Nantucket’s North Shore

A Neighborhood History

Frances Ruley Kartunnen

Welcome to Nantucket’s North Shore . . .

Nantucket native Frances Ruley Karttunen weaves together personal stories, historical vignettes, and ancient landmarks to create a rich tapestry of Nantucket’s oldest neighborhood—the North Shore. A neighborhood on the move, its old ways are studded with vestiges of settlement, trade, recreation and family life. On every side, she points out history pushing up through the modern fabric of the twenty-first century.

 Beautifully illustrated with nearly 200 photographs from the archives of the Nantucket Historical Association and from local photographer Alan Reinhard, the book follows the settlement’s progress from Madaket in the west to the north side of the present Town of Nantucket. 

 Along the way we meet vibrant North Shore people, and visit residences, roads, farms, landmarks, beaches and more. Each chapter is interspersed with classic Nantucket recipes of yore, such as Blackberry Grunt, Indian Pudding, Sweet Flag Candy and Spiced Cranberries.

This historic record conveys to us the continuity, the perseverance, and the vision of those who have conveyed to us our cherished island home of Nantucket. This narrative is a labor of love, and an affirmation of our community heritage. 

-Barbara de Zalduondo, longtime North Shore resident

As a Nantucket native whose family traces continuously as North Shore folk back to the earliest settlers, I am thrilled to have Fran Karttunen’s excellent volume devoted entirely to this most historic part of the island. This book chronicles an important part of our history seldom recognized until now. 

-Geraldine Gardiner Salisbury

See the list of Nantucket’s North Shore Sponsors