Historic Nantucket, Spring 1996, Vol. 44 No. 4

SPRING 1996

MILLING

VOLUME 44 No.4

ABOUT

NANTUCKET DIRECIDR OF D EVEWPMENT AND PuBUC RELATlONS

Maia Gaillard Y THE TIME YOU RECEIVE THIS ISSUE OF H ISTORiC N ANTUCKET, EDITOR

HISTORIAN

Douglas I<. Burch

Helen Winslow Chase

the robins and daffodils mercifully will have arrived.

CoPY EDITOR

ART DIRECIDR

Elizabeth Oldham

Claire O'Keeffe

New England, and indeed many other parts of the country, have had record-breaking weather conditions that make

Photos: NHA collections unless otherwise credited

the onset of spring particularly welcome.

115 The Old Mill

A reprint of the original (1913) article H. B. TURNER

With this issue, the NHA is proud to be celebrating the 250th birthday of our venerable Old Mill (parts replacement notwithstanding; if we were to live to be 250, we would have to have a few parts replaced

117 History Reexamined

HELEN WINsww cHASE

119 Too Frail a Thread?

MJCHAELJEHLE

too!). The Old Mill has figured prominently not only on the Nantucket horizon but in Nantucket's history, serving to remind us how deep and rich and long the story of the island is, especially in American history.

124 The Old MiD Reconsidered

CLAY LANCASTER

enriched in this century by seasonal inhabitants who call Nantucket

127 "So Tottering a Tabernacle" The wonder of the Old Mill

Nantucket's unbroken record of permanent inhabitation has been

NATHANIEL PHILBRICK

home for a part of the year and whose love for the island is as heartfelt as that of year-round residents. Through the membership of our year-round

128 The Old Mill

VWzat we know about it and what we don't EUZABETH owHAM

and seasonal residents, as well as visitors and history lovers across the world, the NHA has become the steward of island history. It is member· ship that enables the NHA to present its programs and exhibitions and to

130 NHANews

ensure the preservation and protection of historic properties like the Old TH E NANTUC KET HI STO RI CA L ASS OC IATION

Mill. And it is new and continuing membership of residents and visitors

OFACERS

that will safeguard Nantucket's historic sites and character for future gen-

Mrs. William Slover, President Mr. David H. Wood, Rrst V~ee President Mrs. William B. Macomber, Second V~ee President Mr. Alan F. Atwood, Treasurer

erations. Financial constraints have for too long relegated us to summer

Mrs. Hamilton Heard, Jr., Secretary Jean M. Weber, Exi!cutive Director

inspiration of our new Executive Director, Jean Weber, exciting initia-

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Mrs. Charles Balas Mrs. Richard L Brecker Mrs. Robert Champion Miss Nancy A. Chase Ms. Kimberly c. Cortran Mrs. Thomas H. Gosnell

Mr. Elwin L Greenberg Mrs. William E. Grieder Prof. William A. Hance Mrs. cart M. Mueller Mr. PererNasb

Mrs. Scott Newquist Mr. Arthur Reade, Jr. Mr. Alfred F. Sanford UI Rev. Georgia Ann Snell Mr. Richanl Tucker Mrs.jooeph F. Welch

ADVISORY BOARD Mr. WaJter Heinecke, Jr. Ms. Patricia A. Butler Mr. Alcon Chadwick Mrs. James F. Chase Mr. Michael deLeo Mrs. Walker Groetzmger Mrs. Herten L Gutter.;on Mrs. Robert E. Hellman

-F.

Mrs. John G. W. Husted Mrs. Arthur Jacobsen Mrs. Jane T.l.amb Mr. Francis D. Lethbridge Mr. RelPnald Levme Mrs. john A. lodge Mrs. Thomas B. Loring Mr. Paul Madden

Mr. William 8. Macomber Mr. Robert F. Mooney Mrs. Frederick A. Ridunond Mrs. William A. Sevrens Mr. Scott Steams Mr. John S. Winter Mrs. joseph C. Woodle Mrs. Bracebrldge Young

Elizahelh Oldham Nalhaniel Philbr;ct

Mooney

tives are allowing us to offer our children's programs to the year-round community in a partnership with the public schools. In addition, a new, and arguably the definitive, exhibition of Nantucket history, "Away Off Shore," will open in June at the Peter Foulger Museum and will be accessible to residents and visitors on a year-round basis for two full years. So as the NHA honors one of its best-loved properties, we also celebrate our increasing year-round activities and visibility. I hope you will help to

EDITORIAL COMMJTIEE

Mimi Beman Richanl L Brecker

museum status, and I am pleased to report that with the guidance and

Solly Seidman Susan F. Beegel Dovld H. Wood

keep up the momentum and join me in encouraging neighbors and friends to become members of the Nantucket Historical Association.

Historic Nantucket welcomes articles on any aspect of Nantucket history. Original research, firsthand accounts, and reminiscences of island experiences, historic ~. let· ters, and photographs are examples of materials of interest to our readers. We expect articles to be entertaining and instructive for a general audience and to adhere to higb standards of historical accuracy. Historic Nantucket strives to publish enjoyable reading that will promote pub~c appreciation of Nantucket's history and preserve important information about the island's past.

HistarNmtuda!r (ISSN 0439-2248) Is pullllsbed quarterly as a privilege of memberslllp by lhe Nani\JCllet Historical Association, 2 Whaler"s Lane, Nanlllekel, MA 02554 Secood-cla<s poocago paid at Nantucket, MA and addilional entry oftlces l'oslmasler. Send address changes IJJHistar/1/v!tucket, Box 1016,

112

Nantucke~ MA 02554· 1016

FAX: (508) 228-5618

ON

E COV R:

An early tour bus carries visitors to the mill - even then a beloved landmark

FROM

THE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

HIS IS THE YEAR OF THE MILL. Nantucket Historical Association. Architectural actually painted these as he viewed them, This is the year to celebrate what historian Clay Lancaster's 1979 analysis of the whether he cared about, or was even aware of, Nantucket traditions tell us is the structure was later questioned and amended the various forms of mill construction, or 250th anniversary of our landmark twice, by Clay Lancaster himself. No fewer than whether he painted them on the canvas from icon on Mill Hill. The old mill, vanes trimmed three early Nantucketers - Tristram Coffin, other drawings or renderings of windmills, afresh with canvas sails each spring, still grinds Richard Macy, and Nathan Wilbur - are cited remain. The four mills in the painting bear a suscorn and attracts record numbers of visitors. as pioneers in mill construction. Attempts to picious resemblance to each other, suggesting at It is one of the most photographed and widely analyze their mill origins by derivation best a striking generic consistency and picreproduced images on the island. from Dutch or English prototypes are further turesque quality. Viewed more emblematically, As we began to assemble the materials for obscured by they seem to relate back to the very first depicthis issue of Historic Nantucket, intended to Obed Macy's tion of windmills on Nantucket, the four small mark a very special anniversary, to our dismay claim that-grandmill symbols clustered at the Sherburn site on and delight we found that a map of Nantucket published even the documentation of so in Crevecoeur's Letters from venerable and prominent a an American Farmer (London, 1782). structure as the old mill can still cloak mysteries and stimuThe history of the mill, to late historians to question each date, is a rich mosaic of fact and inquiry. Its intriguing and other with spirit and gusto. fragmentary history is summaAnd so, in addition to celebratrized by Elizabeth Oldham, a ing the survival of a historic member of the NHA's editorial landmark, we also celebrate board. Historians Helen the lively interest in history on Winslow Chase and Nathaniel Nantucket and its continuing Philbrick also invite us to conpower to evoke spirited diatinually reexamine our history logue among historians and to and, in visiting Nantucket's require on-going research. ' -, I Sana~ ....._ .. sites and libraries, to recognize Each of the supporting the excitement and rigor pieces selected for this mill This "Map of the Island of Nantucket," drawn in 1772 by Dr. James Tupper, was reproduced attached to validating our past issue of the magazine is an in the first edition (London, 1782) of Crevecoeur's Letters from an American Farmer. important component in the The original map is in the Library of Congress.

Nearly I 00 years ago the mill, already a beloved landdocumentation of the mill.

Together, they present a view of history as a con- father Richard Macy's mill sprang fully conceived mark, was tooled into the leather cover of a souvenir album of Henry Wyer's photographs of stantly moving frontier. They prevent us from in form and fashion, in a dream.

The few early images of the mills seem only Nantucketers' favorite views of their island. The stereotyping historical facts and artifacts as frozen in time. No matter how extensive the record, to add to the intrigue. In particular, the four book, Nantucket- Picturesque and Historic, will there is always a need to question and always the mills perched along the horizon in Thomas be the title piece in an exhibition of Wyer promise that extensive research will improve, Birch's painting of 1810 stimulate speculation. images, souvenirs, and other mementos schedThe painting, restored just this past month to uled to open on Memorial Day weekend in the and sometimes radically alter, the record.

So it is that the mill, after 250 years, is still a ready it for the exhibition "Away Off Shore," Fair Street Museum. As the massive wheels turn work in progress. H. B. Turner's 1913 account which will open in late June in the Peter Foulger and the stones continue to grind corn, the mill of the mill, taken for so much of this century as Museum, shows a row of windmills rendered - its mysteries for scholars and its compelling gospel, appears to have been drawn partially with just a few deft brushstrokes that clearly sug- power to evoke the reality of the past- will be from a 7 August 1897 Inquirer and Mirror gest post-mill construction. That is not at issue. the presiding symbol and the pervading presence notice about the sale of the old windmill to the The questions about whether Thomas Birch among our many activities this season.

___

u.Ud Podld.J /

THE OLD MILL B

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An account of the history of the Old Mill first appeared in the 28 June I 9I3 issue of the Inquirer and Mirror. The following version of the article ran in the issue of 2 August I 94 I and is reprinted here with permission of the current publisher.

T

HE "OLD MILL" WAS BUILT IN

1746

by Nathan Wilbur, a Nantucket sailor who had visited Holland in the course of his roamings and gained a knowledge of the methods used in that country of employing wind power for grinding corn and sawing wood. Wilbur thought the method could be used to advantage on wind¡ swept Nantucket, and although the islanders "threw cold water" on his scheme from the start and refused to cooperate with him in the project, even taunting and ridiculing him while he was at work on it, he stoutly maintained that his plan was feasible and finally proved it to the satisfaction of the islanders.

Oaken beams, washed ashore from wrecked vessels, furnished the material for the framework of the mill, while deck planking of white oak, still tough and as firm as when pinned into the vessel, was available for the exterior.

Wilbur cut and shaped the ship timbers with a kit of tools brought from England. Piece by piece the framework rose from the ground. Its shape was octagonal. Nails were too expensive for fastening, and screws and bolts were unknown, so every part of the framework was held together by pins of hickory wood, driven by a hammer through holes cut in the timbers.

Although the mill, from the roof to the ground, is fifty feet high, Wilbur designed and constructed every part of it except the grindstone shaft, and assembled the various parts. Only when he was ready to set the "machinery" and grindstones in place did he need help.

The material for the upper portion was hauled up, piece by piece, by means of a rope and pulley fastened to the top of a wooden beam set firmly in the ground. In this way he fastened the pieces in position without aid.

The four wings or arms of the wheel driven by the wind are each thirty feet in length, having a maximum width of six feet. When in operation they are covered with sail duck lashed to the framework with tarred cord running through brass eyelets in the cloth. In order to furnish means for bringing the vanes "up into the wind," Wilbur secured an old spruce mast, 50 feet long and 12 inches in diameter at the top, from among the wreckage that had drifted ashore, and fitted the upper end into the movable top of the mill, and the lower end into the hub of the wheel resting on the ground.

The interior mechanism of the mill is remarkable from an engineering standpoint.

What might be termed a "driving wheel" is set at the top of the mill, made entirely of oak and turned by the vanes outside. There are no spokes, as the wheel is solid, planks an inch in thickness extending from the hub to rim. The rim itself is no less than a foot square in thickness, composed of sections cut into concave shape, so that the whole forms a circle which is eleven feet in diameter.

The sections of the rim are also held tightly by wooden pins, and the exterior of the rim is covered by a band of iron taken from a wrecked ship. Projecting from the inside of the wheel rim are wooden cogs. These intersect another

set of hickory "teeth," each three inches in length, which are wedged into the vertical shaft that revolves the upper grindstone. Consequently, as the driving wheel turns, it also turns the shaft and the upper of the two stones which grind the corn. Such is the process that performs the actual grinding, the meal pouring into a hopper on the floor below.

The grinding shaft is another novel feature of the mill. Though nearly all the material which went towards the mill was "home made," even the oak was not strong enough to revolve the granite grindstone, as it is a foot thick and six feet in diameter, with a hole for the driving shaft only four inches square.

Wilbur solved this problem by making a combination shaft. He had a bar of iron forged in England, of the length required, and of a width that would exactly fit the hole in the stone. He set this through the stone, the lower end being buried in the ground beneath the mill, thus anchoring the shaft. Above the grindstone the iron was fastened to the wooden shaft by clamping the ends together with a heavy iron "collar" or band.

As it was necessary to control the force of the wind at times when the velocity was too great, and the mill might be damaged by turning too rapidly, the builder designed a crude brake which counteracts the force of the wind and controls the speed of the wind-wheel when necessary. It consists of a heavy oaken beam, to one end of which a box of stone, weighing several hundred pounds, is attached by a rope and pulley.

115

One man can raise and lower the box, so carefully is the weight adjusted. The end of the beam projects under the shaft extending from the hub of the wind-wheel into the mill. It is held loosely in a rope noose. When it is necessary to check the speed, the box of stone is loosened and the weight presses down. On the principle of the see-saw, the other end moves up and presses against the wind-wheel shaft.

This brake is also used to stop the wind-wheel at night, or when operations are suspended.

The capacity of the mill is ten bushels an hour when operated at its greatest speed, and but one man is needed to perform its operations.

In the early part of its life the mill had two owners, one-half belonging to Eliakim Swain, and the other half to John [W]ay.I In 1750 it was purchased by Timothy Swain, who died in the mill on duty, and after his death it was bought by Charles Swain and known as the "Charles Swain Mill."

Then it passed into the possession of his grandson, Nathan Swain, and in 1828 was bought by Jared Gardner, in a deplorable condition, for the sum of twenty dollars for "firewood. "2 Gardner was a wheelwright by trade and he thoroughly repaired the mill so that it was again in good condition and capable of grinding corn.

Several times he offered it for sale, but it did not pass into other hands unW 1855, when George Enos [Enas[ purchased it,3 and in 1864 he sold it to Captain John Murray,4 who ran it only two years.

In 1866 it was purchased by John Francis Sylvia,s a Portuguese miller, who had for his assistant Peter Hoy, who later became the custodian. From that time on the big vanes gradually became idle, however, and the last time it was operated in the nineteenth century was in 1892, when a few bags of meal were ground and sold as souvenirs.

For five years thereafter it remained silent, a mute sentinel on the hill, its vanes occasionally being damaged by the gales during the intervening years, but its interior mechanism remaining firm and intact- a testimonial of the thorough workmanship of Nathan Wilbur so many years ago.

In 1897 the mill passed into the possession of the Nantucket Historical Association, as a gift

116

from Miss Caroline L. W. French, of Boston, who purchased the property at auction and presented it to the Association in order that it might be preserved as a landmark. A tablet, suitably inscribed, appears just inside the doorway on which is the following: This Mill, built I 746, was bought and presented to the Nantucket Historical Association in I 897

by Miss Caroline L. W French of Boston, Mass.

When it came into possession of the mill, the Historical Association had its exterior thor¡ oughly repaired and the next season opened it as a place of interest to summer visitors, charging an admission fee of ten cents. One of Nantucket's famous whaling masters, Captain Charles Grant, was placed in charge of the mill as custodian, and upon his death Captain Timothy Dunham, a retired Nantucket boatman and whaleman, took charge.

Repairs made to the mill during the spring of 1936 made it possible for the top to be turned around once more, and the Old Mill is no longer dependent on a southwest wind to turn its vanes. It can now face the breezes from any quarter and the miller offers meal for sale ground by the mill that was erected in 17 46 and has withstood the gales and storms that have swept across Nantucket nearly two centuries.

At one time, in the last part of the eighteenth century, there were four mills standing in a row on what is now called "Mill Hill." Benjamin Whippey owned the west mill, Uriah Bunker the next one, Barnabus Bunker the third, and Timothy Swain the fourth, or east, mill which is now the landmark called the "Old Mill."

In reviewing the past in connection with the Old Mill it seems almost beyond belief that Nantucket could have raised enough grain to keep five mills in operation, but the fact is beyond question. Besides the four mills that stood in a row on Mlll Hill, there was a fifth located on the site of the present New North Cemetery, which was known as the "RoundTop Mill," and there are a few persons yet liv¡ ing who can recall when this mill was in opera-

tion and doing an active business. [The millstone from the round-top mill is said to be the base of the Civil War Monument at Main and Milk streets. - Ed.] History says that one of the four mills on the hill was destroyed by fire in 1765. Another was purchased by the town to test the practicability of gunpowder to demolish a building, and the experiment proved an entire success, the old mill being blown into atoms by the explosion. A third was torn down, having outlived its usefulness, which left the present mill - the east one of the four - alone on the hill, and upon the removal of the Round-Top Mill in 1873, it became the sole survivor of the five that were once busily at work grinding grain for the inhabitants of Nantucket.

Tradition has it that during the War of the Revolution a cannon ball from an English manof-war passed through the mill, closely grazing the miller. Standing upon so high an eminence it must have been an attractive target for the marine gunner.

Another incident that gives the Old Mill a touch of romance occurred in 1848. Several young ladies were watching the slowly moving vanes one day when the wind was very light, and one of them, possibly from some irresistible force of mind, seized one of the vanes and was carried up to its loftiest point. Horror stricken at the exploit, the other girls rushed to inform the miller who, in his alarm for her safety, stopped the mill, which threw the girl to the ground with such force that she sustained fractured limbs and was severely injured, although ultimately recovering from the accident.

The only other accident on record in connection with the operation of the Old Mill was when a careless cow strayed from the herd while grazing and came within sweep of the vanes as they were being whirled around in a stiff breeze. The cow was instantly killed, her back being broken when the vane struck her.

History says that the first mill built on Nantucket was owned by the famous Tristram Coffin, who assumed a contract to construct a windmill for grinding grain for the inhabitants of the town, after the person to whom the contract had at first been awarded had failed to

HISTORY REEXAMINED comply with its terms.

The Indians' stone mills - which consisted of a rock with a cavity upon its top, in which cavity another stone was rolled to crush the grain - passed out of use with the advent of white people on the island, and the custom vir· tually belongs to that period known as the "stone age." The historic Old Mill is a relic of an industry of the eighteenth century.

When Nathan Wilbur built his windmill in 1746 he built a rather unusual mill- that is, of different type than any before constructed in New England. In nearly all windmills the grind· stones are on the ground floor, the "nether" or bottom stone being set on a masonry founda· tion. Wilbur, however, designed his mill so that the stones would be on the second floor. This must have entailed a difficult job of hoisting.

No definite record has been left of the mill· stones, but it is possible to make some logical assumptions from the facts which are available.

Granite millstones were a standard article turned out in mills of the colonial period. These stones were fourteen inches thick and five feet in diameter, with a hole through their centers about eight inches in diameter. In addition, the top stones had cut into them deep grooves, pro· jecting from the center hole, into which was set a double wedge-shaped iron key.

This was the device gripped by the iron fork of the grinding shaft and by which the top stone was turned. These stones weigh approximately 3,500 pounds each and a pair of these standard stones has laid on the ground outside the mill - apparently through its entire history, for they had never been used. Also on the ground, near the mill (sunk flush with the surface) is a broken nether stone, but one not of standard type.

In the mill, until it was renovated, were two stones of special design, made light in weight (not over 2,000 pounds each). The edges were beveled and the upper stone had a large bowl· shaped depression cut out of its upper surface around the center hole. Again the turning key wh ich Wilbur had forged was a four-pronged affair and thus required special grooving to fit in the upper stone.

When the stones in the mill were separated it was found that the nether stone was really an

The importance of reexamining

"Wooden Age." His useful to

history, and the direction to be

compare research on other

taken, is well illustrated by

existing contemporary mills else-

Nantucket's Old Mill as it

where in the United States for

observes its 250th anniversary.

differences and parallels. Our

The picturesque smock mill is

grist mill suggests researching

not only a popular attraction

250 years of local foodways and,

with its continuity of usefulness,

perhaps, creating a cookbook of

but also an historic, architectur-

traditional and modem recipes

al, industrial, and engineering

for microwave and conventional

site. On 3 October 1992 the

ovens to help market the corn-

American Society of Mechanical

meal produced by the mill. A

Engineers named it a National

windmill suggests reexamining

Historic Mechanical Engineering

the history of power sources and

Landmark. Its very preservation

other mills on Nantucket, where

requires frequent inspection,

the practicality of wind power is

constant maintenance, stabiliza-

again at issue today.

tion, and, on occasion, restora-

From the vantage point of its

tion. These are reexaminations

site in the Mill Hill neighbor-

of history, too.

hood, the Old Mill witnessed

The fact that the Old Mill

people, events, and changes

was known for many years as

that, over time, became part of

"Swain's Mill" reminds us of its

its history. In Revolutionary

family history and of the impor-

times the Old Mill was endan-

tance of genealogical research

gered by both British regulars

about Eliakim Swain and his

and colonial raiding parties;

descendants, about other owners

its vanes gave warnings of

and millers, and Nathan Wilbur,

naval maneuvers to local ves-

of course. H is not surprising

sels. Religious conversions and

that research for Clay Lancaster

services have taken place on

was enthusiastically pursued in

Mill Hill. The black cemetery

1992 by Virginia Swain (Mrs.

is adjacent to Mill Hill Park.

Charles) among genealogies,

These directions for research

deeds, town records, and early

will probably suggest others to

Nantucket paintings.

the reader. The NHA Research

Yet, there are other directions for reexamination, such as

Center is one good place to begin. Reexamination of the past

industrial archaeology and the

is a welcome challenge to the

history of technology. The con-

historian and a pleasure to all

struction of an eighteenth-

lovers of history.

century smock mill suggests reviewing building practices, tools, and mill machinery in a

-

Helen Winslow Chase, NHA Historian

117

A SUMMARY OF MAJOR REPAIRS AND RESTORATIONS Over the years the ravages of time, wind, and weather have made it necessary to undertake major repairs that extended well beyond the usual day-to-day maintenance of the Old Mill.

The more significant projects are outlined below:

1828

Jared Gardner buys the mill "in deplorable condition" for firewood. A wheelwright by trade, Gardner repairs the mill.

1897 The mill is sold at auction to the Nantucket Historical Association.

The NHA repairs the mill's exterior and opens it to the public.

1913

A severe winter gale damages the mill.

The exterior is repaired, the machinery overhauled, and corn is ground for the first time since 1892.

1928

Machinery deteriorated, grinding discontinued.

1930

NHA undertakes major restoration of machinery.

1932

Storm damage repaired.

1936

Complete restoration made it possible to once again rotate the top so that it would face into the wind. New wooden teeth were placed in the drive wheel, a new drive shaft was installed, and the millstones were replaced by stones found nearby and believed to be the original matched pair intended for use in 1746.

1970 1977 1983

Minor exterior damage caused by a fire set by vandals is repaired.

Main drive shaft, drive wheel, and vane crossarms replaced.

upper stone turned upside down. It had grooves for a key but no key.

These two old and used stones were taken out of the mill and the pair of heavier stones installed.

Piecing these facts together, it can be assumed that Wilbur first ordered a pair of standard stones, but when they arrived he possibly thought that, with the tackle he had, they were too heavy to hoist into place and possibly too heavy for second floor setting.

It appears that Wilbur then ordered three special stones - one nether stone and two upper stones as the upper stones wear out sooner than the lower ones.

The broken lower stone on the ground indicates that Wilbur had an accident in installing his stones and was left with two upper stones. He then installed his second upper stone, turned upside down, as a lower stone.

From this it would seem that the two standard stones now in the mill are really, though never before used, the first millstones brought onto Nantucket Island. They are of Quincy granite and were probably quarried about 1745, but were never used

until installed in the mill in 1936.

During what was often referred to as the "industrial age," grains were ground between stones and the power derived from either running water or the wind. Water mills were built where running streams were available and the product was called "waterground meal." There are a number of water mills still in operation in the United States.

Windmills were confined to regions where there were no running streams, such as Cape Cod, Long Island, and Nantucket There are several of these old windmills still standing, some of which have converted into dwellings or antique shops, and Henry Ford purchased one that stood on Cape Cod and moved it to Dearborn, Michigan, to form part of the Ford village of American history.

There are only three of these ancient mills that can still be operated. One is at Eastham on Cape Cod, another near Newport, Rhode Island, and the "Old Mill" on Nantucket, which is the oldest and largest and which still grinds corn and produces a fine quality of meaL

I Customarily called John Hay, the owner's correct name is John Way. He owned several properties, including a share of the wharves and the mill. His will, da!ed May 12, 1760, is filed in the Nantucket Probate Court Records, Book 2, Page 384, and reads, in part, as follows: In the Name of God . Amen, I John Way of Sherborn, in the County of Nantucket, in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England Masons be in Health of Body and of Perfect Mind and Memory, Thanks be given to God, and calling to Mind the Mortality of My Body & knowing that it given to all Men once to Die ... I give unto my Beloved Wife Abigail Way for and during her Natural Ufe the one half of

my dwelling house, Land & Barn, also the one half or my income of my third part of the mill. .. .

Complete restoration included consolidation and reinforcement of structural members by epoxy/fiberglass method

2 Nantucket Registry of Deeds. book 30, p. 92. [Note: The deed states that Jared Gardner paid forty dollars for â&#x20AC;˘ ... all the right, title and interest in the Eastern Grain Mill now standing on the Mill Hilliso called I a little to the south ward of the Town it being the whole of said Mill together with all the privileges and appurtenances of every kind apper¡ taining and belonging to said Mill ... ".[

and wrapping and fumigation of the building to control insect infestation.

3Jbid., 58:300-0 1.

5Jbid., 59:352 54.

4Jbid., 58:305-06.

6Jbid., 80:332 35.

About the Author. Harry B. Turner was publisher and editor of the Inquirer and Mirror from 1907 to 1948 and an occasional contributor to Historic Nantucket

118

TOO FRAIL A THREAD? HE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY HISTORIAN

Association. Donated to the NHA in 1974 by

John Still once observed that "the

the prominent collector Robert Waggaman,

memories of men are too frail a

Birch's View of Nantucket is dated circa 1810

thread to hang history from." It is

and provides one of the best known illustra-

precisely because of that frailty that architectur-

tions of Nantucket's early waterfront and har-

al historians and

bor. Lancaster points to Birch's rendition of

museum curators

the four windmills as post-type mills as evi-

often look to tangi-

dence that the existing smock-type mill may

ble artifacts and

not be the one supposedly built in 17 46 by

T

buildings in an

Nathan Wilbur. Certainly there are no other

effort to under-

known contemporary views of Nantucket's

stand

mills that might prove otherwise.

our past

more completely.

However, to rely solely on Birch's View of

But, not surprising-

Nantucket as evidence of Nantucket's early architecture is problematic. For one, no evidence currently exists that Birch painted his View from life instead of following sketches by himself or others. Birch painted several east-coast harbor views on commission throughout the early nineteenth century, some of which are highly accurate while others have raised doubts as to their accuracy.

His illustration of Nantucket's waterfront buildings and wharf area is rather simply rendered with loose brushstrokes that create somewhat stylized structures. Can those few freely delineated lines provide detailed proof of Nantucket's early architecture? Certainly not. But they can and do furnish a point of departure for the study of Nantucket's architectural history and the original configuration of the mills - a study that must be further implemented with physical analyses and historical research that helps us to strengthen history's "frail threads."

ly, those tangible artifacts sometimes pose more quesView of Nantucket Thomas Birch, ca. 181 0

tions than they answer.

The following article by architectural historian Clay Lancaster raises some intriguing questions as to the original architecture of the "Old Mill." Was it originally a smock-type mill, as it is now, or a post-type mill, favored in many other eighteenthcentury

New

England communities?

Detail photographed during recent cleaning of painting

The argu-

ment is compelling. Lancaster's thesis is largely based on evidence found in the painting illustrated above, View of Nantucket by the Philadelphia artist Thomas Birch, now in the collection of the Nantucket Historical

Michael Jehle Curator, Nantucket Historical Association

119

NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR

THE OLD MILL N

1992,

THE OLD MILL ACHIEVED

national recognition when the History and Heritage Committee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) designated it an ASME

!ish persistent reminders of where we have been and where we are going along the

The interior mechanism (illustrated at left) is remarkable from an engineering standpoint.

divergent paths of discovery."

The vanes turn a huge gear mechanism made

Sitting on a stone foundation, the windmill is

of wood, with some iron reinforcement. In turn, the moving gears force the top grinding

This designation results from the committee's

a SO¡foot octagonal structure with three floor levels. It has a revolving pent roof, or "cap,"

stone to revolve. A wooden brake governs the speed of the vanes and stone.

examining, noting, recording, and acknowl¡

which is moved in order to turn the 30-foot

The Old Mill is believed to be the largest

edging mechanical engineering achievements of particular significance. An ASME landmark

vanes (to which the sails are lashed) into the

and oldest in the United States still in operating condition and open to the public on a

represents a progressive step in the evolution note an event or development of clear histori-

lar wooden base, which fits into a slotted circle at the top of the basic structure. The cap is turned from the ground by moving a 50-

cal importance to mechanical engineers.

foot tail pole, which is permanently attached.

Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark.

of mechanical engineering. Site designations

s

10n 0

La

mr

prevailing winds. The cap turns on its circu-

The ASME citation states that "The ASME

Eight posts frame the exterior wall of the

Historic Mechanical Engineeering Recognition Program illuminates our techni-

tower and run from the sills to the eaves. All

cal heritage and serves to encourage the

floor and wall framing is mortised, tenoned, and hickory-pegged, and with few excep-

preservation of the physical remains of histor-

tions, dates from 1746. The primary structur-

ically important works. It provides an annotated roster for engineers, students, educa-

al wood is oak. Doors and windows are plank-framed with a single shutter hinged to

tors, historians, and travelers. It helps estab-

each window frame.

regular basis.

TYPES OF MILLS The Post Mill:

The entire mill and its works were housed in a large, square, box-like structure and placed on top of a strong wooden post held upright by a timber framework. The post continues into the floor of the mill house through a loose-fitting collar and extends halfway up into the mill where it is topped by a pivot bearing. This single bearing carries the entire weight of the mill body, sails, millstones, shafts, gears, and grain. Post mills were made so that the whole building could be turned around the shaft to face the wind. The mill had to be elevated so that the sails cleared the ground, requiring the miller to come and go by means of a ladder or stairway.

The Smock Mill:

This mill resembles a tall octagonal tower completely covered with wood. It is constructed of eight vertical posts, one in each comer, rising to the height of the tower. The sides are framed horizontally and reinforced with diagonal crossbeams to withstand the force of the turning sails and to support the cap, windshaft, and vane. The entire operation of the smock mill is enclosed within the structure. The cap can be turned into the wind by means of a turning arm that extends from the top of the cap to the ground on the side opposite the vanes and sails.

21

1

I

MY NARROW ESCAPE A True Story of The Old Mill

by Mrs. Caroline Dusenbeny Comstock from The Stackpole Papers, Collection 335, Folder 499

A

s near as I can remember, the incident took place in August of 1848. Two gir1s, sisters, and myseH went up to the Old Mill to get some wheat to chew (that was before the days of chewing gum). The mill was not turning and

one of the girls and myseH climbed on one of the vanes, and the other gir1 pushed us, so that the vane would move a short way up and then return to its original position. We were enjoying this brief "ride" when, at that moment, the miller started the mill. The other gir1 promptly jumped off. But, afraid to jump, I clung to the vane. I was carried completely up and around -

making a complete circle - and when

I started up again I fainted and fell to the ground.

Someone ran to my house and told those there that I was killed.

My uncle carried me home and a doctor was called. I had sustained a broken thigh bone, a dislocated ankle, and bruises all over my body.

The doctor had to set and re-set the bone three times. Then my uncle said he was going to ask William R. Coffin, who was an island butcher, to examine my injuries. Mr. Coffin ordered a piece of sole leather cut to his directions, in which lines were sewn, and set around the bandage.

The bandage was then wet with poppy rum (probably laudanum, a tinc¡ ture of opium), of which every housekeeper had a bottle in those days, and the leather tied securely over it.

I fell into the first deep sleep since the accident. From that time on my recovery was rapid, and I never felt any ill effects thereafter from my accident at the Old Mill.

Background photograph of the auction on Main Street by Maurice W. Boyer.

THE OL

t is certainly possible, as H. B. Turner claimed in his essay in the 28 June 1913 issue of he Inquirer and Mirror, that Nathan Wil ~ur visited Holland and modeled the windmill built on

December 1991

Nantucket in 1746 after Dutch examples. It could have

ILLS, OF WHATEVER TYPE, WERE

indispensable implements for

been in the form of the existing m111, as smock windmills

early American communities. were in use in the Netherlands at that time. If so, it would

Mills ground grain to provide

h' e been the earliest of its type in America, and as such

the inhabitants' staple food, and mills cut

it should have attracted national attention. Like other

planks for their houses. Six years after Nantucket's first settlers landed at Madaket

eighteenth-century windmills in the colonies, the mill built

in 1659, the proprietors voted to erect a grist

by Wilbur very likely would have been of the more primitive

mill. Originally it was planned to be turned

post or "spider" variety. The earliest known representation

by a horse, but it was converted to water

of the mills on Popsquatchet Hills shows them as being

power in the spring of 1666. The mill was

post windmills. Reference is made to the view of Nantucket

built on the stream below Lily Pond, but the flow of water did not produce adequate

from across the harbor, an oil painting of about 1810

power to grind corn, so the mill was modi-

attributed to Thomas Birch, now in the Peter Foulger

fied to fulling cloth. A tidal grist mill was constructed near the entrance to Polpis Harbor

Muse1,1m. H. B. Turner would not have known of this picture when he wrote his essay. It was discovered and acquired by antiquarian Frank F. Sylvia in 1947 (Nantucket Town Crier, 19 September 1947). To my knowledge, nobody has ever

..

in the 1670s. Four windmills were built on the Popsquatchet Hills between 1717 and 1746. They are shown in the circa 1810 view of Nantucket Town seen from across the harbor that is attributed to Thomas Birch

questioned its authenticity. Of course, Birch may have misrepresented what he saw, but he was proficient at painting town views, and there is no reliable document of so early a date that contradicts it.

(see p. 119). That painting depicts them as post mills.

There are no known surviving examples of American seventeenth- or eighteenth-century post mills, and probably no photographs

The Turner account, written more than a century later,

of them. However, in addition to the Birch

contains a number of questionable "facts," and his main

view, there are a number of graphic represen-

thesis may be one of them. C. L.

tations of post mills. One is in the earliest (ca.

1627-28) view of New Amsterdam, which is in the Stokes Collection of the New York

124

INDMILL RECONSIDERED B y

C

L

A

Y

LANCASTER

Public Library. The upper portion of another

jected, of a smock mill was turned toward the

Tanner views (it is one of the two mills omit-

post mill figures in a 1795 engraved view of

wind. This arrangement allowed for more

ted from the Barber-Brown engraving). So far,

Newport, also in the Stokes Collection.

substantial machinery to be anchored to the

no records of the exact date of the mill's con-

Sketches of two post mills are on a partial

stationary framework. According to Robert

struction or the name of the builder have

plan, dated 10 June 1800, of Sag Harbor that

Hefner's Windmills of Long Island (New

been found.

is in the records of the Town of

York, 1981) the earliest documented smock

In the first edition of my book, Nantucket

Southampton, Long Island. A carefully delin-

mill in that area was built on Gardiner's

in the Nineteenth Century (New York,

eated perspective drawing of a post mill locat-

Island in 1795. Hefner suggests that others

1979), I mistakenly declared, in the caption

ed at nearby Bridgehampton is included in

may have preceded it, but it is unlikely

for Plate 2, that the mills in the Birch view

William D. Halsey's Sketches from Local

that they date back to the first half of the

were "depicted inaccurately here as though

History (Bridgehampton, 1935). Related to

eighteenth century, the period of the

they were Dutch windmills." The painter

the Birch view, and perhaps derived from it,

Popsquatchet mills.

must have showed them exactly as he saw

"The Town of Sherburne in the Island of

All four of the post mills on the

them and, although the lower parts of the

Nantucket," a wood engraving by Benjamin

Popsquatchet hills are gone, having become

two farther mills are obscured by the outline

Tanner, was reproduced in the January 1811

the victims of fire, demolition, or testing the

of the ground, the "Nathan Wilbur" mill,

issue of the Port Folio, Philadelphia. It shows

destructive power of gun powder. There was a

being the closest, is shown in its entirety.

all four of the Popsquatchet mills. A similar

fifth mill on Nantucket, the Round Top Mill on

With delayed realization of this documentary

engraved view, "The Old Windmill Recon-

New Lane, that dated from 1802. It was of the

proof that the "Wilbur" mill was of the post

sidered," by S. E. Brown, of Boston, after a

smock type. When it was razed its millstone

type, the reference to it as being "depicted

drawing by John W. Barber, published in

was used for the foundation of the Civil War

inaccurately" was deleted from the 1991

Barber's Historical Collections Related to the

Monument at Main and Milk streets.

reprinting of my book, the erroneous attribu-

History and Antiquities of Massachusetts

The existing windmill at the corner of

tion pertaining to the existing smock mill also

(Worcester, 1839), includes only the two

South Mill and Prospect streets, said to have

was rectified for Plate 4, and it should be cor-

western mills within its frame. All of the rep-

been built by Nathan Wilbur in 17 46, stands

rected on historical markers and in guide-

resentations of the Nantucket mills portray

on or near the location of the easternmost

books and other publications as well, so that

them as post mills.

mill in the early alignment on the

a factual inaccuracy will be dispelled.

Nantucket's only remaining windmill is of

Popsquatchet hills. The site's elevation, favor¡

the smock type. Rather than having a small

able for catching the wind, is ample reason

body housing all of the grinding mechanism

for this positioning. The question is: when,

rotating atop a vertical post, only the cap,

and by whom, was it built? The time would

from which the axle holding the vanes pro-

be later than the rendering of the Birch and

Clay Lancaster is best known to us as author of Nantucket in the Nineteenth Century and The Architecture of Histone Nantucket, only two of his many works on art, architecture, and cultural interchange between East and West.

l.lS

Corn Huskings

and children busy, and corn was moving.

The red ears were plenty, and when [the men] found the first red one "red ear" was hollered, This entry is excerpted from a typed manuscript entitled "Farms on Nantucket," writ- a kiss was the penalty and after exacted the ten in 1946 by Jay Gibbs, town bell ringer for ear was hidden in the pocket then when the twenty-eight years, whose parents worked a owner felt the need of oscillating lsicj activifarm in Pocomo. ties the red ear was produced with the old cry The house was a busy place for days ahead. and it was then put away for future use. After Such a lot of cooking to be done; corn to be the corn was all husked ... the cry of supper carted; invitations sent out. . . . By three was raised. And such appetites with an abuno'clock everybody had arrived. Such a crowd; dance of food to satisfy. Dancing was next on such a good time! The huskers; men, women the card and by midnight the last goodnight

had been said and the last !horse] harnessed and on the way down the lane; mother and father called it a day and no doubt the well earned rest was welcomed.

Inquirer & Mirror, 2 November 1895 (when Jay was nine years old]: A company of the friends of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Gibbs 2d treated them to a surprise party and husked out all the corn ... then repaired to the house to do justice to all the good things they had brought with them.

"Biting the Corn" Whether Nantucket's meager soil was capable of producing sufficient com to keep five mills operating efficiently has often been questioned. Early accounts state that the staple diet of the island's Native American population included maize, which was cultivated extensively throughout the Cape and islands. Evidence of island corn crops includes a holograph document dated 19 February 1778 that reads: "We the Subscribers promise to pay .. .Thirteen Bushels of Indian Corn or the Price of the Same ... ."

126

Crevecoeur, on his visit in 1772, noted that "four windmills grind the grain they raise or import."

In 1952, an Inquirer & Mirror article asked "If anyone knows where to get a supply of flint corn such as used to be raised here ... because modern corn is ground to mush instead of meal.. .. Islanders used to grow the King Phillip variety, but the few farms still operating produce little more than sweet corn."

The main drive wheel and the "lantern" gear turn the vertical grinding wheel shaft.

Today, the corn ground at the mill is a food-grade hybrid, and it comes from South Dakota.

''SO

TOTTERING A

TABERNACLE '' The Wonder of the Old Mill B

y

N A T H A N

E L

p

H

L B R

C

K

go anywhere so far as they have an English guide.

story of Richard Macy evolved into that of

neighbor's tree, had a mill view. For

An aura of mystery and magic has been

brought a new Dutch technology to

my two young children and me, who

associated with the island's mills from the very

found ourselves climbing up Mill Hill on a

beginning. Obed Macy tells us that his grand¡

If the mill that now stands on Mill Hill

nearly daily basis over the next few years, the

father, Richard Macy, who built Straight

bears little resemblance to the structure that

mill was (and is) a very special place.

Wharf in 1723, also built Nantucket's first

was originally built there 250 years ago, it

It wasn't until fairly recently, while

windmill, even though he had never even

only means that the mill is much like the

rereading William Wood's New England's

seen one before. Given the complexity of the

many other historic buildings on Nantucket,

Prospect (1634), that I came to appreciate

undertaking, he initially thought it best to look

almost all of which have undergone a similar

the extent to which the mill is its own kind

beyond the island for an experienced mill-

metamorphosis. For example, the NHA's

of time machine. In Wood's description of

wright. Then it came to him, literally, in a

Oldest House and the Starbuck-Kilvert House

how the Native Americans initially responded

dream. According to Obed, "His mind became

on Main Street were not the lean-tos they are

to a European windmill, I recognized the

so absorbed in the subject that he dreamed

today when they were first built. If the Old

same sense of wonder my children and I had

how to construct the building in every part.

Mill has evolved from a post to a smock con-

felt inside the Nantucket mill more than 350

He placed confidence in the dream and con-

figuration, so be it. The important thing is

years later:

ducted the workmen accordingly. It proved a

that a windmill is still standing (and working)

good strong mill." One wonders if this may be

on Mill Hill. It's a tottering tabernacle that

the tradition from which Turner's account of

will never cease to delight and instruct us.

N

1986

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE THAT,

once the leaves had fallen off the

They do much extol and wonder at the English for their strange inventions, especially for a windmill which in their esteem was little less than the world's wonder, for the strangeness of his whisking motion and the sharp teeth biting the corn (as they term it) into such small pieces, they were loath at first to come near to his long arms, or to abide so tottering a tabernacle, though now they dare

Nathan Wilbur: the man who single-handedly Nantucket.

Nathan Wilbur originally came. Both traditions describe a heroic individual tackling what might seem like an impossible feat of engineering. A potential scenario: Once Macy's old post mill was removed and what we now call the Old Mill was rebuilt as a smock mill, the

o ut r Island historian Nathaniel Philbrick is scholar-in-residence at the Coffin School and author of Away Off Shore, Nantucket Island and lts People \602- \890.

17

THE OLD MILL What we know about it and what we don't .

EDITORIAL

COMMENTARY

When was it built and who built it?

IT APPEARS THAT

1746

REALLY IS THE YEAR

the Old Mill was erected, even though an

B y

ELIZABETH

wind of it, and the first they knew down here, the man was robbed and murdered there on Cape Cod .... "

account in the I&M on 15 September 1905

fV

p · f

• • •

OLDHAM

·?

The French Connection IT HAS LONG BEEN RECORD ED IN PRINT AND

anecdote that Miss Caroline L. W. French pur-

reads: "The old windmill is of very ancient

What was us d to build it?

chased the mill at auction on 4 August 1897 and

origin, but the exact date cannot be given."

T URNER ALSO REPEATS THE PERHAPS APOCRYPHAL

presented it to the NHA. But confusion arises

We've found it harder to irrefutably confirm

record of the materials used to build the mill:

here, both in the Proceedings of the NHA for the

that Nathan Wilbur was the builder. His name

"Oaken beams, washed ashore from wrecked

annual meeting of 25 July 1898 and in a letter

appears in the 1913 Harry Turner article for

vessels, furnished the material for the frame-

wrttten by Mary E. Starbuck, recording secretary,

the I&M, in which Wilbur is referred to as "a

work of the mill, while deck planking of white

which suggests that Miss French only made up

Nantucket sailor who had visited Holland ...

oak, still tough and as firm as when pinned into

the $135 necessary to arrive at the purchase price

and gained a knowledge of the methods . . .

the vessel, was available for the exterior." [In a

of $885, the remaining funds having been con-

of employing wind-power for grinding grain.

file copy of the Turner article, a penciled note

tributed over a period of years by other interested

... " But an undated, unsigned manuscript

beside this passage, in Edouard Stackpole's

parties. The Proceedings read: "With some diffi-

fragment in the NHA collection states:

hand, reads "not accurate."]

culty but admirable management, the society had

"A company of gentlemen contracted with a

A notice on a card issued by John F.

raised $750, and Miss Caroline L. French, who

man by the name of Wilbur to build the mill.

Sylvia, owner of the mill from 1866 until the

together with others interested had promised to

Mr. Wilbur on leaving the island, with money

NHA acquired it in 1897, reads: "This Old

help us out, generously gave the $135 necessary

obtained for the contract, and after reaching

Mill was built in 1746; the oak timber used

to make up the full amount." Miss Starbuck's let-

[the] mainland was waylaid robbed

mur-

in its construction grew at a short distance

ter of 5 April 1898 reads: "Our chief triumph last

dered." Further to that incident, Jane G.

from its site, across Dead Horse Valley, at the

summer was the purchase of the Old Mill. . . .

Austin's Nantucket Scraps (Boston and New

southward from the mill." The 7 August

We had scraped up over seven hundred dollars

York, 1892) has a local character saying

1897 I&M states: "Mr. Gardner (owner of

and friends made up the required amount, eight

"They wanted a windmill and they didn't

the mill 1828-55) found the timbers substan-

hundred and eighty-five."

know how to make one, and they got an off-

tial, as they were of native oak. Edward K.

islander, name of Wilbur, to make it, and like

Godfrey's The Island of Nantucket: What It

auction found to date is in the 8 August 1897

fools gave him the money beforehand. He

Was and What It Is (Boston, 1882) has it that

edition of the New York Herald ["By tele-

went back to the continent for something-

"Eliakim Swain ... tended it for many years.

graph to the Herald"]: "The entire bidding

nails maybe, or maybe idees-and carried the

... It was built of oak which grew just across

was between the society and a private indi-

money with him; some pirate or other got

Dead Horse Valley, to the southward of it."

vidual, who desired the mill for an invest-

128

&

The only published account of the actual

ment. The land was bid up to $105; the mill

to Miss French, framed at the same meeting,

'If ever my History of Nantucket is repub-

itself brought out bids to $450; then the final

reads: "It gave the members of the Council

lished, in a second edition some of the fol-

bidding, starting at $550, ran up to $885.

much satisfaction to be able to identify this

lowing anecdotes may be found useful."'

As the battle of the bids wavered between

'unknown friend,' who has been so frequent·

Among the anecdotes is the one Nat refers to:

the contesting parties anxious looks passed to

ly referred to .. . and it was with great plea-

"A Short Memorial of Richard Macy,

and fro, and when finally Mr. James H. Gibbs

sure that we found the 'unknown' to be also

Grandfather of Obed Macy. He was grandson

secured it at $885 for the historical society

the known friend to whose kindness and gen-

to Thomas Macy the first settler of

the pent up anxiety of the crowd burst into

erosity we have already openly testified."

Nantucket. ... In 1723 he [Richard] built the

cheers .... Dr. Mitchell, president of the his·

And it was voted at the meeting "That the

first wharf that was made here, now called

torical society, stated that the mill would be

Mill comm. be instructed to place a suitable

the Strait Wharf." There follows the tale of

sacredly preserved."

tablet in the mill, stating that the mill was

the windmill dreamed up by his grandfather

saved to the Assn. by the generosity of Miss

recounted in Nat's article.

The 30 July 1892 l&M included an article about the Nantucket Improvement Association,

The map reproduced in the original edi·

C. L. W. French of Boston."

which owned Mill Hill Park and had expressed

So, she did not bid for the mill at the auc-

tion of Crevecoeur's Letters shows a cluster

interest in acquiring the adjacent property on

tion on 4 August 1897, and it took two years

of mills (of the "post" type) situated at the

which the mill stood. The Improvement

for her generosity to be publicly acknowl-

original settlement on the north shore. But

Association had convened a meeting on 22 July

edged; but it was only in reading those

the town had moved in from Sherburn[e] by

1892 to "raise a purchasing fund"; the article

Minutes that our doubts were dispelled.

1720, so perhaps the mapmaker sited the

continues: "How tame would be the view of the town from the incoming boat without the

four mills a little too far north.

We are persuaded that the answers to

towers of the North and Unitarian churches and

Who built the first mill on Nantucket, and where?

the Old Mill. Contributions can be sent to

THE

l &M

tradition-may be found here in the

Roland B. Hussey, of the Inquirer and Mirror, to

(three days after the auction) claims (as do

Stackpole Research Library, in other reposito-

W. H. C. Lawrence, of the subscription commit·

other accounts) that "The first mill at

ries on the island, on Cape Cod (was Wilbur's

tee, or to Miss H. B. W. Worth, secretary of the

Nantucket was owned by Tristram Coffin, who

murder recorded there?), or somewhere.

Nantucket Improvement Association." And the

assumed a contract to construct a windmill for

We hope others will join us in experiencing

7

AUGUST

1897

ISSUE OF THE

these questions-either to confirm or refute

NHA treasurer's report for 23 July 1896

grinding grain for the inhabitants after the per-

what Jean Weber calls "the excitement and

includes, under the rubric "SINKING FUND,"

son to whom a contract was first awarded had

rigor attached to the validation of our past."

this item: "By Nantucket Improvement

failed to comply with its terms."[Nat Philbrick's

Association (Mill Fund) ....... $175.01."

statement about the possibly combined identi-

It was not until 1899, when the Minutes of the NHA Council meeting of 5 August tell

ties of Richard Macy and Nathan Wilbur is certainly a valid conjecture.]

us: "President Barnard read a letter from Miss

The Obed Macy work Nat cites is an old

C. L. W. French, saying that at the solicita·

(undated, unsigned) copy book in the NHA

tion of friends, she has consented to have it

manuscript collection, which begins thus:

made known that she was the donor of the

"Copied [italics added] from a book of Obed

$750 given to the NHA in 1895." A letter

Macy's writing when he was an old man.

About the Author: Elizabeth Oldham is a free-

lance editor and a member of the NHA Editorial Board.

129

Mark Your Calendars!

shoulder seasons, there just isn't enough for

Rotarians received Mr. Slavitz warmly.

Friday, May 24, as Memorial Day Weekend

them to do, especially in inclement weather.

The talk gave the NHA added exposure to

"officially" opens the summer season, the Fair

Having the Whaling Museum open in the

an important sector of the year-round com·

Street Museum opens with "Nantucket:

spring and fall provides our guests with a

munity, and Rotary Club Program Chairman

Picturesque and Historic," a lively and interac-

meaningful activity and helps them learn more

Steve DeCesare, wh o is also president of

tive exhibition of the photography of Henry

about Nantucket than they wou ld just by

Pacific National Bank of Nantucket, said the

Wyer and other photographers of the late

shopping and going to the beach."

NHA Children's Programs are just what the

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who

In addition to providing an educational

turned their photographic exploits into sou-

experience for visitors, Nantucket school-

"We laud the NH A for their efforts

venirs for the visitors who "rediscovered"

children and the year-round community will

to reach out into th e community and for

Nantucket as a popular summer resort. A spe-

have better access to NHA resources with the

maintaining historic properties and collec-

cial preview, free to all members, is scheduled for Friday, May 24.

increased hours.

tions for the education and enjoyment of all,"

Executive Director Jean Weber explained

businesses of Nantucket should support.

Then, on June 29, "Away Off Shore" will

that the funding allows for the additional

said DeCesare.

Mr. Slavitz has already begun signing up

open at the Peter Foulger Museum. Borrowing

staffing, utilities, and maintenance costs

children for the summer workshops. "I am

its title from the recently published history of

associated with opening the museum beyond

really excited about the response we've been

the summer months.

getting to the Children's Programs all year-

Nantucket by Nathaniel Philbrick, the exhibi· tion will draw from the NHA's extensive col-

On Friday, March 29, the NHA invited

lections to provide a richly illustrated overview

the community to a preview open house in

round," he said.

As Historic Nantucket was going to press,

of the major periods in Nantucket's human his-

the Whaling Museum. Children's workshops

the Daughters of the American Revolution

tory. "Away Off Shore" is especially significant

were replicated, and organizers estimate that

had asked Mr. Slavitz to speak to their lun·

as it will be accessible for two years on a year-

some 300 guests, including many youngsters,

cheon group on the same subject.

round basis. The exhibition will be heralded by

attended and toured the museum and joined

a gala benefit preview on Friday, June 28.

staff for conversation and refreshments.

The Friends of the Nantucket Historical

Beginning Saturday, April 6, the Whaling

Association mark their tenth anniversary this

Museum opened for weekends from I I a.m.

Free Passes Given to Nantucket Public School Students

year. Fine and decorative art pieces collected

to 3 p.m. until a full schedule resumes

The NHA is pleased to announce the distribu·

by the Friends for the NHA will be featured in

Memorial Day weekend.

tion, beginning in May, of free passes, non· transferable, to all students enrolled in

a special exhibition on the second floor of the

Nantucket's public school system. Students

Had wen House beginning July 13.

• COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Education Coordinator Guest Speaker at Rotary Luncheon

from Nantucket High School, Cyrus Peirce Middle School, and Nantucket Elementary

Lodging Association UndeiWrites Early Opening of Whaling Museum

On April 3, NHA Education Coordinator

School will receive passes permitting them to

Jeremy Slavitz was the invited speaker at the

visit any NHA museum, exhibition, or

The earliest opening ever of the Whaling Museum

Rotary Club luncheon. Mr. Slavitz discussed

historic property free of charge.

has been accomplished thanks to a $1 ,000 dona·

the development of the Children's Programs

Executive Director Jean Weber explained

tion from the Nantucket Lodging Association.

and how he tailors the workshops, field trips,

that this is an important assurance that

"It just makes sense," says Dale Hamilton,

and arts-and-crafts activities to enlighten

Nantucket's public school students will have

president of the Lodging Association and pro·

schoolchildren about what it was like to grow

free access to NHA resources for a better

prietor of the Sherburne Inn on Gay Street.

up on Nantucket in the eighteenth and nine·

understanding of the history of the communi-

"When visitors arrive on weekends during the

teenth centuries.

ty in which they are growing up.

130

French Exchange Students Tour Whaling Museum

will help to frame the assignment outline and

Our Newest (and youngest!) Addition

bring in four NHS juniors to work with the

Weatherly Elenore Holden Saunders

Several Nantucket families hosted eighteen

Shaker Heights seniors to develop a local his-

(born January 19) is pictured here with mom,

students and two teachers from Montpellier,

tory unit for the school's curriculum.

Amy Saunders, NHA

France, April 14-27. The NHA conducted the

The students will work primarily in

Membership and Special

students on a tour of the Whaling Museum

the Research Center with guidance

Events Coordinator, who

and after a walking tour of the historic district,

from Interim Librarian Gay! Michael.

has returned after several

including glimpses of the NHA properties, the

Nantucket historian

Nathaniel

months' leave. Mrs.

students and teachers gathered for refresh·

Philbrick also will be assisting with

Saunders will be working

ments at 99 Main Street.

the students' research, whic h will

closely with Develop-

take place May 13 through June 9.

ment and Public Rela-

Shaker Heights High School Seniors to Work with NHS Juniors on Local History Unit

tions Director Maia Gaillard on membership and donor records,

The NHA partnership with schools is crossing

• FROM THE OFFICE

mailings, and special events.

state lines. Four seniors from Shaker Heights

Roof Replaced at Friends Meeting House

Aimee Newell Named NHA Registrar

(Ohio) High School will be arriving in May to

The Friends Meeting House, the NHA's first

We recently announced the appointment of

carry out their senior project under the aus-

acquisition (1894) and initial preservation pro-

Aimee

pices of the NHA.

ject, received a new roof this spring, thanks to

Registrar. Under the

The NHA took on sponsorship with the

the success of our recent year-end appeal.

direction of and in coop-

proviso that the project would be of a scholar-

Contributions to the Annual Fund help sup·

eration with Curator _ _ __.,.._.,.

ly nature, constructive for the visiting stu-

port necessary upkeep and deferred mainte-

Michael Jehle, Ms.

dents, a worthwhile undertaking for the

nance projects at all NHA properties.

NHA, and beneficial to the community. To ensure that outcome, Maia Gaillard consulted

Island carpenter Andy Lowell is the contractor for the project; his crew is pictured

Newell will maintain a computerized collec- ~

with Nantucket High School Guidance

here with one section of the roof sporting

tem; track gifts and loans, correspondence,

Counselor Bob Frame and enlisted the sup-

new cedar shingles. The roof had not been

and records; and oversee the operation of the

port of Jean Allen, NHS history teacher, who

replaced in forty years.

Newell

as

tions-management sys-

NHA Support Center, the principal storage and maintenance facility for collections.

Ms. Newell received her M.A. in History with a Certificate in Historical Agencies and Administration from Northeastern University in 1994. She graduated from Amherst College magna cum laude with a B.A. in American

Studies in 1992. She received the Feer Award at Northeastern for having the highest GPA among the graduating M.A. candidates.

Ms. Newell was most recently the Hobart G. Cawood Intern with a full-time fellowship as assistant curator in the museum branch of Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.

131

• TRUSTEES CORNER

base of volunteer support. Many dedicated volunteers have given their time tirelessly to Advisors Reconvene the NHA for many years but without benefit At the February 9 meeting, the NHA Board of of a structured volunteer organization. Such Trustees agreed to reconvene the Advisory an organization is now forming, thanks to sev· Council after many months of inactivity. era! individuals who have agreed to serve on Board vice president and thirteenth-generation the steering committee. They are: Mrs. Jane Nantucketer, Mr. David Wood, was appointed Fitch (chair), Mrs. Jane Lamb, Mrs. Patricia chair of the Advisory Council, which met Loring, Mrs. Jane Richmond, Mrs. Peggy February 27. At the meeting, Advisors disSilverstein, and Mrs. Jo Ann Shirk. A letter cussed how the participation of the year-round outlining the goals of the volunteer organizacommunity helps to sustain the mission of the tion as well as an outline of the scope of volNHA and enhance its stature as the island's unteer assignments was sent to returning and premier historical resource. Also considered prospective volunteers. Members interested were ways in which the NHA could collaboin volunteering should contact the NHA office rate with local educators to ensure that a liv(Gay! Michael, ext. 24, or Maia Gaillard, ext. ing, developing interest in Nantucket is nur17) to be added to the volunteer list. tured and taught to Nantucket children of all ages. The Advisory Council plans to meet again in May. Chair for Antiques Show Appointed Mrs. Barbara Hajim will chair the Antiques Volunteer Organization Forming Show, scheduled for August 9 - 11 at the One of the goals of the Trustees this spring Nantucket High School. Mrs. Hajim reports that has been to strengthen and enlarge the NHA's subcommittee members are assigned and met

LIVING HISTORY tor CHILDREN Ever wonder what it was like to live on Nantucket in the past?

The Nantucket Historical Association is pleased to offer hands-on activities based on island life during the 18th and 19th centuries.

on April 26 to organize the many aspects of the NHA's premier fund-raising event. The Antiques Show raised nearly $200,000 last year.

The innovative New Collectors Booth drew an enthusiastic response in 1995 and garnered some $3,000 for the NHA. New Collectors Booth chair, Mrs. Ginger Ivey, is encouraging NHA members to search their attics and base ments for hidden treasure.

New collectors should call Mrs. Ivey at (203) 255-1455 or Mellie Cooper (203) 259-5082 before Memorial Day. After Memorial Day, call Mrs. Ivey at (5 08] 228-8145 or Mrs. Cooper at (508) 325-4961 for drop-off information or pick-up requests.

The Antiqu es Sh ow is made possible through lead spo nsorship of the Chase Private Bank and the generous support of Chubb Insurance, in addition to benefactors, patrons, and sponsors. Before Memorial Day, questions about the 1996 Antiques Show may be directed to Mrs. Hajim, (203] 6613439; then at (508) 228-41 25 .

PROGRAMS: {from July 4th Weekend through Labor Day Weekend) Tuesdays: THE WHALE FISH ERY Learn the skills necessary to sign on for a whaling voyage.

Children will "learn the ropes" by creating a knot board, and see how the whale was captured and processed by the Nantucket whalemen.

Wednesdays: COLONIAL LIFE Children will begin at the Old Mill where they will help the miller grind com. They will then walk to the Oldest House where they will bake bread on the open hearth and explore colonial life.

Fridays: WHALING LORE Children will follow the voyages of the Nantucket whalemen as they travel round the world. Each child will make a sailor's ••lli•llillli valentine, a popular maritime souvenir of the 19th century.

Each program is offered as a two-hour session twice a day at 10 a.m and 2 p.m Space in each session is limited to 10 children, aged 6-10. Reservations are required. $15 per child; $12 for children ofNHA members.

For more information, call (508) 228-1894, Monday- Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

1 9 9 6

MEMBERS CALENDAR

Friday, May 24 Saturday, May 25

Members Preview Party Nantucket: Picturesque & Historic

Fair Street Museum, 5 - 8 pm

Nantucket: Picturesque & Historic

Fair Street Museum, 10 am - 5 pm

opens to public Thursday, May 30

Quaker Meeting House, 7:30 pm

Lecture: 19th-Century Nantucket Images Peter MacGiashan, NHA Audio-Visuals Librarian

Saturday, June 8 Thursday, June 20

NHA Harborfest Concert: Bill Shustik

Whaling Museum, 8 pm

Lecture: Catboats on Nantucket

Quaker Meeting House, 7:30pm

Paul Morris Friday, June 28

Members Preview Party: Away Off Shore

Peter Foulger Museum, 5 - 8 pm

Saturday, June 29

Away Off Shore opens to public

Peter Foulger Museum

Tuesday, July 9

NHA Annual Meeting

Whaling Museum, 2 pm

Saturday, July 13

Celebration of Friends opens to public

Hadwen House

Thursday, July 18

Lecture: Mary Bercaw, Melville scholar Reception immediately following

Whaling Museum, 7:30pm

August 9 - 11

Antiques Show

Nantucket High School, I0 am - 5 pm

Thursday, August 22

Concert: Don Sinetti

Whaling Museum, 7:30pm

More lectures, concerts, a Ghost Gam, and the ever-popular Festival of Trees are still in the planning stages.

Keep your membership current, and you'll be notified of any changes in our exciting 1996 season.

For information, call [508) 228- / 894.

It's membership that makes it happen!

Give a gift of membership, and give members of your family and your friends a gift that reflects your love for Nantucket.

A membership in the Nantucket Historical Association includes free admissions to our museums and historic houses, free admission to our lecture series, use of the Research Center, invitations to special events, a subscription to Historic Nantucket, and ten percent off the regular price for all purchases from the Museum Shop.

Island

Arts

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A gift membership may be purchased from the Museum Shop, our administrative offices at 2 Whalers Lane, or by telephoning (508) 228-1894.

We will send a spedal card announcing your gift along with membership cards, the NHA decal, a copy of the current issue of Historic Nantucket, and a copy of Historic Nantuckl!t's special Centennial Issue.

The various categories of NHA membership are: Individual $ 30 Conbibutor Famlly 50 Hadwen Circle Sustaining 100 Thomas Macy Associate

$ 250 500

1,000

Memberships are renewable annually in April and are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. Gift Memberships purchased through this offer will be renewable in April, 1997.

Kids learn about history in an entertaining way

For further information, please contact Maia Gaillard at (508) 228-1894.

133

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THE MUSEUM SHOP

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NCE MORE THIS YEAR, AS IT HAS FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY,

Nantucket's Old Mill will be grinding corn into a hearty and healthy meal with more flavor and texture - and more nutritional value - than the ordinary commercial meal found in your local grocery store. Bags of this truly gourmet meal, along with traditional recipes, will be featured at our Museum Shop this season, as supply permits.

Our 1996 special offerings include custom-designed and pressed Pairpoint Suncatchers featuring a depiction of the Old Mill, and an exclusive, limited-edition designer silk scarf with a unique Nantucket Lightship Basket motif.

Be sure to come in and visit our bright and beautiful newly decorated shop, enjoy our fine selection of handcrafted, island-made gifts and accessories, and our comprehensive collection of children's and adult books about Nantucket and the island's whaling history.

We happily gift wrap your wedding, birthday, anniversary, and hostess presents free of charge.

As always, NHA members receive a 10% discount on all purchases.

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Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Reproductions and Adaptations Featuring Fine China, Furniture, Brass, and Silver Adjacent to the Whaling Museum, Nantucket (508) 228-5785 Members of the Historical Association are entitled to a 10% discount upon presenting their membership card.

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