Sights in Nantucket
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Maria Mitchell Association
The Maria Mitchell Association is devoted to Maria (pronounced 'Mariah') Mitchell (1818-89), who was America's first female astronomer. Astronomy was no mere hobby on Nantucket: the nearly 100 whaling ships based here navigated by the stars, and the Mitchell family calibrated ships' instruments. Maria is revered for discovering a comet in the 1840s, beating some of the world's leading scientists.
The association runs the Maria Mitchell Birthplace House, Vestal St Observatory and Loines Observatory.
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Nantucket Lifesaving Museum
The Nantucket Lifesaving Museum documents the lifesaving stations where ‘surfmen’ saved mariners from shipwrecks during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Over the years, some 700 ships have met their fate on Nantucket’s dangerous shoals. Artifacts include lifesaving boats and equipment, period photos and the original Fresnel lenses from the Brant Point and Great Point lighthouses.
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Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum
What the lighthouse is to the New England coast, the lightship was to the sea – essentially a floating lighthouse to warn of dangerous shoals or sandbars below. Sailors would stay aboard the lightships for weeks on end, and to combat boredom they created beautiful, intricate baskets that have become emblems of the island. This small museum highlights these craftspeople.
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Nantucket Atheneum
More than just a library, this stately Greek Revival edifice is a sight in itself. Just inside the front door you’ll find a top-notch display of scrimshaw from Nantucket’s whaling days. The 2nd-floor Great Hall, now wired for wi-fi, has hosted such notables as Ralph Waldo Emerson and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Opinion-makers continue to speak here today.
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Maria Mitchell Birthplace House
At the Maria Mitchell Birthplace House, docents tell the inspiring story of Maria (pronounced 'Mariah') Mitchell (1818-89), who was America's first female astronomer. Maria is revered for discovering a comet in the 1840s, beating some of the world's leading scientists. The house (1790) is interesting in its own right.
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Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge
Wauwinet is the departure point for tours of the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge. Natural history tours of 2½ hours take you by over-sand vehicle to view the 1100-acre property, Nantucket’s northernmost spit and the Great Point lighthouse. Tours are limited to eight people so reservations are essential.
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Children's Beach
A pair of family-friendly beaches shore up the options close to town. For wilder, less-frequented strands, you'll need to pedal a bike or hop on a bus. Right in town, Children's Beach at the north side of Steamboat Wharf, is heaven for young kids, with gentle water, a fun playground and picnic facilities.
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Jethro Coffin House
Built in 1686 the Jethro Coffin House is the town’s oldest building still on its original foundation. It’s in a traditional ‘salt box’ style, with south-facing windows to catch the winter sun and a long, sloping roof to protect the home from harsh north winds.
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Nantucket Whaling Museum
Nantucket Historical Association's most famous property, the Nantucket Whaling Museum, occupies a former spermaceti candle factory. The evocative exhibits include a 46ft-long sperm whale skeleton, a rigged whaleboat and assorted whaling implements.
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African Meeting House
This interesting museum stands as testimony to the influential African American community that thrived on Nantucket in the 19th century. Built in 1820, it’s the second-oldest African American meeting house in the nation.
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Jetties Beach
For the nonwading crowd, Jetties Beach , a 20-minute walk to the northwest or a short bus ride away, is the best all-round beach close to town. It's well equipped with changing rooms, a skateboard park and water sports reductions.
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Hadwen House
A walk through the NHA’s Hadwen House, a Greek Revival home built in 1845 by a whaling merchant, provides testimony to just how lucrative the whaling industry was in its heyday.
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First Congregational Churc
Everyone comes to this church, which traces its roots to the early 1700s, for the eagle-eye’s views from the top of the steeple. Well worth the 94-step climb!
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Old Mill
The Old Mill is America’s oldest working windmill (c 1746), as game young docents will demonstrate by grinding corn (weather conditions permitting).
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Nantucket Historical Association
The umbrella Nantucket Historical Association maintains eight historical sites covering everything from farming beginnings to the prosperous whaling days.
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Vestal St Observatory
Next door to the Maria Mitchell Birthplace House, at Vestal St Observatory, student interns demonstrate principles and techniques of astronomy.
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Old Gaol
To see where drunken sailors used to spend the night, visit the Old Gaol, the c 1806 jail that served Nantucket for 125 years.
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Loines Observatory
On a rolling hill out of town, the Loines Observatory opens to the public for nighttime viewings through a pair of telescopes.
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Nantucket Community Sailing
Nantucket Community Sailing rents single and double kayaks, sunfish sailboats and windsurfing gear at Jetties Beach.
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Whaling Museum
A top sight is the evocative Whaling Museum in a former spermaceti (whale-oil) candle factory.
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