1:irough the is always referred to as a fish. Al- .1874, the whaling ind~try ha~ d~- them inshore, while the men on b_oard blubber in order to reach the meat, though much larger than sharks they st I clined, but a ''try-works was ill m waved their al'lis, splashed the water and junk after junk of the dark red are not ferocious and do not prey on existence and then men who captured with oars, and yelled and shouted. bloody flesh was carried uptown dur- large fish; in fact, their food coni:;ists the school made good money out of The sight was most interesting to ing the day, to furnish food for those mostly of "fry"-that is, minnows nd the venture. This school stra ed Iwatch and one by one the big fish ' who, from their experience just a , and similar small fish. on the north side of the island, near stranded, threshed their flukes about month previous, had discovered th~t I Blackfish are very much like the Eel point, on Wednesday, the first two or three times, and then com- blackfish is excellent food and 1s sperm whale in shape, almost jet day of July, 1874, and ninety-one menced to "whistle." Some folks I most edible when serve~ either in black in color and with a shiny blackfish were slaughtered. . Many thought the sound was more like. the I broiled steak or as "pot roast." M~ch smooth skiri. While swimming they persons can clearly r~ll this event squeal of a pig than a whistle; at any of the meat was salted down for wm- usually keep close to the surface, with with a great deal of mterest, for,. al- rate it was a pathetic sound to every- ter use, and several of the hotels their big fins and flukes showing, thc,ugh the fi~h stranded several ~les Ibod; within hearing, a sound ha_rdly se~ed beautiful blackfish steaks on and their big noses occasionally p::ik­ from town, it was an unusual sight in keeping with the size of the ammal their tables for a day or two after the ing a little above the water. th and parties from town ma~e e lo~g emitting the w1histle. · Within an slaughter. The oil from blackfish can be ap- th journey and were well paid f~r eir hour after the first fish struck the 128 Blacldish in the School plied to several uses, but in order to th 1874 efforts. A photograph of is beach a hundred more had followed In this school there were 128 black- handle it successfully and profitably th school appears herewi ,. co~ied fro: in his' wake, and about three-quarters j fish, some of them being 22 and 23 there must be ample equipment for one of the old stereoscopic views ta - of the entire school were landed di- feet long and must have weighed two the work. The most valuable por­ en at that time. rectly in front of the bathing es~b- Ior three tons apiece. · The majority tion of the fish is the head, which Twice in the summer of 1918 Nan- lishment, many of them up against of the herd were medium-size fish, contains the "melon," from which the tucket was visited by blackfish-after the rocks of the jetty. however, and would measure from 15 valuable oil is refined that is used in an interval of fo~-four years since I Slaughtered During The Night. to 20 feet in length, but there were a watches and clocks. . "the blackfish came befo~e. It was I In driving the fish inshore, the number of "calves" and they suffered The "melon" is so-called from its at day-break on the mormng of Wed- school became broken, and although the same fate as the larger fish. shape, as it resembles a watermelon nesday, July 3rd, that word came to it is the habit of the blackfish to keep The whole affair proved to be a when carved from the head of the town that a school of blackfish had closely together and follow the ''bull" needless and useless slaughter and fish. This "melon" lies just in front stranded on the beach about a q~r- i which acts as a leader, some of the tons of good marketable meat, to say of the blow-hole and it contains a pe­ th ter of a mile west of the ~a mg ' big fellows swam off to the westward nothing of more tons of blubber and culiar oil, different from that in any th beach. The school lan~ed d~rmg e and could have made their escape had valuable "melons," actually went to other part of the fish. When rE_:­ night, the big fish being discovered they sense enough. Instead, how- waste, for aft~r the fish were slaugh- fined and placed on the market ~his wallowing in the sud~ when one of ever, they turned about and before tered the men did not know what _to head oil commands a fabulous pr1c~, th the residents of ~he cliff went to e morning joined the main school on do with them and had no way to dis- but it takes many months before it bluff in the mommg. stra the beach and met their fate. It is pose of them. Had there been any is ready for use in watches and clocks, Word of the arrival of this nge a peculiar thing about the blackfish try-works on Nantucket, it would as the refiners have to be very partic­ nd body o~ "visitors" sp:ead arou that even off in deep water and in have been an easy matter to hav_e ular and watch the product _carefully. nd town quickly and both islanders a perfect safety, it will not desert the tried out the blubber and head oil The "melon" is located directly on summer folks hastened to the scene. ------~------=--- top of the blackfish's head. Author- 3everal men soon came with spears ~~~~ ·==== ...... -·--...-.--. _, ities claim that the "melon" is ae- fftl~!~ ::s !ii~; I ,'~~;:!:\~~;~,.,~.i",L,L'."'.',,,",'.!'';;t"': ,.,,1 g;:~t2~:of~I~~~2~~~ three specimens having sense enough . when there is an abundance of food

:e~::~C:!e~nto deep water and make riiiB "· """ ;;K \L,;., " •tGf:· ,,, , " » ,, t

.. Photo by H. B. Turner. THE SCHOOL OF BLACKFISH STRANDED AT THE CLIFF BATHING BEACH IN AUGUST, 1918.

Photo by B. B. Turner. ANOTHER VIEW OF THE BIG SCHOOL OF BLACKFISH TAKEN AT DAY-BREAK A'FTER THE NIGHT'S SLAUGHTER. SURF BATHING ON THE 'SCONSET BEACH.

Photo by Boyer. A SpMMER MORNING ON "THE SQUARE" IN 1920. -.- ... :.:1.;: ·t,c~0~~f ~,lii1Jf. y

A LIBERTY LOAN PARADE COMING UP BRANT POINT ROAD IN 1918.. ------·------· Nantucket in the Great tucket was a "naval sta~ion," with be- rence for air-ships to fly over to Nan- and 9 men from the British steamer tween two and three hundred men tucket from that station and also Penistone. World War. staticned here and from six to twelve from the station on Long Island. The!· Throughout the q:1:1ration of the Following the declaration cf war scout boats making their headquar- first dirigible balloon flew over on the: war, and for months afterwards, the against germany by the United ters at this port. The water front, 3d of June, but did not land. ; women of Nantucket worked diligent­ States on the 6th of April, 1917, Nan- and the town itself, was made lively ports that german submarines were: ly in Red Cross activities, and the tucket responded nobly and the island by the presence of tile "Reserves" in this section, nothing definite devel-: local "Chapter" made a record for it­ town showed its patriotism just as and several events occurred during oped until Sunday, July 21st, 1918, l self. The members of the Junior clearly as it had in the other wai:s. the war period which brought Nan- when a submarine sudGeniy appeared: Red Cross also did_ good work and which had threatened the stability of tucket to the front in the stirring off Cape Cod and sank a string of j whenever a "drive" was necessary to the United States government. events en this side of the ocean. The coal barges and burned their tug., raise funds for the Red Cross work,

A total of 215 Nantucketers were officer in charge cf the Nantucket From that time some of the Nantuck- J the townspeople contributed liberal­ "in 'service" during the World War- district was Lieut. Thomas J. Prindi- eters had fears that the island would! ly. 71 in the army, 20 in the navy, 6 in ville. yet be made the object of attack by I The record of Nantucket in the the aviation corps, 5 in the medical On the 4th of February, 1918, the the german submarines, but the morel World War would not be complete corps, 44 in the coast guard, 41 in the I steamer Ruby, a trani:,port laden with conservative element felt that the•, without reference to the Liberty Loan naval reserves, 8 yeowomen, 8 in the supplies for tlie armies in' France, germans would keep away from the subscriptions. Nantucket· went far students' army training corps, 4 in stranded at the west end of the isl- countless shoals which surround the I "over the top" in her allotments and I the radio, 7 'in the merchant marine, and, a short distance east from the island on all sides and ply· their ne- I her per capita subscription on the five and 1 war nurse at the front in Madaket station, but the news of this farious work off in deep water. ; loans was $555, which was the high­ France. mishap was never announced on the This prediction proved true, but it I est in the country. Her total sub- Four of the young men died in serv- mainland, owing to the rigid censor- was not until the 10th of August that I scriptions on the five loans amounted ice, namely: Priv:ate Howard F. ship which existed on all news d!s- the submarines became active "off- I to $1,665,500-a record in whi~h every Coffin, on·· April·· 15, 1918; Corporal patches during the war. The Ruby shore." Then one of them suddenly l Nantucketer, far and near, will al­ Chester F~ Dunham, on July 17, 1918; had on board a quantity of high grade appeared near Georges Bank and I ways take just pride. Private Byron L. Sylvaro, on July 19, lubricating oil and in order to float l com_menced sinki~~ _ th~ ~~~encele~s I During the "drives" on these Lib- 1918 (at the front In France); and the steamer it was r.eccssary to throw fishmg vessels wli1cli were m that v1- I erty Loans, the Naval Reserves and Francis L~W.i}te§;., _who was dr9..'Yl1ed overboard 1900 barrels of the liquid. cinity. Of the heartless work of the; the Nantucketers united their efforts at sea from the U. S. S. Tampa, Sep- Much of this was ;recovered, however, germans in depriving the fishermen of· and held various parades in connec­ tember 26, 1918, when that vessel and later shipped to New· York on a their Ii1relihood and causing them to tion with the activities. At different was torpedoed by a submarine. schooner. The Ruby was floated by I suffer indignities of variou~ kinds, times bands were brought over from Prior to th.e entrance of the United government tugs and a wrecking out-1 only those who became the prey of the_ mainland to assist in these par­ States into th~ wa:t--,while President fit and subsequently continued her the submarine can recite the details. ades and Nantucket's enthusiasm and Wilson was writing notes to germany voyage to Europe. One of the acts which created the patriotism manifested itself every -this island :;figured in the news dis- It was about the time of the Ruby most indignation among the fisher- \ time. The island town stood close patches because of its nearness to the mishap that the little Cross Rip light- men was when the American flag was I to the record she made for herself in South Shoals lightship, where german ship was torn from her moorings by Iseized from one of the vessels and ! the past and when word came on the submarines were said to be lurking. the action of the ice and was carried· spread out on the deck of the sub- i 11th of November 1918 that the "ar­ And on the 8th of October, 1916, out to sea and lost, with all on board. marine for the crew to dance a jig I mistice" had bee~ si~ed and that came word that six steamers had been The island was surrounded with upon. i hostilities had ceased, there was a sunk "off Nantucket." As a matter heavy ice-fields for several weeks that A few of the fisherme~ \Wei:e im-1 grand ringing of bells and blowing of of fact, "off Nantucket" meant off the winter and on the 5th of February the prisoned on the submanne several-, whistles, with an impromptu parade South Shoals lightship, which is Weather Bureau recorded a temper-, days and required to assist the ge~-, and a suspension of business. Nan­ moored 43 miles southeast from this ature of 6.2 degrees below zero, which Imans in going to a"Pd from the fishing ~ tucket felt that she had done her island, so the Nantucketers them- w~s the lowest since the station was, vessels as th~y were sunk one by one 1 share. · 1 selves did not know the least thing established~ aTld robbed of whatever the german;; • about what was going on. Still, for On the 13th of Anril, 1918, the first decided they wanted. Others were\ N tu k t 1 b t d the "sound several months sin kings were report- air-craft crossed Nantucket sound and set· adrift in their dorJes and were I an c. ~ c! e ;3' t~ Presidential ed "off Nantucket," even though this on the 17th four flew over. The picked up by the United States scout i mont~Y vifc 0 ry· ° ·th e b. 1 1896 WI 1 country h a d not d ec l ared war agamst· g'overnrnent ma-m• t ame· d an air· s t ~t· 10n b cat s. · s·1x vesse1 s were sunk and : e dec .10n th o ft , ad 1cyct ehl" par- ht germany. • Iat Chatham during the war and from twentv-eig-ht of the survivors were I a e m . e ~ tehrnoon a!1 a ore ig Throughout the war perio~ Nan- that time on it was a frequent occur- landed at Nantuc)cet-19 fishermen l procession m e evening. A GROUP OF NANTUCKET BOYS RESPO~ DING TO THEIR COUNTRY'S CALL. From left to right-Robert C. Nickel.":son. Maurice C. Killen. Irvin M. Wyer, Georgt! W. Cummings, Edfr&.r Adam.. , Wallace Long, Lmco!n Pcrte.. Ch:irles H. Vincent (now de­ ceased), William Main. George S. Furber. BYl."on Mooney. Franklin F. Webster. Karl Brockseil)er. From a I>hoto taken at Hyannis a few moments before they entered the Army, October 5th, 1917. ------·- •·------•------.. ------· ---·--·------Nantucket's"Honor Roll" of The! *John L. MacDonald Huntington Mol."se (Lieutenant) Maurice Peters , Langdon Mackay (Lieutenant) *Ralph C. Pierce Arthur W. Philli!>s (Ensign) Great World War. *William A. Main *Sherburne Sandsbury Edward Pierce *Earl Ainsworth Mayo David W. Swain (Ensign) William G. Remsen (Ensign) Names "starred" (*) indicate service ovel."- *Patrick J. McGrath *Frederick H. H. Syivia John Rogers seas. *Philip McGrath AVIATION. Harold R:•der 1 Herbert P. Smith (Lieutenant) Names in boldface type are those who m2de I *Byron Garfield Mooney Arthur D. Hayden (Lieutenant) "the great sacrifice" while in servi::?. I Clifford Ray Morris (Corporal) Andrew J. Swain Jesse A. Dunham Elmore Swain Names with daggers (t) are those :ivh:> have . *Claude Stanworth Nickerson *George H.! Mackay. Jr. (Lieutenant) died since the war ended. *Robert C ifford Nickerson Israel M. ·Swain 1 *Earl Stowell Ray ARMY. Charles Norcross Joseph Bernard Sylvaro I *Haro!d Patterson *Cyril Ross Forrest Thomas Solomon Bashara Ackaway . *Lincoln Porte (Corporal) Ceci~ A. deV arcnnes Manuel Viera

*Edgar F. Adams 1• Oscar Edward Quigley MEDICAL CORPS. Chester W. Weeks (Chief Boatswain's Mate) *Joshua Bishop Ashley (Sergeant} "Walter Morrow Ramsdell *William Almeda Carl Wyer George Ernest Barney (Sergeant) I •John Cunningham Ring, Jr. *Charles E. Congdon (Major) YEOWOMEN. *William M. Bartlett. Jr. Leon Macy Royal Samuel HenrY Dickson (Captain) Miss Marion Allen Richard Congdon Bickerstaff *Charles Emery Ryder *Frank E. Lewis (Captain) Miss Olive Allen Karl Brockseiper (Sergeant) 1 *Edgar I-'. Sanborn (Sergeant) *Bertram Edgar Morris Miss Gladys Burgess Charles Ferdinand Brooks *William o. Simpson RED CROSS NURSE. Miss Alice Gardner Coleman (chemist) *Norman Bradford Brooks *Charles Gerald Snow Miss Clara Grimes *Raymond Brothers *Alanson William Swain *Mrs. Francis D. Parrish Wi1liam Burgess h M Cl S · Miss Elizabeth Grimes Edward Romeo Butler *tJosep c eave wam COAST GUARD-SEA DUTY. Miss Anna Knevals *Charles Coffin Chadwick Burton Swallow · '[ *William Brownell Mrs. Frances M. Murr&Y *Edward William Chadwick (Sergeant) *Byron Lincoln Sylvaro *tJohn l!;rrol Fo.ger STUDENT ARMY TRAINING CORPS Joseph Forte Viera *Carlton West *William H. Chase. Jr. (Bugler) tCharles Henl'!' Vincent *Francis Leroy Wilkes Maxwell Deacon *Grover Cleveland Coffin Nicholas Von Til Stephen Gibbs Boward Fo~er Coffin *:Max Wagner (Sergeant) *Roger Wilkes Marcel Emi"e Alcan Gouin Arthur Collins Franklin Folger Webster (Lieutenant) COAST GUARD-SHORE DUTY. Gilbert Manter Manuel Cosmo *Edward Henry Whelden, Jr. (Corporal) George R. Abbott John Mendonca Lloyd Creasey Philip Wood Walter A:•er;;, Philip Morris Ernest S. Crocker Irvin Mitchell Wyer. Warren Barnes William O'Donnell *Herbert N. Crocker Chester Smith Barrett Walter Royal *George WashinJ,,'ton Cnmmfogs CC,,rpua!) NAVY. Elmer Blanchard RADIO. Thaddeus Coffin Defriez (Lieutenant) Olaf Anderson Edward Burgess •Chester F. Dunham (Corporal) *Norman Baker Leon Frank Cahoon John Cowden Andrew Duifey, Jr. Harry R. Brayton (Lieutenant) Byron Coffin Edmund Palmer Crocker •John Duffey •Howard U?>ton Chase (Ensign) :Frederick W. Coffin Harry Holden *Charles Fred Fisher •James C. Clarke (Lieutenant) George W. Coffin Mathew Tierney . *GeoJ-ge S. Furber El;enwood Fo!ger (Lieutenant) tHenry Stetson Coffin MERCHANT MARINE. *Norman Giffin •Everett Folger Thomas Curley *Franklin Bailey Atwood Harry Macy Harps (Captain) J. Butler Folger. Jr. Arthur P. Dunham Arthur Marshall Barrett *Clarence Eugene Hussey John Gebo Nelson 0. Dunham Edward Brooks Coffin *Maurice C. Killen Arthur Bunker Gibbs John Fee *J ose!)h Cook Frederick M. Kittredge. Jr. •William James Hennessey (Ensign) Oliver Fhher Walter Ho:mes *Robert Kittredge *Harold J. Holm (Lieutenant) Warren Fisher *Everett Morris Ernest Sylvester Lema *Francis Macy James E. Fl'!•e Kenneth Ne:sc,n Pease • Albert Morris *Wallace N. Long Maurice E. Gibbs A "CROIX DE GUERRE.'" *Channing MacDonald (Sergeant) *Chester Earle Morris (Lieutenant) Frederick W. Howes (Captain) Manuel JoseI>h i Mrs. Francis D. Parrish served with honor John Kittila i as a nurse at the front in France and was Lincoln Eu!!ene Lewis . awarded the "Croix de Guerre" medal. James L-ocke Elbridge Stanley Nickerson Edward W. Norcross HoracP. G. Norcross (Captain) John Paige LeBaron Locke Ray William Robinson Adolph Rohdin Albert Rohdin (Captain) Samuel F. Smalley Preston N. Swain tNathan H. Thurston Leland To!)ham Haro'd Whe'den Charles I. Willams William H. Winslow NAVAL RESERVES. Stanley Baker Landon Barnes David Cahoon James E. Chapel (Warrant Officer) Gordon Chase Richard H. Coffin Frank Couwa:y Earle Cook (Warrant Officer) Edward L. Davis John Donnellis, Jr. Ralph Dunham (Chief Boatswain's Mate) Charles Ellis Adrian Gibbs Arthur B. Grant (Ensign) Lawrence Hadland Isaac Hills, Jr. •William Holding Reginald Fillmore HusseY Zidon C. Long (Ensign) Harold Main Horace Marks Frederick · Mur?'8!' McCleave Clinton Herbert MurraY · Frank Edward Murray • Adrian Norcross (Chief Boatswains Mate) THE LATE HOWARD F. COFFIN. THE LATE CHESTER F. DUNHAM. Arthur Oldrich THE LATE JOSEPH McCLEAVE SWAIN. ••,•.-:-.

U. S. S. "NANTUCKET" OF THE MASSACHUSETTS NAUTICAL SCHOOL.

THE LATE BYRON L. SYLVARO. BYRON L. SYLV ARO POST NO. 82 Who died from wounds received in active AMERICAN LEGION. service in the trenches in France during the In memory of Private Sylvaro (the only battle of .July 21, 1918. aged 23 years. This Nantucket boy who made the "great sacri­ photo was taken from a group picture se­ fice" in the trenches) the local American cured by the Red Cross. Lesoon Post bears his name.

THE LADIES OF THE RED CROSS MARCHING IN SECOND LIBERTY LOAN PARADE, OCTOBER 25, 1917. THE MEMBERS OF THE .JUNIOR RED CROSS MARCHING IN SECOND LIBERTY LOAN PARADE. OCTOBER 25, 1917. • ~-w .,.,.. ,,, ~~ -·,···.~·~-"--~ .."2::~·-:,;sz ... .- ~ '~.· ·>:<: ~·~ :":-~:...... --_.::

Centre Street, Siasconset, Sixty Years Ago: Looking up Main Street (we.;t) in 1860. "The Anchorage" in 1860, Where Now Stands Phillips Building

INTERESTING PICTURES OF "OLD 'SCONSET' BEFORE THE SUMMER VISITORS CAME ..

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.. Postoftice Square" as it was in 1860. · A 'Sconset Street Scene Sixty Years Ago. Front Street, Siasconset. in 1860.

REPRODUCTIONS FROM OLD STEREOSCOPIC VIEWS TA,KEN A HALF CENTURY OR MORE AGO.

A Grou-p of 'Sconset Fishermen and Their Dw~llinrts in 1~60. A Group on 'Scon!let each in 1872. Broadway, Siasconset, in 1860. ." . - ~. ~ , •~:-~ '. ~ l _-• • ~._ •

~;; ... ~.. , _;~&;(;;~'·,.1"" ... ;{fJ} -. ~>:;: ..;"

FORCING AN ICE BLO.CKADE DURING A "FREEZE-UP." Steamel' Sankaty in the ice off Brant Point, January 2, 1918, endeavoring to break into the harbor and bring relief to the islanders. The passengers descended from the boat "to the ice by means of a ladder and then walked ·ashore to the point. Photo by H. B. Turner.

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VIEW FROM THE SOUTH TOWER LOOKING NORTHEAST (Photo taken in 1918). The Coffin School and Its Work ; for Nantucket. 1 • i Founded in 1827 by Admiral Sir · I Isaac Coffin, Baronet, the "Coffin i I School" is today an institution of! which all Nantucketers are justly I proud, for it o:ffers to the young peo- i pie of the island town advantages of I manual training and domestic science equalled by few towns of the size of Nantucket. · When Sir Isaac Coffin came to Nan- J tueket in 1826, the town had no sys- I .• tern of public schools and it was his desire to found a school for "the pur-1 pose of promoting decency, good or­ der and morality, and of giving a good English education to the youths . who are descendants of the late Tris- · tram Coffin." The school was chat'­ tered in 1827 as the Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin Laneasterian School. Sir Isaac gave $1,500 for the pur- , chase of a wooden schoolhouse on. [I Fair street, and the necessary equip- ! ment, and an endowment fund of 2,500 pounds sterling. In 1835 he gave an , ______;______-::,------=~~----:----

additional sum of 3,333 pounds sterl-1 t T 10 0 :ff eel f ee by the public system, and carried on into industrial in life's work. Each yea1: has see, ing, the income from which was, for I u~ ~ e\ r d less Depend lines ,as means and opportunity shou:d additions made to the. equipment of a certain number of years, to be de- i :~i°~ns~:~r:n e:i~:n fee;, the insti: permit would be in harmony with the the Coffin School and within the walls voted to the purchase of books for ! tution had to accept as pupils any Admi~l's intentions and a practical Iof the brick building on Winter street­ the school h"brary, and then to .be !'who co~ld pay, without considering adaptation of his gift to the needs of j the boys ·and girls of the public used for general expenses. The m-: the terms of its charter, a .. id tha poor today. · : schools are throughout the school come_ from the endowme~t ·was not · and needy of the Admiral's kin re- To this educational work the trus- year receiving instructions in manual sufficient to meet the runmn~ expens- . d be fit from his gift tees of the Coffin School decided in training and domestic science which 1 es, on what the trustees ca Jerl the, ce;ve 1; 9~ t:e attendance had. fallen March, 1903, to devote their build- they enjoy and which will be of last­ Admiral's ''very liberal plan of in- t nb t thirtye while the rates of· ing and fund. They obtained from\1 ing benefit to them. l d. f 1 11 1 " o a ou ' ' . h . c u mg ema es as we as m~ es, . te st n 1·nvested :funds had so de-• . the legislature such changes m t e1r , a?"d a tuition fee was charged. _ B-?t t:at the income barely cov- charter as were necessary; t~e school The Skating ~ink. 230 :~in: I attendance was lare:e, . l>Ul)l}<; In ' ered the expenses of the school as an committee responded co~dially to Between thirty-five and .forty 1827, and th~ suTJ)lus denved from Iacademy with three teachers. It be- their proposal of co-operation; an ~x- years ago Nantucket had a "skating !~e fees of ~hildren from afflue~t f~m- : came evident that a change must be , cellent equipment for . man~al tram- rink"-a large structure with a :floor ilies made it poss!hle to. ad'll1t wi~b- : made, and when Mr. Fox, who for Iing in woodwork was gi':en m memory ' which was said to be one of . the out charj?e those m straightened cir- nearly thirty years had done faithful . of one wh? loved the island as the smoothest in existence at that time. st ! ! cum ances. ( and efficient service as principal, re- home of his youth; and on October I The project was not a complete sue- After the town established public: signed on account of ill health, the 5th, 1903, the bell, which had b!en i cess, however, although the "rink" schools the attendance fell to about a !trustees decided to close the institu- silent five years, rang out, telling / was popular. for a few ye~rs ar.d was hundred pupils, b·.,t the insti_tution i tion, accumulate an emergei:icy fu11d; that the school had re-opened._ _ . ( used not only for skating, but for continued to do exceller,-f: sel'Vlce as : and consider how best they could As a school for manual trammg 1t ( dances and large public gatherings. an academic school and to meet a I adapt their trust to present condi- has already proven its worth to the ! Ten years after its construction it was manifest need. In the course of sev- !tions. , I bc-,ys and girls C'f Nantucket, who here' the scene of the banquet arra'""ged as enty years great changes took place j After considering many possibili- j on an island thirty ~iles ~t sea, ~rel a part of Nantucket's centenn~al eele­ in the little port. The whale fisher- . ties they concluded that the introduc- receiving the practical mstruction bration in 1895 and at that time the ies came to an end. The fire which I tio; of manual training-. offer~d free which permits them to compete with "rink" probably held the greatest swept the town in 1846 was a heavY in conne~ti~n with the public schoc-1 the boys and girls of the mainland i number of people. ·blow to other indu5:tries. and the gold ______------· ------[ When it was constructed the fever of '49 carried many young men · '-. .· _. !building required 120,500 shingles for 1 1 ~ t~: !~~~~ilies-r::U~7:".;'eta:: J · ,.'{:)\Jf / .• :~~1;,j .' ' °''. i:edro~!! :~! !t:!n~~:,~. ~:e~';;: of activity. the population decreased i · -·· i ing was formally opened on the 29!h from ten thousand to less than three, I ! of June, 1885, and it was a "big

and the place seemed destined to a ·1 l time." It never proved a mo.... ey- slow process of decay and death.. ! making venture, however, s'> when But in the seventies the island be- \ ~ the establishment of an electric light- gan to attract attention as a summer j : ing station was contemplated four resort. and as the numbet' of cottag- :I ... years later, the west end of the rink ers and visitors have increased year building was converted into a "pl'lW- by year~ it is evident that the town is: i er-hou~." with a brick fire-wall be- to have a continued existence and is j tween the e""gine-room and the main again prospering. · portion of the building. Through all these changes the Cof-1 ~; el~• plant occupied }he fin School has done good work. After · buildmg untII 1903,. whe,... the e~ th e g-:--ea t fi re of 1846, 1·t s d oors were power-house was- · bullt. Soonh afterd b closed for eight years during which the rink buildmg was pure ase v time· t h e present b ui·1d·' mg was erected r~ng,. • • EJti·,,,g and. .it ~was-:- later tr,rn and opened-m. 1854. It prepared , down · The build1nat'- stf"od on the most of those who went to college , northwest comer of Beach and Sea from the island, but these numbered! Lower Orange street had its neighborhood pump on the edge d the side- streets. only sixteen in thirtv years~ And as I walk sixty years ago, when little gir's and their mothers all wore hoop wealth and population d-?elined. those i skirts. This picture shows the corne_r of Orange and Beaver streets. The The electric fire alarm system was who could afford to pay for books and l pump was removed many years ago. first tested on the 14th c-f May, 1907. NANTUCKET HARBOR AND FISHING FLEET IN ·1917 (Photo by Boyer).

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THE DECK OF A QUAHAUG DIGGER In the autumn of 1913 the immense bed of quahaugs was dis::overed. north of Nantucket island and with­ in eight years it is estimated that over a millic-n barrels of the shellfish were taken from these beds and shipped to market. ~·- 1':"1- .• .. _., <.~- •· .

THE INNER SHORE OF NANTUCKET HARBOR, LOOKING NORTHWEST FROM STEAMBOAT DOCK IN 1915.

A VIEW ACROSS THE SEA CLIFF BASE BALL GROUNDS TAKEN FROM THE ROOF- OF "THE OLDEST HOUSE" IN AUGUST, 1915.

LOOKING ACROSS NANTUCKET HARBOR TO BRA NT POINT IN 1919. .. ~"- \ . A Story ,Which Never Grows Old. ! cellar, and there it remained three Nantucket's Famous Bell. \y~m . One hundred and eleven years ago l With peace an opportune time came the sweet-toned bell which strikes the l for paying for the bell. Subscription ~ours for the people of Nantucket and I papers were passed around, and $500 sounds the ,curfew at nine each even­ [ was collected for the purpose. The ing, was cast over in Lisbon, intended j society raised $350 among its own to be one of chimes for a Portuguese , members, the remainder coming from convent. Somehow-nobody knows I other subscriptions. Among those why or how-the bell has for years I who subscrfoed was Obed Mitchell, a been called the old "Spanish" beil. Quaker, who said: "Friends do not Nantucketers have called it Spanish use bells for religious purposes, but and summer visitors have called it as they are very useful in giving fire Spanish-yet as a matter of fact it alarms, etc., I will assist in the pur­ has no connection at all with Spain. chase." The wisdom of the Quaker Instead, it is thoroughly Portuguese, is attested today by the varied uses for it was cast in Portugal and bears to which the bell is put. an inscription in the Portuguese The bell was rung for the first language. time on December 18, 1815. It But it is a remarkable bell, possess­ chanced that on that day a son was ing a tone sweeter than present-day born to a Nantucket captain, who was bell-makers are able to bring forth, then at sea. On his return, when and for over a century it bas been told the joyous news, and also that perchea m the tower of the Unitarian 1 the bell was rung for the first time ~hurch-the pride of all N antucketer~ on the day of the birth, he slyly re­ and the interes1. of all summer vis­ marked that he had arranged to have itors. Each successive season we the bell rung for the first time on the are besieged by tourists for the his­ joyous occasion. tory of the bell, which has oft been r Many persons climb . the tower of published and as oft lost sight of. The f the Unitarian church to the belfry to story is always of interest, however, read the inscription on the bell and and each succeeding generation seems study its ornamentation. This con­ to appreciate readjng it. sists of a cross with a nimbus, some Many strange stories have been elaborate scrolls and three lines of told about the bell. Writers who have .lettering, two at the top and one on nc-t taken the trouble to delve for lthe rim. The topmost line is as fol­ facts have invested it with a history j lows: entirely fictitious. One of the most AO BOM JESUS DO MONTE COM­ PLETAO SEUS VOTOS: OS DEVOTO$ DE audacious yarns concerning it was LISBOA, OFFERECENDO LHE HUM COM­ palmed off on unsuspecting newspa- PLETO. per editors a few years ago. It told "BILLY CLARK," NANTUCKET'S FAMOUS TOWN CRIER. with much circumstantiality of how a William D. Clark. the famoW; town crie-: of Nantucket and the last of his line. was The second line reads on, as fol- born November· 11. 1846, and di~ Au"'u~t 1'"',. 1909. This" pictu're was taken a few I l · Nantucket crew found the bell on a rnonths before he died. It was from ..the ~ loft of the Unitarian church that "Billy" : ows:JOGO DE SEIS SINOS PARA CHAMAR derelict at sea. ciimbed daily to "sight the boat" and inform the townspeople of her approach by lonr,. OS POVOS ADORALO NO SEU SANTU- The facts about the bell are suffi- blasts on his horn. ARIO. ciently interesting in themse:ves with- - ·------· ------The bottom line is the maker's out the garniture of fictio:i. j Charl~s Clasby ~f . Nantucket. He her. ?hat will not an~wer.' said I. Theh mark, as follows: The bell is not Spanish but Portu- was.either commissioned by the new they raised a?0ther. wit~ the same result. l JOZE DOMINGUES DACOSTA OFES EM h h · • IWhen they raised the third one. and struck guese. It was cast in Lisbon in 1810, c urc soci~ty to secure in Europe a her I said, 'Ah, Clasby, you need look no fur• LISBOA NOANNO DE 1s10. ir.te11ded for a chime, to be installed bell for its new edifice, or purchased: ther: that's the bell you want: she is a A free translation of the inscrip- in a Catholic church, but was bought the bell as a personal venture, with I beauty; she sounds on B.' 'Wen. sir.' re- tions is as follows: nd before its consecration, a duplicate a view of selling it to the church so- I rnarked the gentleman of the fou ry• 'we To the good Jesus of the Mountain h!! s:eetest-toned bell probably being cast for the chime. ciety. . l :~:;i'!;; i;;' 0 !; Y:.:. the devotees of Lisbon direct their The buyer of the bell was Captain On this point no satisfactory evi- J prayers, offering him a complete set d_ ence can be obtained. Neither is/ It appears the bell does not strike of six bells, to. call the people and t kn B h b t A adore him in his sanctuary. i own today in what ship Captah. -on , owever, u on · Done at Lisbon by Jose Domingues Clasby went to Lisbon or what busi- J As Captain Cary was homeward Dacosta in the year 1810. ness took him there. i bound the bell was put aboard his That he was there in 1812, two j schooner for transportation to Nan­

years after the bell was cast, and ·1 tucket. Before sailing he heard of purchased the bell in the usual busi- the declaration ·of war between• Great ness way, is vouched for by indisput- ! Britain and the• United S~t~s. On able evidence, which fortunately, had r the passage home the Wilham and been preserved in printed form. i Nancy was spoken by a British sloop In Lisbon~ at the time Caphin Clas- I of war, -whose commander had been by bought the bell, was the Nantucket! at sea some time and had not heard schooner William and Nancy, Cantain ! war had been declared. He asked Thomas Carv. The owners of the ! Captain Cary the news. The Nan­ schooner, S~muel Carv and othe'"s.) tuck~t captain was careful to say had business relations with Portug-al, 1 nothing about the war. and the schooner probably ·was there By the time the William and Nancy on a freighting trip. arrived home the British had several Captain Cary was with Captain cruisers off this coast. The s<:hoon­ Clasby when he boug-ht the bell. ~nd er met none of them and the bell was gave Mr. Easton th~ facts about the I safely landed. Nantucket was at the purchase, which Mr. Easton wrote Imercy of the enemy, and its ~eopl! out in 1879. Captain Cary said: were careful not to make a d1splav "Clasby· invited me to go to the foundry Iof valuable movable. property. It with him and assist in selectinit a si:ond-toned was no time to instaII a large· and bell. They had in the yard where the bells [ handsome beU of foreign make in the were. a lever for raising thern from t~e new church. · ground when they were about to ascertain their tone. The bell theref ore was very wisely THE UNITARIAN CHURCH THE LISBON BELL. They applied the lever to one. and struck stowed away in Samuel Cary's store Built in 1809. One hundred yeaTS ago (in 1821) seventy-six ships, six brigs, sixteen schooners and.. fifty-nine sloops were engaged in whaling and coasting from Nantucket. / / /

THE FIRST AIR SHIP CROSSED NANTUCKET SOUND ON THE 13TH OF APRIL, 1918. FOUR DAYS LATER FOUR MORE PLANES FLEW OVER. THE TRIP OVER FROM CHATHAM WAS MADE IN TWENTY MINUTES. THESE PHOTOGRAPHS WERE TAKEN AT BRANT POINT.

. ..-; .. . -~. •, . ~~ ·.. : . . .. ~~·<::-~~f0.~:~.-~0,:'§:.. ~~·~i~.:~J~~.i~it:~~~-­ . ,. .. , .' ·_;,<;~,~~·~: f; .,,,,.::,~~--~~-)tf.\!'..~~ .,,,.'.,~~- . · y ;-. .: E;i:;. :fti':,'..:; -~·-7;1[iit~:}$¥<: ·.. :::,,~;_;_ ...... ,:,.~c--~:- ·:·::~~ \~i-'.. -~::~!; ... -... ·...... ~.- . ,......

. ·. - . ~;"·~ ?!~ "Captains All"-Nantueket's · I the basin at-the Steamboat wharf and Capt. David Bunker, 2d, sailed par- boat Thom, was also an old-time pilot "Boatmen" of Other Days. it was not long before the "captains" ty boat Thom later re-named Zephyr. and fisherman. : were recognized as a ·'class by them- He was an old-time whaleman. In Capt. J cnathan 0. Freeman, of par­ By C. HADWEN CROWLEY. • i selves." Their courtesy, tempered 1831, when thirteen years old, he ty boat Dashing Wave, was a good . with the dignity of the old-time New shipped as cabin boy on the ship sailor and an expert with a "net nee­ The hardY adventurers that first England ship-master, their coolness Phenix and made several voyages in dle." For a number of years he peopled the ~ew Engla:1d co~t w~re and skill in sailing the broken waters that vessel. He commanded ships was on the town police force. undoubtedly influenced m_ their choice of the "Rips," and their tales of ad- Lexington and Henry on voyages to Capt. Henry Nickerson, of party of settlem~nt b~ the evident wealth venture among the distant isles of the Arctic ocean. boat Arthur ·Weston, was a well­ of_ the sea, m which they not only saw I the Pacific never failed to interest Capt. Barzillai Luce, of the party known fisherman and seiner. He fell a cheap and much-needed food supply, ] and charm those who made up the bc,at Dionis, was one of the old-time from aloft and was killed in 1877 b1:1t-also the medium of exchange with ' "fishing parties." whalemen. He made his first voy­ while at work on the Italian bark the M?ther Country for the n:eeessary It would require a volume for a age in ship Ontario in 1836. Made Papa Luigi C., wrecked on the south -matenal to conq1:1er the wilderness complete history of Nantucket's "par- two voyages as captain of bark Hecla. side of the island. th that was to be eir home. ty fleet," but I must be content with Capt. Benjamin B. Pease, cf party Capt. John P. Conway was one of th . From the first ~ettlement 1µ1to e the outline of a few facts in relation boats Lucile and Margie, was one of the last two "square-rigger" captains present day, the tidewater New Eng- to the skippers and their boats. the first volunteers to leave Nantuck­ of Nantucket. He commenced a sea­ lander has tho.ught fish, caught fish These men filled the gap twixt "the et when the Civil War broke out and th faring life at sixteen as cabin boy on and has accumulated much weal by j old and the new." . Their occupation he was promoted to a captaincy fo ship N. B. Palmer on :.t voyage to t~e barter and ~le of fish. Th! and their personality 4rew the visitor the army. He ~as twice wounded 'China, making four voyages. on that red . gilde~ emblem, The Sac Cod, to the island, who '"came, saw, and and was confined in Libby. Ande:-son­ ship in all. He later sailed on ship that 1~ suspend~ ab~ve the speake~s the island conquered." The "prince" ville and Salsbury prisons. He th1 1 Black Hawk, the famous clipper ship desk m the le~lative hall of s has disappeared; the "fleet" has scat- served on the Surfside life-saving Davy Crockett, and ships Minnie Al­ commoi_iwealth, is a. mute tnoute to tered to the unknown; and the "cap- station and was the first keeper of len, W. R. Grace, St. James, St. Nich­ the native thought. . tains," with but few exceptfons, have Coskata station. olas, San Joaquin and Manuel Llag­ Undoubtedly the first white settlers answered to the call of the Great I · · · · · on Nantucket were influenced by this • Captain Ben3amm F. Morr1s sailed una. He made two voyages in com­ same feeling and they looked to the Captam of us all. i two party boats named Priscilla. mand of ship Lucile. When he re­ sea to tide them over the years of The "boatmen" vrere, in a way, a The "big Priscilla" was one of the tired from the deep sea, Captain Con­ poor crops and near famine. With lpart cause of the present prosperity largest "Cape cats" ever built, being way purchased the fleet of small sail­ always an eye to the sea, the settlers of Nantuck~t as a :n1mmer resort. ~7 feet over ~II- t,;aptain Morris boats of Capt. Barzillai Burdett. saw both profit and adventure in the They a~vert~sed the _1Siand as never ~ade one whah~g. voyage. a;1d serve~ ...... pursuit and capture of the whales before nor since. Their tales were re- m the·, navy dunng the Civil War .as It would not be fair w the "water that frequented the waters surround- told an? thei: parties' "luck" dis- mast:r m~te and e-:sign. He was at front" to close this article without ing the island. ~ussed l!} ~usmess office, club, and ~ne ti~e m charge of Stepping Stone mentioning Capt. Barzillai R. Bur­ At first the pursuit was in boats by_ the fires1?e of many a home. A ,hght, m Long Island sound, and was dett, Capt. Charles Smalley and Wil­ from the shore and then as the busi- bnef synopsis of these men of Nan- also in command of the South Shoals liam H. Chase. ness assumed~ larger- proportions, tucket. . maY be in. t eresti ng, and h ere r1g h tsh. 1p. • Capt. Burdett built many boats for small sloops were fitted out for lim- it is, gathe~ed most~Y from memory, Capt. John M. Winslow sailed the the whale-ships and later for pleas­ ited cruises off-shore. As time went aDtl matter at my disposal; . party boats White Cloua, Undine and ure sailing. In 1872 he built the on longer and more extended trips Capt. Alden H. Adams, had· the Mabel. He made one voyage whal­ catboat Dauntless, which for many were made and when at last an ad- party boats Ellouise and L. Roberta. ing with his father, Capt. Perry Win­ years was employed in making reg­ v'enturous captain ''rounded the Horn" For years he was in the packet trade slow, on the ship Edward Cacy, and ular trips to and from the cliff bath­ and entered the South Pacific Nan- between Nantucket, New York and cruised around the world. Has ing beach. tucket was assured a place in' world Baltimoi:_e. He commanded the Try- served as wreck commissioner and In 1876, Captain Smalley, in cat­ history. Her captains were not only all, Eunice H. Adams and the Lucy filled several town offices, as well as boat Lillian, established regular sail­ whalemen, but explorers as well. Church. During the Civil War he postmaster. At present he is pro- ing trips between town and Wauwinet It is not my intention to chronicle was in government transport service. prietor of the Veranda House. at the head of the harbor. · In 1888 the rise and fall of '"whaling," •·but I Capt. William Jemegan sailed par- Capt. Horace B. Cash was for many he had a second and larger "Lillian" have mentioned this matter simply as ty boats Flora Temple and Vesta. He years a mate with Captain Adams. built for this route, which is in service an approach to the real subject of this was a whaleman and sailed in ships He was considered a skillful boatman today, having. since been enlarged and article, and to illustrate "what is bred Leader, Margaret and Russell. He and sailed the party boats Magic and fitted with "power". Each season. in the bone will show in the :flesh." was master of the Rebecca Simmons Mildred. the Lillian is on the W auwinet route The collapse of the whaling indus- and sailed two voyages in the Levi Capt. George A. Veeder, of the with Capt. A. W. Jones at her helm. try was considered at the time a local Starbuck as master and part owner. party boats Favorite and Seminole, William H. Chase has devoted disaster and no doubt it was. The Capt. Obed Swain, of the party boat was a whaleman and was also in the the greater part of his life to- the geographical. situation of Nantucket Sylph,was one of the Nantucket whal- coasting trade. At one time he was building and renting of row-boats. island was a bar to manufacture, so ing captains. He made his first voy- keeper of Surfside life-saving station. The possessor of a happy, even and the island could but l?°I: to the sea. age at fifteen and sailed on ships . Cap~ "Alec" Du:1l}am was an old- kindly disposition, his patrons consid­ Debarred from their quest of oil, Richmond, Eagle, Reaper, Henry As- time pilot and fisherman. . He sailed er him a personal friend. Mr. the modem Vikings of Nantucket tor and George Washington. At the the party boat Clara (formerly the Chase is some "whittler" with a jack­ were "lost" and, liken unto a child age of thirty-five be was captain of Lizzie and Helen) a two-masted boat knife and Nantucket's exhibit at the which tums to its mother in time of the ship New Bedford. He sailed of a model that would be considered centennial exposition of 1876 co 1- trouble, these ~children of the sea" two voyages in ship Catawba as mas-· unique today. tained a number of specimens of his looked to Mother Ocean for relief, ter and part owner. Capt. David B. Andrews had the work. Today his umque ideas in and the ocean "found the way." Capt. Perry Winslow of the party party boat Mischief. In his youth weather vanes are much sought after All known records agree that in the boat White Cloud was formerly he was an off-shore fisherman. He by summer visitors. past ?1e waters su,rroundmg the island whaling master. He m"ade numerou: serv~d as ~oderator of the town For two hundred and sixty-two contamed an abundant food supply. voyages after "oil ,, i.vas maste f meetmg and in 1899 was representa­ years Na.. tucket has lived on and by the sea, yet many of her sons have Of"an. the known s~,ecies, the bluefish the Phenix in 1844 'and again in : 84~. tive in the legislature. - pnn~e of~ sea --outranked_ them In 1854. he went out in command of . Capt. Ch~rles G. Coffin sailed, at won fame in other lines of endeavor. all H1s d~hcate flavor was ~ Joy ~o ship Edward Cary and eircumnaviga- ddferent times, the party boats A descendant of Nantucket was the most Jaded palate, while his ted the globe Gypsy, Flora Temple, Dashing Wave ambassador to the Court of a French strenj?th and never-give-in quality · and Inez. He sailed on coasting ves- King. Nantucket blood set at the won the respect of tbe most experi- Capt. Joseph Winslow, of party boat~ sels and also on Atlantic whaling vov- Council Table of a President of tile enced fishermen. Flora del Mar and Emily,. was one of ages. One of the best-known of the United States. Nantucket men have th As the merits of tbe bluefish be- e old-time whalemen. He com- island pilots. filled nearly every high political office came better known, his fame was manded both the old aTid the new Con- Capt. Judah Nickerson. of the partv in the gift of the Old' Bay state; yet wafted abrr.ad and visitors from all stitution and was master of bark beats Naiad Queen and Millie. was -:,. we have ever beep few in num­ sections of the country made the isl- Amy, one of the last two whaleships well-known pilot o~ Nantucket as ber and our dearly beloved island is • b • ti Th to return to Nantucket. He WJlS the ' an d the1r o ,ec ve. e Ol)t>0l.tran- well as a fisherman. HP made sev- but a dot on the map. We have T'O ity had arrived and the· Nantucket keeper of Surfside life-saving station eral whaling voyages in his younger swollen fortunes, b1~t the novertv and cantains .were not slow to grasp it. when it was establishaj, the first ~- days. privations of the grea~ cities is by us tion on the island. .- The headquarters of the fleet was:i . Capt. Heman Eldridge of party unknown. Photo by Boyer. A VIEW FROM THE SOUTH TOWER, LOOKING N,ORTH, IN 1917.

FOLGER BLOCK, CORNE!l. OF MAIN AND ORANGE STREETS, IN 1916. When Nantucket Harvested Coconut OiL Nantucket was well greased dur­ ing .the month of April, 19~1 , and the ,su bJect of "coconut oil" was on ev- erybody's tongue ai; well as given much prominence in the city press. The "harvest of grease" came from the British· steamer Gaelic Prince, which stranded on Great Round shoal the _31st day of March, loaded with a I valuable cargo from the Far East. The vessel had touched at Boston and discharged $1,000,000 worth of goods, and was proceeding for New York to -discharge the remalining $3,000,000 worth which she had stowed down in her hold, when she got off her course in making the tum at Great Round shoal, and struck on a shallow spot -about eight miles east of the island. Her cargo included 900 tons of co­ conut oil, which was carried in a tank, and in order to float the steam­ er it was necessary to pump this oil over-board. And thus came the grease which washed the shores of Nantucket and plastered itself around promiscuously for the next three or four weeks. And such a mess! Barns and fish-houses, boats and wagons, were all loaded to the limit with the cakes of grease which were found on the shores or afloat. The oil was melted when pumped from the steamer's hold, but it congealed THE NORWEGIAN BARK "M.ENTOR." almost as soon as it struck the water. On the 23d of April, 1S93, the Norwegian bark "Mentor," 5CO tons burthen. bound fr. m Cienfuegos for Boston with a cargo of sug- and Na-,,tucket was soon surrounded ar, was abandoned by- her crew south of Nantucket, :after she stl'uck on one of the shoals. Two boats• crews from Nantucket found thz by a sea of white oil. v~sel abandoned, _with all sails set, and boarded her. salvaging both vessel and cargo. which were valued at $73.000. The salvon re- .th • . f l h b . Ice1ved $14,500, which netted about $750 to each man. w1 visions o wea t efore their eyes, in thus having nine hundred I )------· ------tons of valuable oil- waitii,g to be Re~lizing its value in that respect, ( well as to the owners of the steamer were anxious to get rid of it as picked up. several hundred men be- practidllly every household was soon Gaelic Prince, who claimed ownership ~ peedily as possible, before warm came active and commenced ,rather- "making soap" and the supply of lye of the oil and consequently one-half weather affected it and caused it to inj? -in the stuff. For several dav-:; and potash was speedily exhausted, of all that had been salvaged. "me1t and run away." after tbe sea of white first swe~t . necessi~ating telegraphic orders to Quotations on coconut oil began _t~ Four mass meetings were held--one down upon the island about every the mainland for another supply. But drop as soon as the word of on Old North wharf and three in the available rig in the sha-pe of team there were tons upon tons of the stuff\ the exploit of the Nantucketers Town Hall-and the attendance at auto or boat. was employed in th; everywhere-more than a half dozen reached the mainland, and the prom­ each was record-breaking. A com­ work, and s~n Nantucket teemed single soap factories could use-and ised "demand" for the oil withered mittee of five was appointed-Ed­ with the odor of coconut oil from one the disposition of the "~rvest" soon away. With such an ~ccumulatio1 of mund Z. Ryder, James A. Backus, end to the other. became a problem to the salvors as I grease on their hands, the islanders James S. Andrews, Arthur J. Barrett . and Arthur McCieave-to determine the best method of disposing of the 2 CO'Conut oil. fl\ ;~/ As a result the stuff was placed in ,;,'.:,,. bags, barrels and boxes and loaded ·;;:tdf .~?: onto the three-masted scho~-ner Na..,­ tisco, to be taken to Brooklyn, whe~e a flnn offered to pay 4¾ cents a pound for the oil after it was refined. Althoug-h their visions of great wealth out of the harvest of coconut oil were rudely shattered, the Nan­ / tucketers netted a good sum per ton I on the grea~e, besides the Iarge quan­ \ tities which were transformed into Isoap by the house-wives. It was an unusual eYUerie"!"ce, with manv inter­ IestinP.: and humor<'us situationc; at­ tendant upon the gatherine- a .... d dis- position of the oil. But Nantucket will wash it'3elf with "coconut oil soap'' for the next twenty years or / more!

In 1857 the Selectmen issned an order forbidding- anyone visiti,.,e: the Asylum grounds or buildinC? without \ first obtai"'ir'g a nermit from the THE SCHOONER ALICE M. LAWREN CE. Ove.,.seers of the Poor. That wac; t 1;1~hsix-nu:~ schooner AI~ce M. Lawrence was wrecked on the east end of Tuckernuck shoal, December 5, 1914. She struck on onlv three vears after the present 0 op • ed e_ wrec_ a vessel which was lost there in 1885, laden with paving st-:>nes, and the Lawrence became a total loss. Her bull Asylum (know,i as "Our Island remain in evidence on the end of the shoal several months. but was finally burned. Home") was built. · fo t~mil - :-_:f:} ~,,'r

•:,, ...

STEAMERS GAY HEAD AND SANKATY PASSING OFF BEACHSIDE.

Copyright by H. B. -Turner. BEFORE AUTOMOBILES WERE ALLOWED ON NANTUCKET.. A scene on Steamboat wharf prier to the arrival of the boat in 1917, when the "taxis" were all drawn by horses and the historic Nantucket Railroad was still doing business. The Nantucket Postoflice And l The Siasconset Postoflice. The Postmasters. _ \ A government postoffice has been The first• postmaster ~n this town r· maintained in the village of Siasrcon­ set since 1872. There have beea. was William Coffin, who took office 1 128 years ago last March. Prior to four "postmasters" and all have been that year Nantucket had no govern­ ladies. The first -was Miss Love ment postoffice and correspondence Baxter, who was appointed in Novem­ "!ith the rest of the world was solely ber, 1872. Her salary was $12.00 a through the island's shipping. Every year and her father, Captain William out-going whale-ship had its "letter Baxter, was paid $8.00 a year to carry bag" and every "packet" running to the mails across the island. Boston, Baltimore, Albany or other After Miss Baxter came Priscilla ports carried a sack of mail. Almy, then Annie S. Chinery, and fourth Anna E. C. Barrett, the pres­ There was not much letter-writing in those days; correspondence was ent incumbent. The original 'Sconset postoffice was principally of a business nature, in in the Baxter house on Broadway, connection with the various branches which is illustrated below from an of the whaling industry. To be sure, old drawing. Later the postoffice the island families kept in touch with MASONIC BLOCK ON MAIN STREET. was in a ·store on ''the bridge" and in the fathers, brothers and sons who Owned by Union Lodge_ F. & A. M. Erected -in 1890. The Postoffice occupies the 1902 it went to its present quarters were sailing the high seas on whaling lower floor and the Masonic ~e the upper floor. voyages, and letters were forwarded in the building fro""!ting on what is ----···--·- 1 now known as·Postoffice Square. by every ship that sailed, to be de- about double the number of boxes Severe Storms and High Tides. livered in the most convenient manner that were first installed. when the Nantucket ships "touched" The business grew steadily, both in A severe storm swept Nantucket The first. season of "two boats a at some far-distant port, but it took stamp sales and in the money order on the 3rd of October, 1841, driving day" during the summer months was months and sometimes a year or branch, so that on the 1st of July, ships Rose and Planter ashore. The in 1874. more for a letter to be delivered. 1901, it became a se.cond-class office. storm demolished a rope-walk and Mails were of course very irregular The steady growth of the island as cut away the 'Sconset bank fifty feet. The state road was commenced in in leaving and reaching Nantucket a summer resort from year to year A d~elling, two- barns and several 1894. but in those days the islanders . gav~ caused the postoffice business to con- smaller buildings goin~ down the ·------~- little thought to such matters and it .tinue to leap ahead and eight years bank. The tide rose three feet above was not until 1793 that the govern- ,after it became a second-class office the wharves. ment took hold and es--..ablished-a post- the government appreciated the deve!- On the 12th of Oct:ber, 1878, a -:~··.1~ ··/ ' . . ..,. ' office on the island. It is known opment of the postal business to such severe storm caused great damage o .1 _;,. that William Coffin was the. first post- an extent that "carrier service" was Nantucket, estimated at between $20,~ .,.....,.. master, but where the first postoffice inaugurated--on June 15th, 1909. 000 and $30,000. · I was located is a question. The de- Those who have served as post- On the 29th of August, 1883, the partment does not know and it is fair masters of Nantucket are the follow- heaviest surf ever known pounded its to presume that it was in Mr. Coffin's ing. In each case the man held office way into the south shore. home, as was the case in those early until his successor wa:s appoi-ted. A severe storm lasted from No- , days, or else in one of the island Name Appointed vember 25 to 28 in 1888, cutting Ltc "reading rooms." William Coffin March 20. 1793 the south shcre a distance of 100 feet During the 128 years that have Silas Jones ATl-il J: l805 in places. The railroad line wa:. passed, Nantucket has had but e1'gh- ThomasJames Barker Macy A!)rilOct. 1,1, 1805181~ wash e d mto. t h e surf. teen different postmasters, which fact George W. Ewer May 5, 182Cl In August, 1898, another storm ~hows that some of the appointees .James Mitchell July 8, 1839 I washed the railroad track into the held office through several presiden- Samuel H. Jenks March 26, 1811 I surf ti 1 te A d George F. Worth .Julv 5. 1843 · a rms. n rew Whitney held James H. Griggs May· 11: 1849 In a heavy storm, December 15, office the longest period-eighteen Joseph Mitchell Sept. 25. 1850 1896, an opening broke through the years-and Charles F. Hammond Charles P. Swain April 27, 1853 Haulover beach, near Wauwinet, re­ came next, he holding office sixteen Andrew Whitnev April 17, 1861 maining open ~elve years. years. It was under Mr. Hammond's -Tosiah F. Murohev Ja..,uarv 16. 1879 John M. Winslow· April 11, 1887 On the 23rd of January, 1908, dur­ regime that Nantucket received its Josiah Freeman January 6_. 1892 ing a heavy storm, the Weather. Bu­ greatest development in· postal service. John M. Winslow January 15, 1896 When he t.ook office the business Charles F. Hammond JaTl. 17. 1900 reau recorded an extreme wind veloc­ was located in what.'is now the west James Y. Dea~on July 11: 1916 ity of 130 miles an hour. side of Wing's Store on the south NOTE-At this writing (Mu, 1921) Post- Nantucket was swept by a severe ,naster Deacon (a Democrat appointee) i<> storm and extreme high tide on Jan­ side of ]4ain street. The quarters still in office. although his term expired in uary 13, 191b. The wharves were were cramped and wholly out-of-date. J"uly, 1920. President Harding's policy rel­ Peter Paddock's Whale Iron. submerged, the water rising nearly to .An empty dry goods box served as ative to postoffice appointments has not been One of the most singular incidents · determined. South Water street. the "money order department;" the in connection with the exploits of equipment and facilities were antique Nantucket's whalemen and wnal~ship; in every way._ Postmaster Ham­ was that c.f Peter Paddock. Captain mond made some radical recommen­ Paddock struck a whale in the Pacifi~ dations to Washington. · 1 ocean and "lost his ·iron," the whale On the 30th of May, 1900, the post­ l~lft escaping. Thirtee.'.l years later, while 11l~t1i~f on another voyage in the Pacific, he office moved from the old quarters to its present location in Masonic Block struck a whale and when it was be­ corner of Main and Union streets, -;?t]·:x~~;\t··· ing cut up, the iron which he lost s.:> where an entire new equipment many lears previous was found im­ was installed and the service greatly bedded · in the flesh. It bore his own improved in many ways. The post­ initials "P. P.", and was easily ~den­ ~naster thought that street letter tified as the lost iron. Th:it Ca..,tain boxes would be a convenience to which Paddock should strike the same whab the people of Nantucket were entitled after a lapse of thirteen years anri and this was o..,,e of the first improve­ thus recr,ver his iro"'l himself was ments wade during his administra­ considered most remarkable by the tion. The expense of. erecting and Nantucket whalernen. maintai"ing the boxes was upon the postmaster. however, the government THE SOUTH SIDE OF MAIN STREET IN 1870 LONG BEFORZ Prior to 1894 what is now Cliff loaning the bc-xes. Now there are MASONIC BLOCK WAS BUILT. Re-ad was called North street. A VIEW OF UPPER MAIN STREET The three brick Starbuck Houses are on the left and the Hadwe::1 and Barney Houses on the right.

-- - --.-. ------The Starbuck Brick Houses er expected that they would succeec. ) intericrs were elaborately finished next east, by William C. Swain.. The on Main Street. to the business he had founded. He 1 Externally it might be sugge3ted tha~ only one still owned ·by the Starbuck then gave his attention to establish- I they were placed too close to one descendants is the Joseph S. Barney By HENRY B. WORTH. ing them in homes befitting the rank other, but they have always been ad- homestead on the corner. of gentlemen, and in magnificence far mired and without _.question present a The brick houses were occupied by A short distance southwest frcn.. surpassing his own. The four liigr.ified and distinguished appear- the brothers as long as they lived and the Monument Square, extendi1ig-· daughters, being older, had all mar- ance. then by their· widows. The first and from Milk street, is a narrow tow1-: ried and it was the old-time custom When finished and furnished he in- oi:ily estate to pass from th!=' Starbuck way called New Dollar Lane. On to leave women to the success or fail- stalled his sons in their palatial family was the eastern-most, which the east side, a few yards from the m.·e of their husbands, but the fath- homes-George in the west, Matthew was purchased by Gardner J. King­ corr.er, stands a large two-story er's interest was always devoted to in the center and William in the east. man, of Brockton. The other two house, a magnificent dwelling when the sons. · Apparently the father considered still remain in the ownership of· the erected, with central hall-way, and on So Joseph Starbuck selected a lo- that he was engaging in an experi- descendants of the original occupant, each side a ma::,sive chimney-indica- cation at the "Court End" of the ment, because he retained title to at this writing. tions that it was built only a few town, on the north side of Main the three houses for a number of It was over seventy-five years ago years before or after 1800. street, at the head of Pleasant. Here years. It was in 1850, near the end when the six children of Joseph Star- The land was owned by Samuel were two homesteads, the west owned of his life, when the youngest son buck began their residence in the aris­ Coleman in 1808, when he sold a tract by David Coffin, and the other having had passed the age of thirty-five, that tocratic section of the town. The to Joseph Starbuck, who then built been for a century in the Bunker deeds were given of the estates which old Quaker merchant found greater the house, one of the finest in Nan- family. He purchased the latter in they had occupied for more than a satisfaction in passing along the san­ tucket, in a location retired, obscure · 1835 and· the former in 1836, cleared decade. dy streets to his house down in the and unsuited to such a mansion. the land of all buildings and pro.,. Three of the daughters resided at hollow, where the view; that cheerer Starbuck began his business career ceeded to build a brick house for each Nantucket, probably more by inten- him most was the col~ection of oil anc as a butcher, but soon became one of of his sons-George, Matthew and tion than coincidence, in houses di- , candle factories extending almost to the most aggressive and successful 1· William-according to the same iden- rectly across the street from the three Pleasant street, where he had accu­ whaling merchants of his day. To tical design and similar to several fine brick homes. The two beautiful mulated his fortune. the east and south of his house were mansions that a few years before had mansions with ·Greek porticos were ·-----· his oil and candle factories a 1d coop- been erected in New Bedford. built by William Hadwen and occu- The Cliff Bathing Beach. er shops. His ancestors were mem- The plans included the latest feat- pied by. himself and Nathaniel Bar- j . · t f F · d H f d h" h d th l t t· d . In 1903 the state legislature passed b ers C·f the S oc1e y o nen s. e ures o approve arc 1tecture, and t e ney, an e ess pre en 1ous we11 mg I . k" th d kn left an estate amounting to $200,000 a specia1 act ma ing e 1an own -large for that period-and a family J • I as the "Cliff bathing beach" a pub- of:::rp::~ii::~r:e:~!!~r~: ~~:s~i~d I !,1_t.t,t.~_i:.~·(···:': I ~~p~1!: t:~s ::!~git;;: t::i1:::; was mar,ifested by the fact that he <.: · - April a special town meeting was

, · ed h · t l th , I ._.,,..;:; . 1 held to decide what disposition the reqmr is sons o earn e coopers I ; town should make of the beach. It trade. Having received instructions I was voted to lease it to Clifford Fol- in that directiori, they matried soon' after reachi,ig the age of twenty-one. ger for $350 per al'lnum, for a term The situation in the financial world of fifteen years, with the privileo.-e c-f was then prop?tious. The era of, five years renewal. In accordance prosneT'itv that beJ!'an during the ad- with the terms, the selectmen re- ministration of John Quincy Adams, newed the lease in 1919, which will had co.... tinued. Nantucket and New expire in 1924. Bedford were of equal importance, ----- as centers of the whaling industrv. Eunice Paddock, the last female and no rival of sperm oil had ap- member of the Societv of Friends on peared. I Nantucket. died Sept~mber 22. 1900. Havin~ provided a trade for his FEDERAL STREET IN 1870. WHEN THE ROADWAY WAS CONCAVED AND 1'HE IWilli~m Hosier, th~ last male mem- sons, and each had married, the fath- STREET LINES IRREGULAR AND UNATTRACTIVE. ber, died January 4, 1899. MAIN STREET IN WINTER.

- Business People in Nantucket j · -Boots •'and Shoes-Emile Genesky, I Art Stores-M. W. Boyer, H. Mar- Architect-Huram W. Macy, West at Present. Alexander Myrick, C. - E. Collins, shall Gardiner, Main street; Miss Chester street. Harry S. Rosen, Main street. 'j Hannah Hatch, Federal street. Hardware-Brown & Co., James Y. The following list of· "business Millinery-Ella F. Sylvia, Emma, Photographers-Maurice W. Boyer, Deacon, Harry Rosen, C. Warren Aus- people" in Nantucket. in 1921 is as Fraser, Cherry & Co., Centre street; I H. Marshall Gardiner, Main street. tin, Main street; Elmer F. Pease, near c~mplete :is. possible, but we do Steiger Dudgeon Co., Helen Purdue, I Contracting Carpenters-J. A. Straight Wharf. not ~laim th:1~ it is absolute~y correct, Main street. Holmes, Jr., Straight Wharf; Arthur Antiques-Bennett & Carroll, Main as, m compiling the sa?1e,_it may be Tailor-James G. Stuart, Main A. Norcross, Twin street; Horace L. street; .C. E. La Fontaine, Broad tha! one or two_ ~artie_s ha':e been street. Gibbs, Milk street; T. H. Giffin, Hus- street; J. Hatfield Morton, Centre 1 1 omitted. ! so, it ~ umntentional. Stationery, Novelties, etc.-Mrs. A. sey street; Everett Manter, Pleasant street. In prepanng the hs~ we have made A. Westgate, J. A. Abajian, Centre, street; B. Chester Pease, Ncrth Lib- Oriental Goods-Vartan Dedeian, every effort t? have it complete an_d I street; Sunshine Shop, Federal street; erty street; Augustus· L. B. Fisher, A. D. Zornb, Jacob Abajian, George tha th w~ feel t ID e years_ ~o com~ it IGeorge W. Hooper, Broad street. South Water street; Archibald Cart- H. Khouri, Centre street. will be both v~luable and mter:sting Furniture-The C. F. Wing Co., wright, Howard street; 0. W. Humes, I Cobblers-Charles W. Ellis, South ~or refen:,nce, Just as muc~ as _is th_e Main street; J. Abajian, Centre Old North Wharf; Edward B. Lewis, Water street; Frank Oddo, Federal l~st (published_ else~here 1~ this edi- street. Union street; Arthur M. Taylor, street; Stephen Hussey, Antone Syl- tion) _of th0se m business on Nantuck-1 Second-hand Furniture-A. F. Day, North Liberty street; George S. Dav- via, Union street. . et pnor to the fire of 1846. Orange street. is, Arthur C. Folger, 2d, 'Sconset. Barbers-Edward R. Terry, Andrew Coal and Wood Dealers-Island Building Movers-David W. Gibbs, Librino, John McNally, Main street; Grocers-John F. Roberts, William I Service Co., Old South Wharf; John Pleasant street; Holmes & Co., Low- John Fee, South Water street; Fred- Holland, Andrew T. Backus, Great Killen & Sons, Straight Wharf. er Main street. erick Currie, Pearl street; John West, Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Whitte- I Banks-Pacific National Bank, Plumbers-James Y. Deaco..,, John I Still Dock; John Salvas, 'Sconset. more Gardner, Main street; W. W. Nantucket Institution for Savin~s K. Ayers, Main street; Geor~e M. Chiropody-Cyril S. Carriveau_. McCleave & Son, Arthur C. Carey, Bank, Main street. Lake, South Water street; Alfred E. Federal street; Ida Porte, Atlantic Edmund R. Frye, Orange .street, Insurance Agents-Albert G~ Smith, Broad street;' Willar:d B. Mar- Avenue. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Brock, Harry A. Tobey, Metrc,politan den, Milk street. ! Shampoo and Manicure-Mrs. Juli- 1 Lyons street; William R. Cathcart, Agency, Main street;• Addison T. Painters-M. F. Freeborn, South ette Currie, Miss Ruth Burchell. Centre street; Larry Welch, F. 0. Winslow, Liberty street. Water street; Willard P. Hardv, H Auctioneers-R. B. Hussey, Harry ·Holdgate, 'Sconset. Real Estate-Anthony W. Ayers Paddack & Co., Main street; Josel)h A. Tobey, Main street; JoseT>h A. Meat Markets--Joshua B. Ashley, Co., Pearl street; Harry A. Tobey, Larkin, North Water street; Ferdi- Johnson, Jr., New Mill street; Erest 3d, R. E. Burgess & Sons, Moore & Main street; Annie S. Wait, Anna E. nand Sylvaro, Orange street; Edward IS. McLaughlin, Brant Point; William Terry, Herbert W. Bennett, Main C. Barrett~ 'Sconset; James A. Bae- Lefford, Prospect street; Fra-.,k De- F. Macy, Orange street. street; Edmund R. Frye, Orange kus, Wauwinet. friez, Plumb Lane; Lewis S. Ray, Upholste-rer- David Thomson; street; Larry Welch, 'Sconset. Newspaper and Job Printing-The Farmer street; Charles Taber, 'Scon- Strai~ht Wharf. Fish Markets-Nantucket Fish Co., I Inquirer and Mirror, Orange street. set. Junk Dealers-William F. Svlvia, Main street; Miller Brothers, South I Periodicals-E. H. Jernegan, Main Masonry-Arthur Williams, York West Dover street; Walter D. Glid-

Water street; Walter D. Glidden, 1 street. street; Eben W. Francis, Sunset Hill; de11, Weymouth street. Steamboat Wharf; Stillman C. Cash, I Attomeys-at-Law-R. T. Fitz-Ran- John C. Ring, Federal street; Nath- Restaurant-The Sea Grill (L. C. John S. Thomas, 'Sconset. ) dolph, Main street; H. Linsly John- aniel E. Lowell, Main street. Jewett) Mai11 street. Bakers-Thomas Bickerstaff', Low-, son, Pleasant street. Machinists-Elmer F. Baker, Candy Kitchen-Walter H. Sisson, er Pearl street; Walter Cady, Main Physicians-John S. Grouard, Straight Wharf; John Cross~ Old Lower Pearl street. street; Wallace Cathcart, Pearl street. I Frank E. Lewis, Centre street; S. M. North Wharf; Arthur Frank Butler, Fruit Store-John Anastos. Clothing-Steiger Dudgeon, Harry I Roberts, George A. Folger, Peal'l South Wharf. Ice Cream-Mrs. GeorP."e Hatch, S. Rosen, Alexander Myrick, Emile II street; C. G. S. Austin, Orange street. Electricians-Augustus C. Lake, Nantucket Fruit Store, Willia'TI F. Genesky, Main street; Cherry & Co., Druggists-Reuben C. Small, R. G. South Water street; · Edmund P. Worth, Mrs. Charles C. Morris, Centre street; Kaplan, South Water i Coffin & Co., Main street. . Crocker, Hussey street; George W. 'Sconset. street. \ Dentists-Louis N. Veo, North Wa- Roe:ers, 'Sconset. Florists-William Voorneveld. r.el'I.- Dry Goods-E. A. Lawrence & Co., l ter street; C. L. Curth, Main street. Wood Carving-William H. Chase, tre street; Wallace Marden~ New Mill Louis Coffin & Co., Main street; Han-1 Opticians and Jewelers--Harry E West Chester street; Lincoln J. Cee- street; Miss Gertrude King, Union 1 nah Sheffield, Centre street. l Smith. C. S. Proodian, Centre street. iey, Vestal street. . street. Photo by H. B. Turner. A WINTER FAIRYLAND IN RA Y'S COURT.

Law.1 Work-Benjamin S. Adams,' M. Hussey, Herbert McCleave, Charle.$! Ocean House (W. D. Carpenter)-j The O ·. -. ---·f-"~ , Court." Orange street; William Voor.1eveld, l C. Morris, Clinton H. Murray, Pease: Broad street· Veranda House (John I rigin O Y s Rose Lane: ! & Ayers, W. H. Prentice, William H .. M. Winslow)' Step Lane; Nesbitt Inn The name :'Ray's Cou~," a~plied to Blacksmiths-Thomas Warren and; Norcross, George W. Rogers, Cora· (Mrs. George Burgess) Broad street· Ithe lane which connects Fair street Aqu_ila ~ormie, South Water s:ree~-~; Stevens, Ernest Terry, Carleton West, Crest Hall (Cyril c. Ross) North\ "?th Main ~reet, which _is lined with . T1r.sm1ths-C. Wa:ren Austm, Wll- ! James H. Wood & Sons. IWater street; Roberts House (Mrs.! big t~es with over-:-hangmg bra~ches, ham _H. Barrett, Mam street. . I Lic~nsed Garages-W. H. Prentice, John Roberts) Centre street; Beach I and 1s one .of th: beauty spots m. the Boller Maker-John A. Qumn, I Washmgton street; Pease & Ayers, i House (M. J. Bulkley) 'Sconset; l town, received its name_ generations Pearl str~t. . . · Brc,ad street; Clinton s. Folger, I Ocean Park (Robert Powers) 'Seo~-· ago, when ~ohn Ray built ~h; house Wheelwr1ghts-~~vid W. Lewis, Beach street; Jc,hn Terry & Son, Mid-! set; Wauwinet House (James A. Bae- now occupied by Dr. ~1l11ai_n P. Orange street; Ph1hp L. Holmes, Oak dle Pearl street; Killen Brothers, I kus) Wauwinet· Tom Nevers Lodge Graves and settled his chlldren street. Lower Main street, Robert K. Apple-! (Nantucket Lan'd Trust) Tom Nevers around him, each in a home of his Harness Maker-ChaTles W. Ellis, ton, Milk. street, Oscar Folger, Sia- Head; Weweeder Inn (J. Butler Fol- own, as was the custom in the olde:i South Water street. sconset. ger) Surfside days. Basket Makers-A. D. Williams, Auto Trucking-Henry C. Chase, Bc-arding Houses-Pitman· House The Ray family occupied the court Clinton M. Ray. West York street; Daniel Renaud, (Mrs. T. C. Pitman) Centre street; for many years, the only other of Slaughterer-C. Clifford Turner, West Dover street; James T. Worth, The White Elephant (Mrs. R. W. the Ray dwellings now existing in North Liberty street. Fair street; John Terry, Middle W e bb) B rant Poir:t; The Breaker:,, the court being the house now owned Marine Railway-Nantucket Ship- Pearl street; Pease & Ayers, Broad (Mrs. Ernest MacLaughlin) Brant by _Miss McCue_, which_ was the_ house building Co. street; Cdfin Brothers Oscar Folger Ip . t Th sh· 1 (M. Id ) which John Ray built for his so, Boat Repairing-Laurence Bur-1 'Sconset ' · ' I Fo~n ;t te W ips nnl (Mis~es A e George. The other houses built and • ..J C . Wh rf · air s ree ; onoma nn 1ss nna . d b h Ra f .1 . r1'-,ge, ommerc1a1 a ; Walter N. I Automobile Repairs-Killen Broth- w rd) C t tr t Th H"ll1 st .d occupie Y -t e Y ami Y were lT, Chase, Steamboat Wharf. 1 ers, Straight Wharf; William · H. a (M enBre. s deeT; J dek. ) G ~ time removed, but these two (the . . 1nn rs. ra1ner . u ms av G ·d d th M Cu oo ooms- or . atro,:1 Prentice, Washington street t t Th Ski (M. p · raves res1 ence an e c · e res- P l R Adl d T T '! . . · s ree ; e pper isses ren- . ) . . h outh Water stre~t; Euge,e M. Perry Liveries-James H. Wood & Sons, t· d W d) St b t Wh rf· 1dence remain, as we1 l as t e name, s . tr . ice an oo earn oa a . "R , C rt,, M am s eet. . · . C1 1ff Road; John Terry,. Pearl street·' W o rth H ouse (M rs. Ca 1vm . H an dy ) ay s ou · B ootbl ac k - M ax D oroff (Prof. Jim) Lawrence· Ayers,, Philip Murray, N rth w t t -..t· M F A R ---·---- F d 1 t t O t t H b G o a er s re.. ' rs. . . ep- e era s ree · . range s ree ; er ert · Worth, · plie1·, Pearl street; Quanato Terrac~ The Banks. UntdertaEdkers-dM0BwryLL~1S10Ura~ge ISSteamboat SWharf;_ ~harles Thurst~n, (Mrs. M. E. Staples) Orange Street The Nantucket Bank was inco-r- s tree ; war . ewis, ruon I aratoga t., Wilham R. Morris; Bl ff· M A · s ·th u · street. \ Thomas G. Macy, Liberty St., Robert s:eet· M-:· J. n;_ie F D ~~on porated in 1795 and soon after robbed 1 ;rn , 1 2 Express Company-American Rail- IAppleton, Milk street; Albert R. Cof- \ t t' M · ·c · °Cf!lel:' aMr ~g of $ 0,00Q. · t t fl p ·t c1· M I s ree ; rs. ora C' ins, al'l'l The Pac·fic Nat1·onal Bank was es way E xpress Co., L ower Mam s ree . ; n, rospec street; mton c- 1 t t· M H L R.dd1 11 G 11 I I i - Local and Long Distance Telephone Cleave, Edward F. Coffin, Charles c. Is redeT.h rsc •. b · H. 'Se ' ut s - tablished in 1804 and in 1818 the pres- I . A p· . an ; e 11s v ouse, conse . t b k b ·1d· M · t t - N ew E ngl and T e1 ep h one & T e_I e- i M oms, ugustus 1tman, James P. l · en an· m 1 .. g on am s ree , graph .Company, central office Fair Coffin, 'Sconset. I ------facing "the square," was erected. Al- street. Teamsters - Clarence Ramsdell, bert G. Brock is president and George 1 "Break Neck Alley." c R I h" TeI egraph-Marthas Vineyard Tele- Washington street; Joseph Viera, 1 • u e cas 1er. graph Compa"Y, -c-ffice Orange street. I Beaver street; Albert B. Chase, "Break Neck Alley" existed for I By an act of the legislature the U. S. Weather Bureau-George, E.1 Lower Pearl street; Elliot Barnard, many years as a connection between INantucket Institution for Savings _Grimes, observer, Orange street. . Union st.reet; Daniel Renaud, West, ... Vestminster ard Lily streets-a nar- ! was established in 1834. The bank Public Automobiles-Ira W. Apple- Dover street; Henry Chase, York I.,.ow, cro---ked, stony, passage-way to !1 was in financial straits in 1878 and ton. Lester Ayers, Walter Ayers, street; William R. Morris. the south of the school yard on .Acad- business was suspended until Decem­ Chester Barrett, Walter H. Burgess, Riding Schools-William H. Wyer, I emy Hill. In 1909 "Break Neck AI- I her 18, 1880, under the "stay law." John Do-r,neilifi, A'l'thu,.. C. Fo.lgejr, Centre street; Marcel Gouin, 'Sconset. I ley" passed on and cement steps took\ It has since developed into a thriving Cli-ton S. Folger, J. Butler Folger, Hotels-Sea Cliff Inn (Clifford Fol- I the place of the rocks and flag-stones. Iand prospercus organization. Henry Walter Hatch~ Frank 0. Holdgate, ger) Cliff Road; Point Breeze (Ed-1 'T'l-e name of the alley was then. Brown is president and Lizzie S. Philip L. Holmes, 0. V. Hull, Peter ward B. Hayes) Brant Point Road; ~har:ged to "Sunset Pass." I Riddell treasurer. NANTUCKET'S LAST WBALESBIP. My fancy greets BENNY CLEVELAND'S JOB. In its silent streets When Portents are abroad at n~ht and tem­ Each old familiar face; When. in duck panp,------and shirt of check. pests lash the shore. Sad memories throng Elate, I paced the lighter•s deck. And mateless wives grow timid at the ocea.u D As I stro!J along A new-fledged. proud young sailor, fearful roar, By each time-worn dwelling place. How little I, so salt and bold. 'Tis then a gloom comes o'er me, and, with Dreamed that my eyes would e'er behold In this realm of dreams many a ?ilaintive sob• . The last Nantucket whaler! The sunl~bt seems 1 long for quaint Nantucket and for Benn, Cleveland's job. Had one.· with gift of second sight. To fall with a chastened glow. Made prophecy (as some one might,) And they who dwell In days of old brave knights were wont to That whaling soon would fail. or 'Neath its magic spell guard the ladies fair, Foretold that, within thirty years, Dream ever of Long Ago. Or rescue lovely maidens from the robber (The truth, as plainly now appears,) The wild surf roars· baron's lair; But on no such quest chivalric our Benny ~~e lonely little whaler, On the outer shores was forced to roam- One solitary bark, would bear Where it beats on the yielcttng sanes. And there sounds a moan He kept bis knightly vigil each night at The name "Nantucket" here and there some dame's home. In 9uest of giant whale, or In its undertone His fee as Guardian Angel all" Nantucke:en Drop· anchor in some foreign port. As it rolls from distant lands. well knew, There to be sold. and thus report God speed my bark 'Twas fifteen cents for one night, or twenty- Herself as our last whaler, Through the midnight dark five for two: I should. while headed "rounded Cape Horn •• Till the homeward. beacon gleams; So, trustful in his watchfulness, wives gave Have ridiculed and laughed to scorn • Safe "Port I'll make , themselves to sleeI>. ~e idle, croaking sailor 1 And refuge take To dream of absent husbands in their jour- In my beautiful Isle of Dreams! He ne'er could have persuaded me neys o'er the deep. -Henr:v S. Wyer. That I should ever live to see And husbands tossed in fragile craft midst The last Nantucket whaler. Jan~ry 4, 1890. wild, tempestuous seas, Yet "gone's our occupation," now; THE LATE ARTHUR ELWELL JENKS. Gave little fear for loving hearts who lived No longer do our proud ships plough One of Nantucket's gifted poets and a fre- at home at ease. The ocean under sail. Quent contn"butor to the columns of The In- or . d M" NOTED MEN OF OUR TOWN. For, confident as Faith itself, they knew that Bronzed-faced young seamen walk our streets, I Qu1rer an 1rror. Died May 24, 1915, aged none could rob 78 Or sit and tell tales of their feats 1 years. Ea.ch town boasts of its noted men ; Their Lares and Penates when Ben was on Performed while in a whaler. ------I claim a few for mine, sir. the job. Although their wo~ may ne'er be known, No more we hear of "on Japan.'' ON "SCONSET'S BANKS AND BRAES. To his fathers Ben's been gathered these I I'll place them in a rhyme. sir. "Off Patagonia" or "Tristan " man:v, many years, There's Alec Egg who burnt the beans, Where blows th'Antartic ~le, or The moors of 'Scotia's land But no memory is more cherished in the I And Sammy Manter, too, sir, minds of Island dears, "Adown the Line," or "Archer Ground;" 1 Are fare to see, and grand, These have an unfamiliar sound. I Rolling like waves, in richest verdure decked ; Still vends bis eels. while. as of old. And while frequently at sewing ··bees, they The boys chase Daddy Boo, sir. Since not a single whaler I Beside sweet bonnie Doon, oft Jove to recall · The halcyon days when Benny was protector Remains of all th 'Neath the far Orient moon, Sam Holmes as ever still enjoys • e 1ong, proud roll I ..,.:. h . . . That once aim t f • ..,...c knoll with hght and mystic shadow His classic name· of Cat, sir­ of them all. 1 , os rom po e to poJe, flecked ! While o'er his eyes young rascals pull Now, having met the 'Tucket girls, 'tis very Defied the bowling gale, or Poor old Bill Hussey's hat, sir. clear to me Threw canvas to the gentle breeze, Off 'Sconset bank there gleams Hap Hazard makes his wooden spoons That Benny was a wise old owl and exces- And gathered wealth from tropic seas­ The ocean, as in dreams ; Few other lands surpass it, or can vie And gathers herbs for sale, sir. sive was his fee ; -We've sold our last, last whaler! .r~or, free of charge on stormy nights, you bet With the bright emerald sheen Fred Hoeg drives the herd still, o'er No more we boast our wooden walls • Of sparkling foam, I ween- The sand bank$, hills and dales, sir. that U;;\ I'd bob The boy, no longer dutv calls • 1 To try to displace Benny from his most al­ I All its immensity of sea and sky ! Dan Coffin's last horse died for want To train himsell a sailor, luring .fob. Of barrel staves to eat, sir. Our hundred ships, all lost or sold, I There is a golden haze So, when portents are abroad at night and Fred Parker keeps his hermitage (L!ke Tbe~•s gates of old,) j In mild September days, hundred And George Gibbs peddles meat, sir. tempests lash the shore. Ex1St but 1n old story told i Invests these fragrant uplands: and the moors Reub Waldron thought he'd borrow ducks And mateless wives grow timid at the ocean's By some grey-bearded whaler. / Breathe incense through the hours, And stow them in his sack, sir: fearful roar, \ Wafted on wings of flowers : I know you cannot blame me, if, with msny But cbeerfullv we face the truth • ! And everywhere each rustic path allures. But ducks will yell, and evermore a wistful sob. We retrospect UDOn our youth, • I He'll bear the name of Quack, sir. But don't complain, or wail. or On 'Sconset braes behold- I long for quaint Nantucket and for Benny Reub Ramsdell keeps his shanty now Blubber about what once we had • Richer than cloth of gold- Cleveland's job. Upon the 'Sconset bank, sir. -Joseph A. Campbell. It can't be helped,-but give rne' one The purple-armored guardians of the soil! sad ! Bill Bowen lives in Sacbacha "Farewell!" to our last whaler. ! :Meek-eyed, each blossom's face ; Retlects God's tender grace, With NancY near his ftank, sir. Alec Bunker thinks it hard to find Lines to Jose,h A. Cam:::abell, Esci.. on Note =:-:The above I>Oem was written by the \ And blesses every weary son of toil. With Griff, the Polpis track. sir. "Benny Cleveland's Job.'' !:ite ~ilbam_ Russey Macy for the Inquirer [ The crickets' roundelay After they've had a spree in town I've read your poem o'er and o'er, d Mi.-ror in 1873 upon the occasion of the , :Makes glad the livelong day : Bill Henry drives them back, sir. And beard your plaintive sob, ~ale of the bark R. L. Barstow, the last whal-1 All night it. mingles with the sea's refrain; And wonder not that you aspire lDlt" Willie Folger charges fifty -cents vessel owned at Nantucket. ; Sweet. like the Highland birds, To Benny Cleveland's job. \ A song that needs not words ; For sawing wood per cord, sir. In those old days, those good old days, Balm to the .reverent heart, soothing its pain! George Fisher Clark a mason is l I Tradition now doth teach, And trots around a hod, sir, ) The peace of God is here- ' ! Ben was the only guardian WHALER LUCK. There's William Chadwick, often called . Gift of the rolling year : \ Who dwelt upon the beach. A whaler from Nantucket town But listen, and the soul shall find surcease By his ancient name of Char, sir, But there are others now, you know, John Olin, Willie Folger hires He had the worst o' luck : From war, all horrid strife; Who. for these many years, Re sailed far soutl around the Horn We catch the breath of life And D&YS in cent cigars. sir. Have summered on Nantucket isle But not a w~e be struck. · • From the sea air, and from dull care, release. And Charlie Gardner fishes it. And mingled with its dean. Three Years he cruised. north, east and Arthur Elwell Jenks. Up0n Coatue shoals, sir. l From north and south, from east and west, west, From pole to torrid zone, l 'Sconset. Sept. 20, 1898. While Gardner Lamb steals down the dock The happy mortals ftee And when he laid his cruise for home And lugs off Perry's coal, sir. To old Nantucket's wave-washed shore-­ Bill Clark sells Boston Heralds yet, From care and troub~e free. He'd neither oil nor bone. • MY ISLE OF DREAMS. Frank Coffin peddles soap, sir. Tbey·re landed on the steamboat wharf Yet as he sailed around Brant Point, And Tow-line T. a carman is, In numbers truly great. He set his pennant high, Afar from the strife And Hosier buys old rope, sir. And all the business of the town Of the worldly life And when he tied up to the wharf Is now quite interstate. He lustily did cry: • Lies the Isle that ruy boyhood knew; There·s Obed Cottle and Punk Holmes The Sherman law app~ies to all By each sandy cape They've left their island home, sir, "We've come home clean as we went out j And com:,etition's free: Her hammock shape And California. Mr. Holmes And we didn't raise a whale • In working Benny Cleveland's job • • Is swung o'er the ocean's blue. Has taken for his home, sir. A There's no mono!)Oly. n we ain't !!'Ot a bar'l o' ile, There•s Peter Ra.vmond, often called But we'ye had a d--d fine sail.'' Secure from harms I\ No rebate when the fees are p:iid. Tom Pep!)er Tell-a-fellow, She stretcheth her arms I Nor when the bargain's made: While Lydia Chadwick trains along To the weary ones of earth, In working Benny Cleveland's job And Dobbin S. must follow. 1 And to all who reach I There's no restraint of trade. NANTUCKET FAMILIES. Her tr:mauil beach There's Bnon Beekman, Uncle Snow, · The rule of reason must prevail Th,- ltays and Russells coopers are : She giveth a newer birth. And others of their stripe, sir And useless is each sob, I 1 The knowing Folgers lazy; In her balmy air Hand round the town, and in ·a crowd For all must b:Jve an eq 1al ch·ince A learned Coleman very rare, Is a -perfume rare You'll ~ee the form of Types, sir. At Benny Clev

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FIUST TYPE-SETTING MACHINE USED ON NANTUCKET- A "SIMPLEX" MODERN "LINOTYPE.. INSTALLED IN 1916.