Nantucket - A Film by Ric Burns 

I worked 5 summers on Nantucket and stayed one fall through my college years and one year after -- It was great, this was in the late 1980's when you could do this -- I have been back over the years and it has gotten more and more commercialized and feels like the Hamptons/Cruise ship - in my day the staff was bright eyed tanned beautiful college kids -- now it is professionals from Bulgaria and the like --- don't think I will go back again. Rather remember the way it used to be.

My ancestors were Thomas and Robert Barnard...two of the original purchasers of the island

Anytime Ric or Ken Burns involved in a Documentary, it is 4 Stars.

I was stationed at NAVFAC Nantucket @ Tom Nevers Head for two years, 1969-1970. Loved every minute of it.

While writing my novel AHAB'S WIFE, I visited Nantucket many times, often staying at 'Sconset, where Una chose to live. For her, it was a place where the meeting of sand and sea and sky created a union of being, a place where one was always recreating the self and joining/dissolving into the universe, the joy of being and the wonder of unbeing and beyond.

Watching this documentary i can't help but think about Dorcas honorable, Abram quarry , and other wampanoag native language speakers whose presence on this island was real , they walked those streets, they were there . May they rest in peace.

Born and raised. Grateful to have grown up in such a magical place 💙 🐳

It's truly an amazing place. I'm privileged enough that as just a kid, my family owns a property there. For me, it's kind of like a sanctuary that I love going to.

I lived on Martha’s Vineyard from 1974 - 1985 - I moved to Dallas, TX from Harwich, MA in Cape Cod in 1990 and have been landlocked ever since! I have very dear friends on Nantucket! Although I would love to go up there to visit, I believe we’re going to meet up at their timeshare in Sedona Arizona this February… Burrr! At this stage of my life I wanna be a Snowbird, living on Martha’s Vineyard, or Cape Cod from May to early October, then somewhere south without much humidity like somewhere between Phoenix and Sedona! My next Destiination! This was wonderful thank you for the walk down memory lane!

How is it I feel homesick watching this, yet I’ve never been there??? ❤️👍🏻🇺🇸

Many historical buildings preserved, standing as monuments to a once thriving community. Yet, amidst all the waxing nostalgia, nothing stands in remembrance of the Wampanoag's once self-sufficient and dignified existence and the dispossession they suffered at the hands of these "Quakers with a vengeance".

A wonderful film. I love that place.

I grew up and live on the south shore, it's a beautiful spot, the coast is lined with rocky beaches and some sandy ones as well, if you look at aerial views of capecod, Martha's vineyard and Nantucket you can see how the ocean's currents have effectively shaped the land, the sands constantly shift through weather and tides, after major storms I've seen the sandy beach turn into rocky beaches in one storm, taking away rocks and sand and literally changing the coastline in one day.

There once was a man from Nantucket Who kept all his cash in a bucket. But his daughter, named Nan, Ran away with a man And as for the bucket, Nantucket.

So Lovely! Hats off to Mr. Burns for creating such a well done, very beautifully crafted piece about the important History of Nantucket. The Ocean and sea views are breathtaking. It is especially comforting to know that there is still a presence felt...could this be the Wompanoug tribes and the native people who were there earliest? Very sad and terrible the way their population was wiped out. I hope there are some tributes to them in the Historic houses of Nantucket History? Thank you for including also the piece about the Suffragettes; so integral to our Country. They more than likely would be frowning upon the poor state of Women's Rights today. Sending a Prayer and a Hope up to my dear departed neighbor Mr. Coffin--I will now prefer to imagine his spirit maybe reunited with his ancestors, or as a Seagull on Nantucket catching fresh fish and bobbing upon the waves of Nantucket.

I have a strong family tie to the island. My 2x great uncle Capt. William T. Swain bought Macy pier and I heard it was called at one point Swain wharf. Also my family were among the 6 founding families, Swain or Swaine

"Thank God for petroleum", said the whales.

It's easy to tell the difference between the fishermen and the tourists- at the restaurants the tourists sit facing the ocean and the fishermen have their backs to it!

Hearing the foghorn reminded me of being on Graves Light, when I was TAD in 1977. Also growing up on Gurnet Point listening to the foghorn would put me to sleep at night.

What made me want to visit Nantucket was the 90s sitcom Wings which, even though was not filmed there, was supposed to take place on the island and showed many island images.

The right voice for this program...thank you !

Nantucket comes from an indigenous word meaning "island". Nantucket was not discovered by anglo-americans, many of whom arrived from North of Boston, because Native Americans were already there 1,500-3000 members of the Wampanoag people, dispersed across multiple villages.

I visited Nantucket for the first time in the early 1990s. At our inn there was a newly married couple from Martha's Vineyard (which I had been to once 20 years before), they were chefs and having their honeymoon on Nantucket. I clumsily blurted out, "Aren't the two islands kind of the same?" The innkeeper icily replied, "No they're not at all the same." A few years later my wife and I were lucky enough to live on the Vineyard and we'd visit Nantucket once in a while. And although these 2 islands have things in common the innkeeper was correct. They have as many differences as they have similarities. You really can't go wrong with either of them though.

We stayed at the Jared Coffin House , 20 years ago....in early May..... the trip was magical. Thanks for sharing this video. I'm a new subscriber.

Grew up on the Cape but only visited Nantucket once when I was about 9 or 10 years old. Still remember the beauty of the place. When I was attending high school at the old Barnstable Vocational High School, had a classmate from Nantucket. He would take the early morning ferry in on Monday and go back on Friday on the afternoon ferry. I believe he boarded with relatives in Hyannis.

Yes, She is I was fortunate enough to have my great grandparents. Settle here from Cape Verde!

Well done. Thank you. It would be nice to see a longer documentary with more detail on the lives the those living there. You have barely scratched the surface. And also a nod to tourism as it evolved to where it is today. There are so many wonderful stories to tell. The Island was so special up to the time in the late '60s & 70's when the downtown got redeveloped by Sherburne Assoc. That was the beginning of the end. "My Island" is gone. I left in '78, knowing that there would never be a place for me there because my Island was fading away. My sadness knows no end.

Thank you Nantucket to something to your soul when your spirit it is truly beautiful.

Visited Nantucket in 2019. Wow what a beautiful place. I plan to visit Spring 2023.

Like the narrator stated, "Nantucket is a microcosm of America." Indeed, having lived & worked there, I now find it a place where billionaires rule in this place that has become, sadly for me, merely an extension of The Hamptons of eastern Long Island.

Today's RU-vid video's of such natural beauty and history are written so well.

Visited Nantucket with my family in the summer of 2021, tis absolutely beautiful! I’m from Fiji, my sister-in-law’s ancestor was David Whippy, a whaler from here that jumped ship and somehow ended up in the islands of Fiji, married a high chief’s daughter, and settled there. His ancestors live in Fiji to this day- Fascinating history! Love the swells there, watch the rip tide- it’ll knock you off your feet! 🏄‍♂️😁

My absolute favorite place on the planet 🌎

Y'ALL A BIG TY for doing This beautiful video..I was Really feeling homesick Today for the beauty of N.E., fall colours and my FAVORITE place on the planet...so so beautiful and Peaceful..we were blessed to spend summers there as children..such amazing Memories..♡THE SEA is so Clean and stunning there. GOD bless this area..always.. The whales were playing in Waters always..and dolphins too..we loved and looked forward to being there...TY NANTUCKET..♡ FOR YOUR BEAUTY.. Wish I was there now..♡

Resource extraction. Each commodity, one after another, and to this day, extracted in record time and possibly forever.

Beautiful.

beautiful

What a great find! I've got family history on both islands, so this is very cool. Cleaveland, Coffin, Folger....

Thanks for this thoughtful piece. I lived there for just a short 7 years, but miss the place more than I realized. The scope of the History narrated in this film truly is "felt", as a resident of the island, even if not fully known in detail. You've increased my longing to return to this place of my heritage. Coffins, Folgers, Hussys, and, all the founders intertwined in their lives and genealogies are a part of what made me!

A really great documentary, terrific storytelling at it's best. I have always wanted to visit Nantucket. Thank you!

Earlier this year, I added Nantucket (and Amesbury) to my bucket list of places I very much want to travel too after doing my genealogy on my mother's side and finding out my 11th great grandparents were Thomas Macy and Tristram Coffin. I also have a 10th great grandmother who is a Gardner so she is probably the daughter of either John or Richard. Really want to come to Nantucket and go to the historical places where I may be able to find out even more about them. Add to that my obsession with lighthouses and anything to do with the ocean and I know I will love it! Hoping I can get there in the next couple years.

Wonderful, very poetic. Sad about the whales though... I hope to visit for the first time this summer.

This film is beautifully done in terms of content, through both its beautiful photography and rich narrative. For anyone who has visited Nantucket and enjoyed its charm today, the story it presents fills in its significant history and enriches one's appreciation. Nantucket, with the Quaker and intellectual community that grew up there, is a very special part of American History and culture. Thank you for this important film.

Such a beautiful documentary. I am still in love with Aquidneck Island, where I lived in Newport, Rhode Island. These are magical mythical areas of our country. Ahoy matey!

What a magical place. I dream of coming one day to visit it. It reminds me of the South-West French Atlantic coast, around the Bay of Arcachon, the summer paradise of my childhood in my parents' vacation home, and also of my children. The bay itself is almost closed off by the Cap-Ferret peninsula, with the Pyla Dune just outside the city of Arcachon (the highest dune in Europe), the long white sand beaches stretching to the Spanish border, the picturesque fishing villages around the bay and the forest of Aquitaine (the largest man-made woodland in Western Europe). I just have to close my eyes to still feel its very particular smell, a mixture of iodine combined with pine resin and the smell of tar covering the fishing boat hulls. The Atlantic coasts are wild and windy and I love it.

A Burns doco? Wow!

What an awesome amazing video. Just beautiful. Amen 🙏✝️☮️🌍🕊️🤲😇🙌😎✌️💛🌊👐🎼💸

I recently discovered I had 17th century relatives who settled there. I read something about one of them being a disruptive Baptist, and I thought that was weird, but passed right by. Now I’m curious!

An incredible film !! Thank you!

use to live there...being there felt different...something I can't explain...like being back in time...with some kind of spiritual energy...dunno...cant explain it...everyone was happy...i think they experienced it too

A beautiful film about a beautiful place (granted with a violent, marine animal abusing past).

great video, just finished heart of the sea and was desperate to get more of a feel for Nantucket.

Beautiful homage to this small island with an illustrious history. I have never been there, but would love to go. Thank you for posting this. Very informative.

Tristram Coffin is my 8th great uncle. This is so interesting. I just found this info out on ancestry.

They never mentioned the whaling ship called the Essix. A true story from Nantucket's history. The sinking of the Essex was the inspiration of Moby Dick. Read In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick to get a detailed account.

Good job. Thanks.

Wonderful

10:21 I will put a teardrop in the ocean. When you find it is when I will stop loving you.

can't believe they got Dr. Wilson from House to narrate this

Wow, I loved this so much. I learned a lot!

How inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing. I sometimes think my traveling days are over, but this inspires me to think, "Maybe one more trip."

My grandfather was a coffin and a whaler there which is very embarrassing to me I do love the entire area ..

As I watched, I was struck by the parallels with northern Michigan and it's islands -- especially Mackinac. Coastlines formed by the end of he Ice Age. The Indian and French & British histories, the well-preserved 18th colonial-era buildings, the vast fortunes that were once made in fur-trading and then lumber, mining, and fishing, each of which faded out in turn to finally be replaced, for the last century, by summer cottages and tourism. Add in the War of 1812 battles, innumerable tales of shipwrecks and rescues, the last great slaughter of the passenger pigeon, a strange, brief Mormon 'kingdom', and even bearded, baseball barnstorming religious sect. And now, like Nantucket, the history seems over and it's all become some combination of preserved park land and Disney (though perhaps somewhat more protected than Nantucket from being over-loved by a greater distance from large population centers).

There was a young poet from Nantucket For good rhymes he was a slave and a puppet To describe his hometown Just brought on a frown Of creation he said "Oh! Just go take a long walk on the beach."

The introductory narration is quite hyperbolic.

BILLIONAIRES HAVE IT NOW

Where are the Wampanoag today? Is there a single survivor?

Love Nantucket. ❤ACK❤

Beautiful documentary ❤

Amaazing.

I live and grew up on the cape, and still live here. I can’t fathom living on a island. Having to ferry or take a small plane to get your necessary items…

I plan to get married here and a small honeymoon here in like 18 moths

You will never understand Nantucket until you've been tgere….. 💙

oh, I grew up in Martins guest house. I have a 16-year-old son but I really want to have a better experience.

Nice

I once knew from a man Nantucket. Never got around to hearing the rest of his story tho.

thx for this beautiful video about this magical place

Wonderful history and footage but why will Nantucket be gone in 400 years?

I'd have loved to watch this but the subtitles make it impossible

Great film! I hope to visit.

...there once was a boy from Nantucket...true story.

Where is Joe and Brian Hackett from Sandpiper air

There's a great film that is based on Nantucket whaling and Herman Melville's story about the white whale called "In The Heart Of The Sea", from 2015, from the same actor that play Thor in the Marvell movies. I think he did a better job in the latter films, and his accent sound a bit funny and "forced", but Brendan Gleeson does a good job of the tired old drinker that tells the tale to Melville. "There's she blows!", I've tried several times to understand what it is they're saying when the hunt is over and the whale start spewing out blood from the blowhole, since I don't have subtitles for that movie. (Edit: Figured it out: "Chimney's afire!") Perhaps some day I can visit Nantucket, I'm planning a "food pilgrimage" to USA before I die. A life time of Norwegian food, will make that an adventure, and I'll probably save money just by eating street food in USA a few weeks instead of going to the grocery store at home.

Subtitles for Spanish speakers would be a good idea, as well as for speakers of other languages. This is a historical documentary after all, so making it accessible for more of the general public would help spread some of this history.

Loved this. Too short though

Podíamos verlo con subtítulos.

❤

i'm not exactly sure how i'm related to ichabod Paddock but I have Robert Paddock born 1584, his son Zachariah Paddock born 1635 and his son Nathaniel Paddock born 1677 in my tree. if anyone knows I would be interested

Can someone explain what they mean by’ “one day nantucket won’t be here anymore?” I know erosion happens quite a bit on the island but will it really one day not exist?

There once was a man from Nantucket...

Any information on the man from Nantucket?

Si los subtítulos fuesen en castellano ,para los que no sabemos inglés, se lo agradecería

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

So they know that the island will sink in 400 years and yet they keep building stuff on it...

I once knew a man from Nantucket.

Was there any blending of native people with settlers?

There once was a guy from Nantucket Who kept all his cash in a bucket. His daughter, named Nan, Ran away with a man And as for the bucket, Nantucket.

Home

The introduction was FAR TOO LONG!

Quit snorin' ya sleepers and pull! Burst all yer livers and lungs!