Editorial—Economic Transition a Century Ago

Economic Transition a Century Ago

ONE HUNDRED AND ten years ago, November, 1869, the bark O a k sailed from Straight Wharf for the Pacific Ocean.She was never to return. Her departure marked the end of Nantucket's remarkable whaling history, the last visible bit of a century and three-quarters of seafaring enterprise which led from a humble shore-side activity to the highest rank among the world's great seaports in whaling.

But long before she sailed the Islanders had resigned themselves to the inevitable.The single industry which had sustained them for such a long span of years had vanished.There were spasmodic attempts to introduce some manufacturing, but one by one these failed.And then, by a fortunate adjustment of fate, a new form of free enterprise developed that soon became known as "the summer business'.' This was not a planned economy; no public relations firm drew up a blueprint for such a manner of making a living.

The Island's new business developed through the nineteenth century. The unique natural advantages, the geographical position, the old town in the sea, soon became the lures which developed Nantucket into a popular and favored summer resort, and those differences prevailed well into the next century. History had created the town; nature had contributed the setting.The transition from a community which had virtually been abandoned to a thriving summer locale took place over a considerable period of years, and the unspoiled character of Nantucket prevailed despite certain economic changes on the mainland.

Modern Nantucket came into existence with the advent of the automobile in 1918. Post-war changes (World War I) did not deal unkindly with the environment.The great depression of the 1930's made life somewhat more grim, but the storm was weathered; World War II brought marked changes, the most significant being the acquisition of the Nantucket Airport and the introduction of commercial airlines. Transportation by water brought many new features. One of the most dramatic developments in the onrush of progress was the creation of the Historic Districts Act which protected the old town.

What will the next century bring? Will there be a transition as fortunate in its development as that of the 1879-1919 period? Nantucket Sound is no longer the moat that protects the castle; the long tentacles of modern trends have already reached over from the mainland. Will the blight of the times accompany the greedy tension of the tentacles?

Can the quiet dignity of history become a part of the new transition? Or will the heedless, grasping present leave scars that will make it impossible to conceal the loss of the character that once featured our "old Nantucket'.' We are no longer just a summer resort, as we are known as a haven for those who come at all seasons of the year.But once we lose our character we become just another New England resort, and with this loss we give up something which belongs to the fragile pages of our larger American history.

Edouard A. Stackpole