On This Day in Nantucket History

Nantucket is much more than beautiful beaches and sailboats. One day at a time, author Amy Jenness offers up quirky and fascinating stories of the people and events that shaped this remote island. On August 11, 1841, Frederick Douglass made his first antislavery speech at the Nantucket Atheneum. The Great Fire of July 13, 1846, devastated the island, forcing residents to rebuild what they lost. On December 5, 1981, a nor'easter stranded nearly two thousand visitors and forced seventeen pilot whales to come ashore. Read a story a day or month at a time. Celebrate an entire year of Nantucket history.