Naming Streets and Numbering Houses

26 Historic Nantucket

A Personal Account William A. Hance

The idea that all of Nantucket should have a system of locating houses and that the Civic League might take on the job was first raised by Mrs. John (Bobbie) Beale about mid-1980. At that time only Nantucket Town and a few streets out of town had street addresses. The main reason for extending a locator system was to facilitate emergency and police services. The days when policemen and firemen knew every house on the island were fast disappearing, and summer recruits could not be expected to have the required knowledge. The most common types of out-of-town address were "Madaket," "Surfside," "Off Polpis Road," "Off Hummock Pond Road," etc.; houses in these areas could be miles apart.

In 1982, the County Commissioners endorsed a proposal by the Civic League that an Emergency House Locator System be created, and I was appointed shortly thereafter to head up the effort. In proceeding with the assignment, it became apparent very soon that there were a lot of anomalies and problems to face. First, it was not practical to focus solely on the areas outside of town because several streets began within; and their numbering in town thus affected the numbers used outside. Second, a brief examination of town numbers revealed serious shortcomings. Two streets, Madaket and North Liberty, had been numbered starting at both ends. Numbers of several streets, particularly those running southward from Main Street, went up, then down, then up again. Quite a few streets had houses with duplicate numbers; one street had three houses numbered "3." There was confusion resulting from the use of appendages to street names, most of which were unnecessary. For example, streets running northward from Main Street graduated into "Upper," "Extension," or both, or even changed names, as when Grave Street becomes Brush Lane. (The thought occurred to me that if Vestal Street went beyond Upper and Extension, we could name it "Vestal Virgin Street.") Streets running southward from Main Street often had a "Lower" prefix at some intermediate point, and sometimes an "Extension." (I considered that we might change "Lower Orange" to "Lemon," "Lower Union" to "Disunion" and "Lower Pleasant" to "Unpleasant.") A fair number of streets had

Naming Streets and Numbering Houses

27

unnecessary "Easts" and "Wests."

A few streets had two or more names, and it was unclear where one began and the other ended. On one stretch of road, addresses alternated between Atlantic Avenue and Surfside Road. It seemed logical to me to make the division at the junction with Prospect and Sparks, though I got a bit of flak for choosing this point. Another example is the three names for what is one street -- Gardner (extending one block from the Monument on Main Street), Liberty and North Liberty. To confuse matters still further, Liberty also starts at Main Street, between the Pacific Bank and the Methodist Church. I did not change these historic uses. There were also inconsistencies in where numbering began and what streets were used as dividers between East-West and North-South. For example, Main Street should be the divider, but we find Broad Street dividing South and North Water, and Easton Street dividing the two Beach Streets. Again, I did not alter these because it would have involved too many number changes and, by now, most people were familiar with these anomalies. It was clear that I had to look closely at the town as well as outlying areas. The greatest problem was that the existing numbering system had not allowed room for filling in of new structures. This had already resulted in the use of "A" and "B," or "1/2" or "R" for rear.

I adopted the principle that, to avoid compounding the confusion, I would make no changes unless there was a cogent reason for doing so. There were some streets where it was absolutely necessary to make changes because of one or more of the anomalies noted above. Most people were understanding, but a few were irate, saying "We've had this number for years, and we're not going to change it." This kind of reaction occasionally made my job somewhat unpleasant. I tried to explain that the purpose of the change was to improve the response time of emergency teams and that the continued use of incorrect and conflicting numbers was a danger to them and their neighbors. Once in a while, however, I felt like saying, "Okay, but don't blame me if the Fire Department goes to the wrong house and yours burns down!"

Outside of town, there was another set of problems. There were a remarkable number of duplicate names, even a few occurring in quintuplicate. In fact, 25.7% of the street names were duplicated: there were Atlantic, Beach and Washington Streets all over the Island. In one area, Washington Streets ran parallel to each other,

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Historic Nantucket

while in another, they were at right angles to each other. There had been either a very lazy or very unimaginative person naming the roads in those parts of the Island where a large number of "paper roads" were laid out only on maps late in the last century. For example, in one area, the main streets of Boston had been borrowed, street names such as "A," "B," "C" or "First," "Second," etc., or names of various states and major cities had been used. A particularly unfortunate example was seen in Surfside where roads were named after other parts of the Island which already had roads of the same name - e.g., Maddequet, Massasoit, Monomoy and Pocomo. The then largely undeveloped part of Tom Nevers contained roads with the inappropriate names of Quaise and Shimmo. Roads in Siasconset, Surfside, Tom Nevers and Miacomet Park had also been given names borrowed from Nantucket Town, creating duplicate and triplicate names each time. The name problems were somewhat ameliorated when they were on paper roads that had not yet been developed; in these cases new names could be applied without changing anyone's address.

The property maps did not show which paper roads actually existed and which did not. By combining the planimetric maps based on 1976 aerial photographs with the property maps, this could be determined in most cases; but development had been proceeding so rapidly that the planimetric maps were no longer accurate. Actual roads were often located away from where they were supposed to be according to the property maps. It was not always possible to tell from the maps the road on which houses fronted. This and other considerations made it necessary for me to drive over every part of the Island, a really pleasurable part of the job. I thought I knew the island pretty well before I started, but I discovered some areas I had not known at all. In town, I walked many of the streets to determine numbers in use and the frontage of individual houses. There was confusion in many cases about whether a routeway was a road, street, avenue, lane or way; numerous roads appeared on maps with two or more of these designations on the same road.

The most intensive work period was in the late spring and summer of 1982. On September 7, I presented a report to the Traffic Safety committee. By then, I had entered more than 6,000 addresses on the landowners list, eliminated 36 duplicate names, put in 350 hours, and driven 494 miles. (I had recorded these data partly for my own amusement and partly because the League offered to pay

Naming Streets and Numbering Houses 29

for gasoline used. That, incidentally, was my only reimbursement, and I did not expect any other. I take some pride in thinking that if a professional outfit had been hired for the job, it would have cost somewhere between $25,000 and $40,000.)

Naming Roads

There was obviously a need for a considerable number of new names for roads. I consulted a number of books in the Edouard A. Stackpole Research Center of the Nantucket Historical Association to develop a bank of appropriate names. This list included: a few early settlers whose names had not been used (there were plenty of Starbuck, Gardner and Coffin roads, streets, ways and courts); Nantucket place names (e.g., Burnt Swamp Lane, Fulling Mill Road); Indian names (places and people, including Indian whalers); ships' names (including vessels wrecked along the Island's shores); ships' captains; flowers (some Nantucket flowers have fascinating names, but not all are suitable for roads, such as one called "Welcome Home Husband, though Never so Drunk"); other plants; and animals. I used a fair number of the names on the list and left a long list for use on roads created after my job was done. I tried, where possible, to make some kind of pattern of names. Most of the new names in the Trotts Hills area are either those of early settlers or of vessels. The names in Cisco are mainly shipwrecks that occurred along that shore. Many of those in Surfside are taken from steamships that served the Island; Tom Nevers had many names of British shires, and I rounded out this list (the connection with Nantucket is that the early settlers originated in several of these counties).

At the end of the exercise, I left several lists of road names: one of all past and present names; another of new names with the old names where there was one; an inventory of deleted names with their present names; one which classified Nantucket road names by their origin, if known; a list of duplicate names still in use; and finally, the bank of future names. Most of the duplicates retained were those found in both Town and Siasconset, where different zip codes reduced their confusion for the Post Office. Others were distinguished by different classifications (e.g., Somerset Road and Somerset Lane, Ash Street and Ash Lane). All of these lists were given to the Planning Office, and the originals are now in the Research Center of the NHA.

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Historic Nantucket

I also made a number of recommendations on the naming of roads. Prior to my work, developers were required to provide names for new roads. It seemed to me that this had led to a number of unfortunate examples, such as combinations of the first syllables of children's names, names with no pertinence to Nantucket whatsoever and names that were a bit too cute. I proposed that the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission take charge of naming streets, that no names of living people be allowed and that only names appropriate in one way or another to Nantucket be utilized.

I would like to have changed a good many other names but did not feel that my mandate permitted it, especially since some names appeared on private land. There was, for example, a whole series of "Views": Surfside View Drive, Farm View and Golf View. (I was tempted to name one Dump View Drive.) There is also Skyline Drive which is more appropriate for the Blue Ridge Mountains than an outwash plain. I got some pleasure from dreaming up names to apply where certain residents objected to change; these included Undertow Lane, Babesiosis Boulevard, Deer Tick Turnpike, Poison Ivy Way, Sandtrap Street, Proverbial Creek Road and No Paddle Lane.

Numbering Houses

The numbering process was considerably less controversial than the naming of roads. The rule was Right odd, Left even (R.O.L.E.). This sounds easy, and basically it is, but there were quite a few cases where it was not entirely clear at which end of the street the numbering should begin. Other problems arose on roads ending in a circle, or those forming a "U" so that they intersected the same road twice. I tried to avoid the mistake that had caused so much difficulty in town - i.e., not leaving numbers to allow for filling in. There was one relatively small area that I did not complete ~ along the shore between Old Tom Nevers Road and the Navy Base - because the preexisting road was blocked off and new roads were being bulldozed. I offered to go back when the system was completed to help in numbering but was not asked to do so.

When I took the job in 1982, I knew there would be a certain amount of flak, and there was. The vast majority of the contacts I had were friendly and constructive which made the job considerably less onerous than it might have been. While the system

Naming Streets and Numbering Houses 31

was introduced primarily to expedite responses to emergencies, it has had other advantages. It has contributed to improved deliveries of all sorts and made it easier for visitors, renters and friends to find specific places.

THE OLDEST HOUSE

This is no stately home like those Their Grandsires knew, But still, good timber here Grain straight and hard As masts they raised, Set like the keels they laid To claim the seas.

Like this old house Our own foundations Were laid here long ago As true as pine and oak, As firm as keel, as tall as spar, Built on the faith, the hope That led them here.

An English cottage built For bride and groom One father gave the land And one the house; they built it well The chimney wide and deep, A blessing sign upon its side.

This was no loft-and-ladder house! The hand-cut steps That curve to rooms above, The well-made floors, the beams, The friendly hearth, The sturdy door all speak Of pride in work well done.

We claim this house as kin! These beams, these walls Have stood three hundred years; We too were fashioned In the selfsame way This beacon comes to us We point the way!

By Mildred Leisure Irvin, seven-times great-grand-daughter of

Tristram Coffin

Note: When Mrs. Irvin wrote these lines, the Jethro Coffin House was still standing straight and firm with no hint of approaching disaster. She believed the pattern on the chimney was "an ancient blessing sign, a protection for the house, a blessing for those within and those who came." Perhaps she was right for, although lightning tumbled the chimney in October 1987 and destroyed the "sign," it did not set fire to the house. Both sign and chimney will be reconstructed in the current restoration of the presently battered building.