. The story of old Nantucket; a brief history of the island and its people from its discovery down to the present day . and largely rebuilt— most of the buildings being much better than thosewhich had been destroyed. In the rebuilding the north line of lower Mainstreet was relocated. Before the fiie this line trended 88 THE STORY OF OLD NANTUCKET more to the south of east than at present, being prac-tically an extension of the line of Liberty street, andthe lower square was much narrower. The new streetline was placed some twenty feet further north, mak-ing the business section more rectangula
. The story of old Nantucket; a brief history of the island and its people from its discovery down to the present day . and largely rebuilt— most of the buildings being much better than thosewhich had been destroyed. In the rebuilding the north line of lower Mainstreet was relocated. Before the fiie this line trended 88 THE STORY OF OLD NANTUCKET more to the south of east than at present, being prac-tically an extension of the line of Liberty street, andthe lower square was much narrower. The new streetline was placed some twenty feet further north, mak-ing the business section more rectangular in changes in street lines were also made, andmarble slabs were set at the street corners as monu-ments. Some of these slabs have long since disap-peared, and the figures on others have been worn awayby the tread of the populace during nearly seventyyears. There are one or two, however, upon whichthe figures are still legible, and to those who realizetheir meaning, these marble squares near the streetcorners serve as a forcible reminder of the strenuousperiod through which Nantucket passed in L «?? ^MiMiMiiiMiiiil VIEW OF NORTH SIDE OF MAIN STREET BEFORE FIRE OF 184«.From an old daguerreotype. CHAPTER X. THE DECLINE. ^iO many causes contributed, in a greater or lesser^^ degree, to the decline of Nantucket as a whalingport, that a long chapter in this book might well bedevoted to their enumeration and explanation, but thestory would not be an interesting one—since failurenever appeals to us like success, and only a brief spacewill therefore be devoted to the mention of a few ofthe more important reasons for the loss of the and foremost, perhaps, should be placed thescarcity of whales, or, at least, of those of the sperma-ceti species, for even then Nantucketers did not takekindly to right whaling, though, owing to the increas-ing use and advancing price of whalebone, New Bed-ford was making good profits from this branch of thebusiness. S
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishernantu, bookyear1915
