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Whether your visit to Nantucket lasts for a day or a lifetime, it is difficult not to be impressed by the historic architecture of the island and it's remarkable preservation. At first glance, the historic gray shingled buildings are beautiful and charming. The continuity of the architecture provides a sense of place and an overwhelming serenity.

But with a closer examination of the structure, it is evident that the cultural and social history of the island is embedded into the architecture, inseparable and preserved. Over 800 structures remain that predate the Civil War. "Preservation is dynamic," according to Cynthia Ruffner of Preservation Institute: Nantucket, "It's not just that old buildings are precious, it's that these are old buildings that people live in and a downtown that people use."

Nantucket's first European settlement established itself along Capaum Pond, then Cappamet Harbor, in 1661. Shifting sands closed the Harbor and forced the settlement to move to the more logical natural harbor around Brant Point in 1717. Although no dwellings remain located in the original settlement area, it is believed that the homes were dismantled and rebuilt as wood was scarce on Nantucket.

Architecture evolved with the community. The earliest European settlers maintained a simple functional style. This utilitarian style of architecture arose from the economy of the island. Nantucketers had to be frugal, since the island provided little fuel with neither trees suitable for lumber nor stone quarries.

The earliest dwellings reflected a medieval structure, referred to as a rigid framed English house. The frames of the homes were built of heavy timbers fastened together with pegs. The homes were square, with low ceilings and built around a central chimney, (architects call it a "cluster chimney"), with up to six flues, and a fireplace in nearly every room, with the largest fireplace in the kitchen spanning the length of an entire wall. The walls were made from clamshell mortar.

It was not just the residential dwellings that reflected the community on Nantucket in the 17th Century. The Old Mill, which stands at the top of Prospect Street is a testament to the beginning of Nantucket. Built in 1745, the Old Mill, built in a Dutch Smock style, is a the last one to stand on the island and served the purpose of grinding corn, the main source of sustenance for Nantucket.

Nantucket was not a religious community until the 18th century, when Quaker missionaries arrived. Their beliefs were accepted by many of the Nantucketers and would alter the community for 200 years. As Cynthia Ruffner indicated, amble contributions to architectural style resulted from the Quakers "showing how a groups social and cultural history can shape the architecture of the place." This is seen especially in the sparseness of line and the minimal amount of elaboration. A Quaker home was simply functional and utilitarian.

Quakerism was outlawed in Massachusetts in the mid 17th century, as it was considered a direct threat to the mainstream Protestants. Quakers adhered to a belief in the Inner Light. This light is the reflection of God in the heart of believers. It motivates just action and an ability to see an inherent quality in things. It avoids superficiality and wordly diversions, such as dancing, music, entertainment, gambling, and art. According to NHA Director of Special Programs, Jeremy Slavitz "Quakerism was the driving social force that helped bind the island together."

The Jethro Coffin House on Sunset Hill Lane, a property of the Nantucket Historical Association, is ostensibly a pristine symbol of early island architecture. Although there is much debate surrounding the Coffin House, it was built around 1686. As Slavitz explained, The Coffin House is unique in that it is a functional property with a style depicting 17th century life. The house is oriented to increase warmth from the sunlight, and it has a long sloping lean-to-style roof which draws wind over the top. A central fireplace maximizes the heat and the small windows were designed to prevent the heat from escaping.

The Coffin House was a testament to the direction of architecture in the early 18th century. The lean-to-style became more popular since it increased space, but remained seemingly less pretentious with the rear roof sloping down. Despite the subtle changes that occurred, the Quakers remained devoted to the simplicity of their structures and cautious to avoid excess.

The lean-to-design took priority as the architectural style of Nantucket during the early 18th century. Homes built in this period retained a definitive frontality, while oriented toward the south for heat. The majority of the largest windows were set in the front of the dwelling. The remaining windows, being narrower, were placed on both floors on the side and set only on the first floor at the rear of the structure. With the progression of this style, the most striking alteration was the use of shingles for exterior wall and roof coverings.

A walk through historic downtown Nantucket reveals many homes with lean-to-style, along with the mid-18th century style of the gambrel roof structure. These double pitched curve roof buildings originated in England; Nantucket retains eight built between 1748 and 1798. The innovation of the gambrel style developed as taxes were levied by the number of floors in a structure. The gambrel roof allowed for almost as much room as another story, but escaped the qualification as a floor in itself. Again, Nantucket architecture was determined by economic sensibility and simplicity.

From the earliest dwellings, the lean-to-style and the gambrel roof structures, developed what is referred to as the "typical Nantucket house." Out of the 800 structures that pre-date the Civil War, 125 fall into this category. The principles of Quakerism are evident in these homes, which according to Clay Lancaster, author of Architecture of Historic Nantucket, are, "unostentatious yet adequate, which substitutes craftsmanship for ornamentation, basic comforts for luxuries, and which is un-prettied yet appealing."

The typical Nantucket house is designed to be functional, with a central chimney for heat and cooking, and for sufficient, but not unnecessary, light and ventilation. It was during the 18th century that Quakerism had its stronghold on Nantucket. The Society of Friends was converting the older residents and more people were establishing their dwellings on the island.

There was a departure from the more Puritanical style lean-to towards a more open floor plan to better suit their beliefs. Most notably, the catslide roof was abandoned for two full stories and the orientation of the house to the south was forsaken, as the town became more condensed. The front entrance was placed off-center with a window on one side of the door to light the parlor and a window lighting a closet on the other side of the entrance. The kitchen occupied the rear of the house, with a chamber at the other side of the rear. The second floor contained three chambers, with a floor plan almost identical to the first floor. The garret, or third floor, may have contained a finished room at one end to serve as a chamber, with the rest left exposed.

A popular and coveted feature of Nantucket houses exists in the roof deck. This innovation occurred during the establishment of the typical Nantucket house style. It served the purpose of watching the harbor for incoming and outgoing ships.

According to Slavitz, it was not until the middle of the 19th century when Quakerism began to fade, the architecture on Nantucket changed. The tenet of frugality collided with the wealth that was made from the whaling industry. The maritime economy of Nantucket exposed many Nantucketers to people who were very different from the world they had known. This cosmopolitan influence altered architecture on Nantucket from the sparseness and simplicity of the Quakers to ornamentation and Greek and Colonial revival. As Slavitz notes, "architecture is a function of the economics of a specific time and place, a function of the specific mores of a time and place." With the close of the 18th century Nantucket was forever changed by its exposure to other worlds, but it remains faithful to its early history.