Nantucket Official Guide 2014-2015 | Page 155

A HOME

R E A L E S TAT E

On An Island

In her introduction to “Sea-Captains’ Houses and Rose-Covered Cottages:
The Architectural Heritage of Nantucket Island,” Margaret Moore Booker writes of the
late-nineteenth-century visitor who observed that the houses on the island were,
“shingled, shangled, shongled, and shungled.”
be salvaged by frugal Nantucketers. In many
instances, the quarterboard displaying the
ship’s name would be reattached to a house
or barn. This tradition continues, as houses
in all parts of the island often sport newlymade quarterboards hand-hewn by island
artisans. Many original quarterboards still
exist, most notably in the village of ’Sconset,
where cottages named “Shanunga” and
“Wanackmamack” welcome visitors.
A treatise entitled “Understanding
Nantucket’s Architectural Heritage” notes
that in the late 1700’s, houses followed the
custom of facing south, but as the original
settlement of Sherburne grew, they were built
with their main façades abutting the street and
with narrow side yards in the tradition of the
English town. By 1800, exposure to foreign
tastes and influences, aided by the decline of
the strict Quaker influence that had prevailed
during the 18th century, were reflected in the
architecture; houses were larger and more
elegant, but maintained – for the most part –
a closeness to the street and to each other.

©Cary Hazlegrove

While the visitor may have overstated
his case a bit, his observation holds true
today, as most houses are still framed with
cedar shingles – in keeping with Nantucket’s
designation as a historic district.
While the siding may be simple, homes on
the island are anything but plain, and can be
found in a variety of sizes, shapes, and styles,
from colonial, Georgian, Federal and Greek
Revival, to the grand summer houses
of today.
Two distinct architectural elements have
become an integral part of Nantucket’s
identity: roof walks and quarterboards.
Roof walks dot the rooftops and frame the
chimneys of many historic houses around
town, and are also an inviting feature of
many newer homes. While it is true that
whaling era families may have used their
walks as lookouts to the nearby harbor,
the origin of the roofwalk is more sublime.
These platforms were built originally for fire
prevention; buckets of sand were kept on top
of the house to pour down the chimney in
the event of a chimney
fire. Today, roofwalks are
used as appealing outside
decks, offering unmatched
views of the town, harbor,
ocean, or moors.
Quarterboards, some
sporting fanciful names,
are house identifiers that
harken to the island’s
maritime past. Ships often
wrecked on the dangerous
shoals surrounding the
island, and the flotsam
that washed ashore would

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