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117-476: In Wampanoag Nemasket means Place where the fish are , because it is the largest alewife run on the Eastern Seaboard . The water is clear and there are several good places for launching unmotorized boats, with popular spots including Old Bridge Street, Wareham Street, and Oliver Mill Park on U.S. Route 44 . The Native American Wampanoag Indians would leave their winter encampments inland and navigate

234-547: A Wampanoag word, transliterated variously as natocke , nantaticu , nantican , nautica or natockete , which is part of Wampanoag lore about the creation of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The meaning of the term is uncertain, although according to the Encyclopædia Britannica it may have meant "far away island" or "sandy, sterile soil tempting no one". Wampanoag is an Eastern Algonquian language of southern New England. The Nehantucket (known to Europeans as

351-572: A casino . The tribe has moved its plans to Taunton, Massachusetts , but their territorial rights have been challenged by the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation , an organization not recognized as a tribe . Nantucket Nantucket ( / ˌ n æ n ˈ t ʌ k ɪ t / ) is an island about 30 miles (48 km) south from Cape Cod . Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget , it constitutes

468-799: A "non-white" or "colored" community. Hutchins appeared to require unchanged culture, including maintenance of a traditional religion and essentially total social autonomy from non-Indian society." A project titled "Massachusetts Native Peoples and the Social Contract: A Reassessment for Our Times" began in 2015 to serve as an updated report on the cultural, linguistic, and economic state of Wampanoag peoples, including those from federally and non-federally recognized tribes. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe consists of more than 1,400 enrolled members who must meet defined membership requirements including lineage, community involvement and reside within 20 miles of Mashpee. Since 1924 they have held an annual powwow at

585-516: A 2010 study suggests that the epidemic was leptospirosis , introduced by rat reservoirs on European ships. The groups most devastated by the illness were those who had traded heavily with the French and the disease was likely a virgin soil epidemic . Alfred Crosby has estimated population losses to be as high as 90 percent among the Massachusett and mainland Pokanoket . Since the late 20th century,

702-551: A book festival, wine and food festival, comedy festival, daffodil festival, and a cranberry festival. Several historical, literary and dramatic works involve people from, or living on, Nantucket. These include: From 1900 to 1918, Nantucket was one of few jurisdictions in the United States that banned automobiles. Nantucket can be reached by sea from the mainland by Seastreak , The Steamship Authority , Hy-Line Cruises , or Freedom Cruise Line, or by private boat. A task force

819-466: A century. The project is training teachers to reach more children and to develop a curriculum for a Wôpanâak -based school. Baird has developed a 10,000-word Wôpanâak-English dictionary by consulting archival Wôpanâak documents and using linguistic methods to reconstruct unattested words. For this project she was awarded a $ 500,000.00 grant from the Macarthur Fellows in 2010. She has also produced

936-507: A confederation in which a head sachem presided over a number of other sachems. The colonists often referred to him as "king", but the position of a sachem differed in many ways from a king. They were selected by women elders and were bound to consult their own councilors within their tribe, as well as any of the "petty sachems" in the region. They were also responsible for arranging trade privileges, as well as protecting their allies in exchange for material tribute. Both women and men could hold

1053-712: A councilor for the prior six years during which the Marshall and Abramoff scandals took place – including voting for the shunning of tribe members who tried to investigate. A challenge to Cromwell's election by defeated candidates following allegations of tampering with voting and enrollment records was filed with the Tribal Court, and Cromwell's administration has been hampered by a series of protest by Elders over casino-related finances. The Mashpee Wampanoag tribal offices are located in Mashpee on Cape Cod. After decades of legal disputes,

1170-847: A failure. It appointed a supervisory committee consisting of five European-American members, with no Wampanoag. In 1834, the state returned a certain degree of self-government to the First Nations People, and although the First Nations People were far from autonomous, they continued in this manner. To support assimilation, in 1842 the state violated the Nonintercourse Act when it illegally allocated plots from 2,000 acres (8.1 km ) of their communal 13,000 acres (53 km ), to be distributed in 60-acre (240,000 m ) parcels to each household for subsistence farming, although New England communities were adopting other types of economies. The state passed laws to try to control white encroachment on

1287-575: A grammar, collections of stories, and other books. Mashpee High School began a course in 2018 teaching the language. Contacts between the Wampanoag and colonists began in the 16th century when European merchant vessels and fishing boats traveled along the coast of New England . Captain Thomas Hunt captured several Wampanoag in 1614 and sold them in Spain as slaves. A Patuxet named Tisquantum (or Squanto )

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1404-408: A group of investors, led by Tristram Coffin , "for the sum of thirty pounds (equal to £5,363 today) also two beaver hats, one for myself, and one for my wife". The nine original purchasers were Tristram Coffin, Peter Coffin, Thomas Macy , Christopher Hussey , Richard Swain, Thomas Barnard, Stephen Greenleaf , John Swain and William Pile. Mayhew and the nine purchasers then each took on partners in

1521-544: A major political party, 25% were registered Democrats, and 10% were registered Republicans. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts allows voters to enroll with a political party or to remain "unenrolled". Throughout the late 19th and most of the 20th century, Nantucket was a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. From 1876 to 1984, only two Democrats carried Nantucket: Woodrow Wilson and Lyndon Johnson . Since 1988, however, it has trended Democratic. According to Nantucket's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,

1638-466: A seasonal round of fishing, planting, harvesting, and hunting. Southern New England was populated by various tribes, so hunting grounds had strictly defined boundaries. The Wampanoag had a matrilineal system, like other indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands , in which women owned property, and hereditary status was passed through the maternal line. They were also matrifocal ; when

1755-650: A ship at Plymouth. They were then sold as slaves in the West Indies . On August 12, 1676, colonial troops surrounded Philip's camp, and soon shot and killed him. With the death of Metacomet and most of their leaders, the Wampanoags were nearly exterminated; only about 400 survived the war. The Narragansetts and Nipmucks suffered similar rates of losses, and many small tribes in southern New England were finished. In addition, many Wampanoag were sold into slavery. Male captives were generally sold to slave traders and transported to

1872-524: A total of 4,500 Wampanoag descendants. Wampanoag activists have been reviving the Wampanoag language; Mashpee High School began a course in 2018 teaching the language. Wampanoag probably derives from Wapanoos , first documented on Adriaen Block 's 1614 map, which was the earliest European representation of the Wampanoag territory. The Wampanoag translate this word to "People of the First Light." Increase Mather first recorded it in 1676 to describe

1989-456: A week later. A Christian Indian accused three Wampanoag warriors of his murder. The colonists took the three captive and hanged them in June 1675 after a trial by a jury of 12 colonists and six Christian Indians. This execution, combined with rumors that the colonists wanted to capture Philip, was a catalyst for war. Philip called a council of war on Mount Hope. Most Wampanoag wanted to follow him, except

2106-496: A whale of the kind called "scragg" entered the harbor and was pursued and killed by the settlers. This event started the Nantucket whaling industry. A. B. Van Deinse points out that the "scrag whale", described by P. Dudley in 1725 as one of the species hunted by early New England whalers, was almost certainly the gray whale , which has flourished on the west coast of North America in modern times with protection from whaling. At

2223-539: A young couple married, they lived with the woman's family. Women elders could approve selection of chiefs or sachems . Men acted in most of the political roles for relations with other bands and tribes, as well as warfare. Women passed plots of land to their female descendants, regardless of their marital status. The production of food among the Wampanoag was similar to that of many American Indian societies, and food habits were divided along gender lines. Men and women had specific tasks. Women played an active role in many of

2340-542: Is 47.8 square miles (124 km ). The triangular region of ocean between Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and Cape Cod is Nantucket Sound . The highest points on the island include Saul's Hill at 102 feet (31 m), Altar Rock at 100 feet (30 m), and Sankaty Head at 92 feet (28 m). Nantucket was formed by the outermost reach of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the recent Wisconsin Glaciation , shaped by

2457-603: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Massachusetts is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Wampanoag people The Wampanoag ( / ˈ w ɑː m p ə n ɔː ɡ / ) , also rendered Wôpanâak , are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and formerly parts of eastern Rhode Island . Their historical territory includes

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2574-525: Is heavily influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, which helps moderate temperatures in the town throughout the course of the year. Average high temperatures during the town's coldest month (January) are around 40 °F (4 °C), while average high temperatures during the town's warmest months (July and August) hover around 75 °F (24 °C). Nantucket receives on average 41 inches (1,000 mm) of precipitation annually, spread relatively evenly throughout

2691-962: Is its Select Board (name changed in 2018 from Board of Selectmen ), which is responsible for the town government's goals and policies. Legislative functions are carried out by an open Town Meeting of the Town's registered voters. It is administered by a town manager, who is responsible for all departments, except for the school, airport and water departments. Nantucket is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by Dylan Fernandes , Democrat, of Woods Hole, who represents Precincts 1, 2, 5 and 6, of Falmouth, in Barnstable County ; Chilmark, Edgartown, Aquinnah, Gosnold, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury and West Tisbury, all in Dukes County ; and Nantucket. Rep. Fernandes has served since January 4, 2017. Nantucket

2808-799: Is represented in the Massachusetts Senate by Julian Cyr , Democrat, of Truro , who has also served since January 4, 2017. Nantucket is in Massachusetts's 9th congressional district , which has existed since 2013. As of 2013 , it was represented in the United States House of Representatives by Bill Keating , a Democrat of Bourne. Massachusetts is currently represented in the United States Senate by senior senator Elizabeth Warren (Democrat) and junior senator Ed Markey (Democrat). In 2024, 63% of Nantucket residents were unaligned with

2925-457: The 2020 census , the population was 14,255, making it the least populated county in Massachusetts. Part of the town is designated the Nantucket CDP , or census-designated place . The region of Surfside on Nantucket is the southernmost settlement in Massachusetts. Town and county governments are combined in Nantucket (see List of counties in Massachusetts ). Nantucket's elected executive body

3042-550: The American Civil War , are located on the left side of Staples Shore Road. During the late 19th century, several steamboats were operated along the Nemasket, offering cruises of the river and into Assawompsett Pond. Once a popular tourist destination, the cruise business ultimately ended upon construction of the dam where the river drains out of Assawompsett, which both restricted the ability for vessels to travel and also lowered

3159-699: The Elizabeth Islands , and other islands in the region as a proprietary colony from Sir Ferdinando Gorges and the Earl of Stirling . Mayhew led several families to settle the region, establishing several treaties with the indigenous inhabitants of Nantucket, the Wampanoag people . These treaties helped prevent the region from becoming embroiled in King Philip's War . The growing population of settlers welcomed seasonal groups of other Native American tribes who traveled to

3276-598: The Maria Mitchell Association and the Nantucket Whaling Museum . Nantucket is home to both visual and performing arts. The island has been an art colony since the 1920s, whose artists have come to capture the natural beauty of the island's landscapes and seascapes, including its flora and the fauna. Noted artists who have lived on or painted in Nantucket include Frank Swift Chase and Theodore Robinson . Illustrator and puppeteer Tony Sarg moved to

3393-629: The Mohegans defeated the Narragansetts in a war with support from the colonists, and they became the dominant tribe in southern New England. After 1650, John Eliot and other Puritan missionaries sought to convert local tribes to Christianity, and those that converted settled in 14 Praying towns . Eliot and his colleagues hoped that the Indians would adopt practices such as monogamous marriage, agriculture, and jurisprudence. The high levels of epidemics among

3510-689: The Nauset on Cape Cod and the small groups on the offshore islands. Allies included the Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, some Pennacook , and eastern Abenaki from farther north. The Narragansett remained neutral at the beginning of the war. On June 20, 1675, some Wampanoag attacked colonists in Swansea, Massachusetts , and laid siege to the town. Five days later, they destroyed it completely, leading to King Philip's War . The united tribes in southern New England attacked 52 of 90 colonial settlements and partially burned them down. At

3627-530: The Taunton River to the Nemasket River in the early spring to take advantage of the alewife run and relocate to their summer encampment on Betty's Neck on Assawompsett Pond. When Oliver Mills built the factory that spanned the river, it created contention with the Wampanoags by forcing them to portage around the facility. The remnants of Camp Joe Hooker , a training camp for Massachusetts regiments during

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3744-501: The Town and County of Nantucket , a combined county/town government in the state of Massachusetts , USA . Nantucket is the southeasternmost town in both Massachusetts and the New England region. The name "Nantucket" is adapted from similar Algonquian names for the island. Nantucket is a tourist destination and summer colony . Due to tourists and seasonal residents, the population of

3861-404: The West Indies , or on plantations and farms run by colonists in New England . Today, Wampanoag people continue to live in historical homelands and maintain central aspects of their culture while adapting to changing socioeconomic needs. Oral traditions, ceremonies, song and dance, social gatherings, and hunting and fishing remain important traditional ways of life to the Wampanoag. In 2015,

3978-485: The " praying Indians" from vigilantes, but also as a precautionary measure to prevent rebellion and sedition from them. Mary Rowlandson 's The Sovereignty and Goodness of God is an account of her months of captivity by the Wampanoag during King Philip's War in which she expressed shock at the cruelties from Christian Indians. From Massachusetts, the war spread to other parts of New England. The Kennebec, Pigwacket ( Pequawkets ), and Arosaguntacook from Maine joined in

4095-561: The British nor the Patriots. Herman Melville commented on Nantucket's whaling dominance in his novel Moby-Dick , Chapter 14: "Two thirds of this terraqueous globe are the Nantucketer's. For the sea is his; he owns it, as Emperors own empires". The Moby-Dick characters Ahab and Starbuck are both from Nantucket. The tragedy that inspired Melville to write Moby-Dick was the final voyage of

4212-550: The Bureau of Indian Affairs, the historian Francis Hutchins said that the Mashpee "were not an Indian tribe in the years 1666, 1680, 1763, 1790, 1834, 1870, and 1970, or at any time between 1666 and 1970." In his opinion, an Indian tribe was "an entity composed of persons of American Indian descent, which entity possesses distinct political, legal, cultural attributes, which attributes have descended directly from aboriginal precursors." Without accounting for cultural change, adaptation, and

4329-470: The Eastern seaboard for seasonal fishing expeditions, and sometimes stayed in those distant locations for weeks and months at a time. The women cultivated varieties of the " three sisters " (maize, climbing beans, and squash) as the staples of their diet, supplemented by fish and game caught by the men. Each community had authority over a well-defined territory from which the people derived their livelihood through

4446-428: The Indians may have motivated some conversions. Salisbury suggests that the survivors suffered a type of spiritual crisis because their medical and religious leaders had been unable to prevent the epidemic losses. Individual towns and regions had differing expectations for Indian conversions. In most of Eliot's mainland praying towns, religious converts were also expected to follow colonial laws and manners and to adopt

4563-666: The Mashpee Wampanoag obtained provisional recognition as an Indian tribe from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in April 2006, and official Federal recognition in February 2007. Tribal members own some land, as well as land held in common by Wampanoag descendants at both Chapaquddick and Christiantown. Descendants have also purchased land in Middleborough, Massachusetts , upon which the tribe under Glenn A. Marshall's leadership had lobbied to build

4680-723: The Nantucket Public Schools, as well as the Nantucket Historical Association , though the two are not affiliated. The University of Massachusetts Boston operates a field station on Nantucket. The Massachusetts College of Art & Design is affiliated with the Nantucket Island School of Design & the Arts, which offers summer courses for teens, youth, postgraduate, and undergraduate programs. Nantucket has several noted museums and galleries, including

4797-448: The Nantucket whaler Essex . The island suffered great economic hardships, worsened by the "Great Fire" of July 13, 1846, that, fueled by whale oil and lumber, devastated the main town, burning some 40 acres (16 hectares). The fire left hundreds homeless and poverty-stricken, and many people left the island. By 1850, whaling was in decline, as Nantucket's whaling industry had been surpassed by that of New Bedford . Another contributor to

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4914-620: The Nemasket, and into the Assawompsett Pond complex, which contains the largest herring spawning area in the state, at over 5,000 acres. In addition to the herring, the Nemasket serves as habitat for numerous other diadromous species, including rainbow smelt , American eel , American shad , and striped bass . Due to the Nemasket's connection to the Atlantic via the Taunton River, some marine mammal species have been known to make their way up

5031-558: The Niantic) were an Algonquin-speaking people of the area. Nantucket's nickname, "The Little Grey Lady of the Sea", refers to the island as it appears from the ocean when it is fog-bound. The earliest European settlement in the region was established on the neighboring island of Martha's Vineyard by the English-born merchant Thomas Mayhew . In 1641, Mayhew secured Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket,

5148-525: The Pilgrims to survive their first winters, and Squanto lived with them and acted as a middleman between them and Massasoit , the Wampanoag sachem . In Mourt's Relation , initial contact between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag was recorded as beginning in the Spring of 1621. The Wampanoag suffered from an epidemic between 1616 and 1619, long thought to be smallpox introduced by contact with Europeans. However,

5265-554: The Wampanoag. In 1849 they had 2,400 acres (9.7 km ) there, of which 500 acres were distributed among the tribe members. The rest was communal property. In contrast to the other reservation groups, the tribe had no guardian or headman. When they needed advice on legal questions, they asked the guardian of the Chappaquiddick Reservation, but other matters they handled themselves. The band used usufruct title, meaning that members had no legal claim to their land and allowed

5382-761: The West Indies, Bermuda , Virginia , or the Iberian Peninsula . The colonists used the women and children as slaves or indentured servants in New England, depending on the colony. Massachusetts resettled the remaining Wampanoags in Natick , Wamesit, Punkapoag, and Hassanamesit, four of the original 14 praying towns. These were the only ones to be resettled after the war. Overall, approximately 5,000 Indians (40 percent of their population) and 2,500 colonists (5 percent) were killed in King Philip's War. The exception to relocation

5499-468: The accusations of the colonists and signed an agreement that required the Wampanoag to give up their firearms. To be on the safe side, he did not take part in the subsequent dinner. His men never delivered their weapons. Philip gradually gained the Nipmuck , Pocomtuc , and Narragansett as allies, and the beginning of the uprising was first planned for the spring of 1676. In March 1675, however, John Sassamon

5616-564: The alliance of tribes who fought against the English in King Philip's War. In 1616, John Smith referred to one of the Wampanoag tribes as the Pokanoket . The earliest colonial records and reports used Pokanoket as the name of the tribe whose leaders (the Massasoit Ousemequin until 1661, his son Wamsutta from 1661 to 1662, and Metacomet from 1662 to 1676) led the Wampanoag confederation at

5733-560: The allotment would " for ever not to be sold or given or alienated from them [his descendants] or any part of these lands." Property deeds in 1671 recorded this area known as the Mashpee Plantation as consisting of around 55 square miles of land. The area was integrated into the district of Mashpee in 1763. In 1788 after the American Revolutionary War , the state revoked the Wampanoag ability to self-govern, considering it

5850-536: The assistance of tradesmen who were skilled in the arts of weaving, milling, building and other pursuits and selected men who were given half a share provided that they lived on Nantucket and carried on their trade for at least three years. By 1667, twenty-seven shares had been divided among 31 owners. Seamen and tradesmen who settled in Nantucket included Richard Gardner (arrived 1667) and Capt. John Gardner (arrived 1672), sons of Thomas Gardner . The first settlers focused on farming and raising sheep, but overgrazing and

5967-640: The beginning of July in Mashpee . This first powwow was held at the New Light Baptist Church, at the time called Pondville Church, in Pondville, Massachusetts. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council was established in 1972 under the leadership of its first president, Russell "Fast Turtle" Peters. In 1974 the Council petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs for recognition. In 1976 the tribe sued the Town of Mashpee for

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6084-424: The beginning of the 18th century, whaling on Nantucket was usually done from small boats launched from the island's shores, which would tow killed whales to be processed on the beach. These boats were only about seven meters long, with mostly Wampanoag manpower, sourced from a system of debt servitude established by English Nantucketers—a typical boat's crew had five Wampanoag oarsmen and a single white Nantucketer at

6201-501: The bill proposed by Micajah Coffin to change the town's name to the "Town of Nantucket" was endorsed and signed by Governor Samuel Adams to officially change the town name. When the English settlers arrived on Nantucket in 1659, the island was populated by Wampanoag Native Americans , one of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands , who had been living there for thousands of years. As many as three thousand people lived on

6318-417: The death blow to the island's whaling industry, as virtually all of the remaining whaling vessels were destroyed by Confederate commerce raiders . As a result of this depopulation, the island was left under-developed and isolated until the mid-20th century. Isolation from the mainland kept many of the pre-Civil War buildings intact and, by the 1950s, enterprising developers began buying up large sections of

6435-418: The decline was the silting up of the harbor, which prevented large whaling ships from entering and leaving the port, unlike New Bedford, which still owned a deep water port. In addition, the development of railroads made mainland whaling ports, such as New Bedford, more attractive because of the ease of transshipment of whale oil onto trains, an advantage unavailable to an island. The American Civil War dealt

6552-423: The developing money economy, losses at sea, and the detrimental effect of rum on their health. In 1763 the Wampanoag community was struck down by an epidemic of unknown origin, which killed 222 of them while leaving the English community unaffected. Some of the survivors left Nantucket and some married into the small African community on the island. Two children, Abram Quary and Dorcas Esop , who were born after

6669-486: The east coast as far as Wessagusset (today called Weymouth ), all of what is now Cape Cod and the islands of Natocket and Noepe (now called Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard ), and southeast as far as Pokanocket (now Bristol and Warren , Rhode Island ). The Wampanoag lived on this land for over 12,000 years. From 1615 to 1619, a leptospirosis epidemic carried by rodents arriving in European ships dramatically reduced

6786-404: The effects of non-Indian society, Hutchins argued the Mashpee were not an Indian tribe historically because they adopted Christianity and non-Indian forms of dress and appearance, and chose to remain in Massachusetts as "second-class" citizens rather than emigrating westward (note: to Indian Territory) to "resume tribal existence." Hutchins also noted that they intermarried with non-Indians to create

6903-538: The epidemic and lived until 1854 and 1855, have been acknowledged as Nantucket's last native Americans. Wampanoags from Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod have since then lived on Nantucket. In 2021, the Nantucket Annual Town Meeting voted to replace the Columbus Day holiday with Indigenous People's Day . In his 1835 history of Nantucket Island, Obed Macy wrote that in the early pre-1672 colony,

7020-414: The event celebrated as the first Thanksgiving has been debated in the United States. Many American Indians and historians argue against the romanticized story of the Wampanoag celebrating together with the colonists. Some say that there is no documentation of such an event. One primary account of the 1621 event was written by a firsthand observer. Massasoit became gravely ill in the winter of 1623, but he

7137-580: The federal government declared 150 acres of land in Mashpee and 170 acres of land in Taunton as the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe ’s initial reservation, on which the Tribe can exercise its full tribal sovereignty rights. The Mashpee tribe currently has approximately 3,200 enrolled citizens. The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head currently has 901 enrolled citizens. Early 21st-century population estimates indicated

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7254-405: The further expansion of colonial settlements. The Wampanoag numbered only 1,000, and Philip began to visit other tribes to build alliances among those who also wanted to push out the colonists. At that time, the population colonists in southern New England was already more than double that of the Indians, at 35,000 to 15,000. In 1671, Philip was called to Taunton, Massachusetts , where he listened to

7371-425: The growing number of farms made these activities untenable, and the islanders soon began turning to the sea for a living. Before 1795, the town on the island was called Sherburne. The original settlement was near Capaum Pond. At that time, the pond was a small harbor whose entrance silted up, forcing the settlers to dismantle their houses and move them northeast by two miles to the present location. On June 8, 1795,

7488-566: The hazardous trades of whaling and shipping. They posit that many Wampanoag women married outside their linguistic groups, making it difficult for them to maintain the various Wampanoag dialects. Jessie Little Doe Baird , a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, founded the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project in 1993. They have taught some children, who have become the first speakers of Wôpanâak in more than

7605-403: The island and restoring them to create an upmarket destination for wealthy people in the Northeastern United States . Nantucket and towns on Martha's Vineyard contemplated seceding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which they considered at various town meetings in 1977, unsuccessfully. The votes were sparked by a proposed change to the Massachusetts Constitution that would have reduced

7722-418: The island in 1922, and in 1937 created an inflatable creature which sailed across the harbour as part of the "sea monster" hoax. Artist Rodney Charman was commissioned to create a series of paintings depicting the marine history of Nantucket, which were collected in the book Portrait of Nantucket, 1659–1890: The Paintings of Rodney Charman in 1989. The island is the site of a number of festivals, including

7839-402: The island in groups governed by sachems . Within two years of their arrival, the settlers had persuaded two of the sachems, Wanackmamack and Nickanoose, to relinquish their rights to the island in exchange for 66 pounds sterling , equal to £11,798 today). In 1750 the deeds were upheld by a judge from the General Court of Massachusetts in spite of petitions from the Wampanoags claiming that

7956-446: The island increases to around 80,000 during the summer months. The average sale price for a single-family home was $ 2.3 million in the first quarter of 2018. The National Park Service cites Nantucket, designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1966, as being the "finest surviving architectural and environmental example of a late 18th- and early 19th-century New England seaport town." Nantucket probably takes its name from

8073-539: The island to fish and later harvest whales that washed up on shore. Nantucket was officially part of Dukes County , New York , until October 17, 1691, when the charter for the newly formed Province of Massachusetts Bay was signed. Following the arrival of the new Royal Governor on May 14, 1692, to effectuate the new government, Nantucket County was partitioned from Dukes County, Massachusetts in 1695. European settlement of Nantucket did not begin in earnest until 1659, when Thomas Mayhew sold nine-tenths of his interest to

8190-458: The island; 5,478 were occupied with most of the rest being for seasonal, recreational or occasional use. 59.7% of the occupied housing units were owner-occupied, 40.3% were renter-occupied. Of the 5,478 households, 52.1% contained married or cohabiting couples. In 19.7% of households a couple were living with their children aged under 18, while a further 6% of households contained a householder living alone with their children under 18. In 2017–2021

8307-415: The islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket . Today, two Wampanoag tribes are federally recognized : The Wampanoag language , also known as Massachusett , is a Southern New England Algonquian language. Prior to English contact in the 17th century, the Wampanoag numbered as many as 40,000 people living across 67 villages composing the Wampanoag Nation. These villages covered the territory along

8424-417: The land should be cultivated, as the colony had leased the better sections to the whites at low interest. The original goal of creating an undisturbed center for missionary work was quickly forgotten. The state finally created a reservation on a peninsula on the western point of Martha's Vineyard and named it Gay Head. This region was connected to the main island by an isthmus; it enabled the isolation desired by

8541-474: The last Nantucket Wampanoag died in 1855. Today, there are two federally recognized Wampanoag tribes and no state-recognized Wampanoag tribes. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has about 3,200 enrolled citizens in 2023. The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) had 1,364 enrolled tribal citizens in 2019. Some genealogy experts testified that some of the tribes did not demonstrate the required continuity since historic times. For instance, in his testimony to

8658-529: The lowest daily minimum temperature was −3 °F (−19 °C) on December 31, 1962, January 16, 2004, and February 4, 2023 . The hardiness zone is 7b. [1] As of the 2020 United States Census , there were 14,255 people, up from 10,172 in 2010, residing in the county. The 2020 data for racial makeup of the county was 71.3% white, 7.2% black or African American, 1.9% Asian, 0.6% American Indian, 9.3% from other races, and 9.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 16.2% of

8775-635: The material trappings of colonial life. Eliot and other ministers relied on praise and rewards for those who conformed, rather than punishing those who did not. The Christian Indian settlements of Martha's Vineyard were noted for a great deal of sharing and mixing between Wampanoag and colonial ways of life. Wampanoag converts often continued their traditional practices in dress, hairstyle, and governance. The Martha's Vineyard converts were not required to attend church and they often maintained traditional cultural practices, such as mourning rituals. The Wampanoag women were more likely to convert to Christianity than

8892-539: The median income for a household in the county was $ 116,571 and the per capita income was $ 52,324. 5.9% of the population were living below the poverty line . As of the fourth quarter of 2021, the median value of homes in Nantucket County was $ 1,370,522, an increase of 22.3% from the prior year, and ranked the highest in the US by median home value. Nantucket is the only such consolidated town-county in Massachusetts. As of

9009-587: The men. Experience Mayhew said that "it seems to be a Truth with respect to our Indians, so far as my knowledge of them extend, that there have been, and are a greater number of their Women appearing pious than of the men among them" in his text "Indian Converts". The frequency of female conversion created a problem for missionaries, who wanted to establish patriarchal family and societal structures among them. Women had control of property, and inheritance and descent passed through their line, including hereditary leadership for men. Wampanoag women on Martha's Vineyard were

9126-462: The outbreak of the war, many Indians offered to fight with the colonists against King Philip and his allies, serving as warriors, scouts, advisers, and spies. Mistrust and hostility eventually caused the colonists to discontinue Indian assistance, even though they were invaluable in the war. The Massachusetts government moved many Christian Indians to Deer Island in Boston Harbor , in part to protect

9243-563: The population of the Wampanoag and neighboring tribes. Indigenous deaths from the epidemic facilitated the European invasion and colonization of the Massachusetts Bay Colony . More than 50 years later, Wampanoag Chief Sachem Metacom and his allies waged King Philip's War (1675–1676) against the colonists. The war resulted in the death of 40 percent of the surviving Wampanoag. The English sold many Wampanoag men into slavery in Bermuda ,

9360-693: The population. The median age of the population was 39.9 years; 22.2% were aged under 21 years, while 15.9% were aged over 65 years. According to the 2020 census data for Nantucket County, the largest groups by origins (alone or in any combination) were Irish Americans (2,612), English (2,492), German (1,229), Italian (901), Jamaican (635), Scottish (632), French (476), Polish (389), Portuguese (285), African Americans (251), Swedish (247) and Bulgarian (201). By Hispanic origins of any race, Salvadoran (1,143), Dominican (501), Mexican (124), Guatemalan (63), Spanish (46), Puerto Rican (41), Spaniard (34) and Colombian (32). There were 12,619 housing units on

9477-427: The position of sachem, and women were sometimes chosen over close male relatives. Pre-marital sexual experimentation was accepted, although the Wampanoag expected fidelity within unions after marriage. Roger Williams (1603–1683) said that "single fornication they count no sin, but after Marriage... they count it heinous for either of them to be false." Polygamy was practiced among the Wampanoag, although monogamy

9594-434: The reservation; some stole wood from its forests. A large region, once rich in wood, fish, and game, it was considered highly desirable by the whites. With competition between whites and the Wampanoag, conflicts were more frequent than for more isolated native settlements elsewhere in the state. In 1870, each member of the Mashpee tribe over the age of 18 was granted 60 acres of land for private ownership, effectively dismantling

9711-419: The residents moved to nearby Edgartown , so that they could practice a trade and obtain some civil rights. Christiantown was originally a praying town on the northwest side of Martha's Vineyard, northwest of Tisbury . In 1849 the reservation still consisted of 390 acres (1.6 km ), of which all but 10 were distributed among the residents. The land, kept under community ownership, yielded very few crops and

9828-415: The return of ancestral homelands. The case was lost but the tribe continued to pursue federal recognition for three decades. In 2000 the Mashpee Wampanoag council was headed by chairman Glenn Marshall. Marshall led the group until 2007 when it was disclosed that he had a prior conviction for rape, had lied about having a military record and was under investigation associated for improprieties associated with

9945-457: The river. Harbor seals are seen on occasion, often in the spring when the herring migrate, and in 2005, a young harp seal was found in the Nemasket. Other common wildlife in the area include deer, foxes, coyotes, river otters, raccoons, skunks, and opossums. 41°56′11″N 70°56′34″W  /  41.93639°N 70.94278°W  / 41.93639; -70.94278 This Plymouth County, Massachusetts geography–related article

10062-414: The sachems had not had the authority to sell the land. The Wampanoags converted to Christianity and took up trades that were useful to the settlers, becoming, for example, carpenters and weavers. When the whaling industry developed on Nantucket in the 18th century, Wampanoag men went to sea and often made up half or more of the crew of the whaling ships. By the 18th century, a system of debt servitude

10179-498: The same name and was located on the eastern point of that island. As the result of the sale of land in 1789, the natives lost valuable areas, and the remaining land was distributed among the Indian residents in 1810. In 1823 the laws were changed, in order to hinder those trying to get rid of the natives and to implement a visible beginning of a civic organization. Around 1849, they owned 692 acres (2.80 km ) of infertile land, and many of

10296-569: The size of the state's House of Representatives from 240 to 160 members and would therefore reduce the islands' representation in the Massachusetts General Court . According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 304 square miles (790 km ), of which 45 square miles (120 km ) is land and 259 square miles (670 km ) (85%) is water. It is the smallest county in Massachusetts by land area and second-smallest by total area. The area of Nantucket Island proper

10413-408: The sorting actions and transport of longshore drift . Nantucket became an island when rising sea levels covered the connection with the mainland, about 5,000–6,000 years ago. The island and adjoining islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget comprise the Town and County of Nantucket, which is operated as a consolidated town and county government. The main settlement, also called Nantucket, is located at

10530-649: The spiritual leaders of their households. In general, English ministers agreed that it was preferable for women to subvert the patriarchal model and assume a dominant spiritual role than it was for their husbands to remain unconverted. Experience Mayhew asked, "How can those Wives answer it unto God who do not Use their utmost Endeavors to Perswade and oblige their husbands to maintain Prayer in their families?" In some cases, Wampanoag women converts accepted changed gender roles under colonial custom, while others practiced their traditional roles of shared power as Christians. Massasoit

10647-671: The spring of 1676, following a winter of hunger and deprivation. The colonial troops set out after Canonchet and took him captive. After a firing squad executed him, colonists quartered his corpse and sent his head to Hartford, Connecticut , where it was set on public display. During the summer months, Philip escaped from his pursuers and went to a hideout on Mount Hope in Rhode Island. Colonial forces attacked in August, killing and capturing 173 Wampanoags. Philip barely escaped capture, but his wife and their nine-year-old son were captured and put on

10764-420: The stages of food production and processing, so they had important socio-political, economic, and spiritual roles in their communities. Wampanoag men were mainly responsible for hunting and fishing, while women took care of farming and gathering wild fruits, nuts, berries, and shellfish. Women were responsible for up to 75 percent of all food production in Wampanoag societies. The Wampanoag were organized into

10881-423: The steering oar. Author Nathaniel Philbrick notes that "without the native population, which outnumbered the white population well into the 1720s, the island would never have become a successful whaling port." Nantucket's dependence on trade with Britain, derived from its whaling and supporting industries, influenced its leading citizens to remain neutral during the American Revolutionary War , favoring neither

10998-400: The subsequent rise in sea level. The low ridge across the northern section of the island was deposited as glacial moraine during a period of glacial standstill, a period during which till continued to arrive and was deposited as the glacier melted at a stationary front. The southern part of the island is an outwash plain , sloping away from the arc of the moraine and shaped at its margins by

11115-406: The thousands of acres of common tribal lands, and by 1871, non-Mashpee land ownership of the choicest portions of land purchased from impoverished Mashpee, leading to significant loss of Mashpee land ownership. On Martha's Vineyard in the 18th and 19th centuries, there were three reservations— Chappaquiddick , Christiantown and Gay Head . The Chappaquiddick Reservation was part of a small island of

11232-779: The time the English began settling southeastern New England. The Pokanoket were based at Sowams, near where Warren, Rhode Island , developed and on the peninsula where Bristol, Rhode Island, arose after King Philip's War. The Seat of Metacomet, or King Philip's seat, at Mount Hope Bay in Bristol, Rhode Island became the political center from which Metacomet began King Philip's War, the first intertribal war of Native American resistance to English settlement in North America. The Wampanoag people were semi-sedentary (that is, partially nomadic), with seasonal movements between sites in southern New England . The men often traveled far north and south along

11349-441: The top employers in the town are: Nantucket's public school district is Nantucket Public Schools . The Nantucket school system had 1,583 students and 137 teachers in 2017. Schools on the island include: Nantucket Public Schools District information and meetings are broadcast on Nantucket Community Television (Channel 18) in Nantucket. A major museum association, the Maria Mitchell Association , offers educational programs to

11466-507: The tribal council records detailing the council's involvement in this scandal via a complaint filed in Barnstable Municipal Court were shunned by the council and banned them from the tribe for seven years. In 2009 the tribe elected council member Cedric Cromwell to the position of council chair and president. Cromwell ran a campaign based on reforms and distancing himself from the previous chairmen, even though he had served as

11583-515: The tribal members free rein over their choice of land, as well as over cultivation and building, in order to make their ownership clear. They did not allow whites to settle on their land. They made strict laws regulating membership in the tribe. As a result, they were able to strengthen the groups' ties to each other, and they did not lose their tribal identity until long after other groups had lost theirs. The Wampanoag on Nantucket Island were almost completely destroyed by an unknown plague in 1763;

11700-537: The tribe members left it to get paying jobs in the cities. Wampanoag oral history tells that Christiantown was wiped out in 1888 by a smallpox epidemic. The third reservation on Martha's Vineyard was constructed in 1711 by the New England Company (founded in 1649) to Christianize the natives. They bought land for the Gay Head natives who had lived there since before 1642. There was considerable dispute about how

11817-420: The tribe's casino lobbying efforts. Marshall was succeeded by tribal council vice- chair Shawn Hendricks. He held the position until Marshall pleaded guilty in 2009 to federal charges of embezzling, wire fraud, mail fraud, tax evasion and election finance law violations. He steered tens of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to politicians through the tribe's hired lobbyist Jack Abramoff , who

11934-513: The unanimous consent of the tribe, writing "We freely give these lands forementioned unto the South Sea Indians and their children forever: and not to be sold or given away from them by anyone without all their consents thereunto." An Indian Deed relating to the Petition of Reuben Cognehew presented a provision established by a representative of the community named Quatchatisset establishing that

12051-538: The venture. These additional shareholders were Tristram Coffin Junior, James Coffin, John Smith, Robert Pike, Thomas Look, Robert Barnard, Edward Starbuck, Thomas Coleman, John Bishop and Thomas Mayhew Junior. These twenty men and their heirs were the Proprietors. Anxious to add to their number and to induce tradesmen to come to the island, the total number of shares was increased to twenty-seven. The original purchasers needed

12168-438: The war against the colonists. The Narragansetts of Rhode Island gave up their neutrality after the colonists attacked one of their fortified villages. The Narragansetts lost more than 600 people and 20 sachems in the battle which became known as the " Great Swamp Massacre ". Their leader Canonchet was able to flee and led a large group of Narragansett warriors west to join King Philip's warriors. The war turned against Philip in

12285-453: The water level of the river. The tie-up for one side-paddle wheeler, the Assawompset , can still be seen off the canal that cuts across the right hand side of the marsh between Bridge Street and Vaughn Street. The Nemasket boasts one of the largest herring runs on the eastern seaboard, with millions of alewife and blueback herring migrating from the Atlantic Ocean, up the Taunton River, up

12402-519: The way home and died shortly after. The Wampanoag were told that he died of fever, but many Indians thought that he had been poisoned. The following year, his brother Philip (Metacom) became sachem of the Wampanoag. Under Philip's leadership, the relationship changed dramatically between the Wampanoag and the colonists. Philip believed that the ever-increasing colonists would eventually take over everything — not only land, but also their culture, their way of life, and their religion — so he decided to limit

12519-470: The western end of Nantucket Harbor, where it opens into Nantucket Sound. Key localities on the island include Madaket , Surfside , Polpis , Wauwinet , Miacomet, and Siasconset (generally shortened to "'Sconset"). According to the Köppen climate classification system, Nantucket features a climate that is Cfb ( oceanic ), a climate type rarely found on the east coast of North America . Nantucket's climate

12636-428: The year. Similar to many other cities with an oceanic climate, Nantucket features a large number of cloudy or overcast days, particularly outside the summer months. The highest daily maximum temperature was 100 °F (38 °C) on August 2, 1975, and the highest daily minimum temperature was 76 °F (24 °C) on the same day. The lowest daily maximum temperature was 12 °F (−11 °C) on January 8, 1968, and

12753-553: Was a 1663 translation into Wampanoag by missionary John Eliot . He created an orthography , which he taught to the Wampanoag. Many became literate, using Wampanoag for letters, deeds, and historic documents. The rapid decline of Wampanoag speakers began after the American Revolution . Neal Salisbury and Colin G. Calloway suggest that New England Indian communities suffered from gender imbalances at this time due to premature male deaths, especially due to warfare and their work in

12870-469: Was among those Indians who adopted colonial customs. He asked the legislators in Plymouth near the end of his life to give both of his sons English names. The older son Wamsutta was given the name Alexander, and his younger brother Metacom was named Philip. After his father's death, Alexander became the sachem of the Wampanoag. The colonists invited him to Plymouth to talk, but Wamsutta became seriously ill on

12987-428: Was convicted of numerous charges in a much larger scheme. Following the arrests of Abramoff and Marshall, the newly recognized Mashpee Tribe led by new chair Shawn Hendricks, continued to work with Abramoff lobbyist colleague Kevin A. Ring pursuing their Indian gaming-related interests. Ring was subsequently convicted on corruption charges linked to his work for the Mashpee band. Tribal elders who had sought access to

13104-709: Was kidnapped by Spanish monks who attempted to convert him before setting him free. He accompanied an expedition to Newfoundland as an interpreter, then made his way back to his homeland in 1619, only to discover that the entire Patuxet tribe had died in an epidemic. In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth , and Tisquantum and other Wampanoag taught them how to cultivate the varieties of corn, squash, and beans (the Three Sisters ) that flourished in New England, as well as how to catch and process fish and collect seafood. They enabled

13221-461: Was murdered. Sassamon was a Christian Indian raised in Natick, one of the praying towns. He was educated at Harvard College and had served as a scribe, interpreter, and counselor to Philip and the Wampanoag. But, a week before his death, Sassamon reported to Plymouth governor Josiah Winslow that Philip was planning a war against the colonists. Sassamon was found dead under the ice of Assawompsett Pond

13338-639: Was nursed back to health by the colonists. In 1632, the Narragansetts attacked Massasoit's village in Sowam , but the colonists helped the Wampanoag to drive them back. After 1632, the Plymouth Colony was outnumbered by the growing Puritans settlements around Boston. The colonists expanded westward into the Connecticut River Valley . In 1638, they destroyed the powerful Pequot Confederation. In 1643,

13455-416: Was set in place which provided the English settlers with steady access to a pool of Wampanoag labor. During the century that followed the arrival of the English settlers, the Wampanoag community did not thrive, and by 1763 they numbered only 358 people. Various factors contributed to this decline, including the destruction of the ecosystem that had sustained them, the disadvantages they faced in competing in

13572-712: Was the coastal islands' Wampanoag groups, who had stayed neutral through the war. The colonists forced the Wampanoag of the mainland to resettle with the Saconnet (Sekonnet), or with the Nauset into the praying towns in Barnstable County . Mashpee is the largest Indian reservation set aside in Massachusetts, and is located on Cape Cod . In 1660, the colonists allotted the natives about 50 square miles (130 km ) there, and beginning in 1665 they had self-government, adopting an English-style court of law and trials. Mashpee sachems Wepquish and Tookenchosin declared in 1665 that this land would not be able to be sold to non-Mashpee without

13689-567: Was the norm. Some elite men could take several wives for political or social reasons, and multiple wives were a symbol of wealth. Women were the producers and distributors of corn and other food products. Marriage and conjugal unions were not as important as ties of clan and kinship. The Wampanoag originally spoke Wôpanâak, a dialect of the Massachusett language , which belongs to the Algonquian languages family. The first Bible published in America

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