Nantucket

Nantucket is an island 30 miles (48 km) south of Cape Cod,Massachusetts, in the United States. Together with the small islands ofTuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the town of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the coterminous Nantucket County, which are consolidated. 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.

Canopache, meaning "place of peace", is the Wampanoag Native American name for the island.

Nantucket is a tourist destination and summer colony. The population of the island soars from about 10,000 to 50,000^[1] during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. According to Forbes Magazine, in 2006, Nantucket had the highest median property value of any Massachusetts ZIP code.

The Nantucket Historic District, comprising all of Nantucket Island, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 13, 1966. In doing so theNational Park Service paid particular note to the settlements of Nantucket andSiasconset. The island features one of the highest concentrations of pre-Civil Warstructures in the United States. It also has the oldest operating windmill in the United States (since 1746). It was the setting for the hit NBC sitcom Wings.

There is also a census-designated place called Nantucket, with a 2000 population of 3,830, which is located within the Town of Nantucket.

At the census of 2000, there were 9,520 people, 3,699 households, and 2,104 families residing in Nantucket. The population density was 199.1 people per square mile (76.9/km²). There were 9,210 housing units at an average density of 192.6 per square mile (74.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 87.85%White, 8.29% Black, 0.64% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.01% Native American, 1.60% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. Hispanic orLatino of any race were 2.23% of the population. 19.9% were of Irish, 17.1% English, 7.2% Italian, 6.1%Portuguese, 6.0% German and 5.1% French ancestry according to Census 2000. 92.6% spoke English, 4.1% Spanish and 1.6% French as their first language.

There were 3,699 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.1% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the town the population was spread out with 19.2% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 40.4% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% at 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 105.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.0 males.

The median income for a household for year-round residents in the town is $55,522, and the median income for a family was $66,786. Males had a median income of $41,116 versus $31,608 for females. The per capita income for the town was $31,314. About 3.0% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Local:

• Town and county governments have been combined in Nantucket per List of counties in Massachusetts.
• Members of the town Board of Selectmen, who are also County Commissioners, with the year their term expires, are:
  • Rick Atherton (2011)
  • Brian Chadwick (2011)
  • Michael Kopko (2012)
  • Whitey Willauer (2013)
  • Patricia Roggeveen (2013)    
  • Also nicknamed "The Grey Lady" due to the almost regular fog, Nantucket takes its name from a word in an Eastern Algonquian language of southern New England, originally spelled variously as natocke, nantaticut, nantican, and nautican. The meaning of the term is uncertain, although it may have meant "in the midst of waters," or "far away island."

  • Other sources state the Native American word "Natockete," meaning "faraway land," to be Nantucket's namesake. The Wampanoag Native Americans who lived in Nantucket referred to the island as "Canopache," or "place of peace."
    

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