One of the world's leading whaling museums — a converted 19th-century spermaceti candle factory on Broad Street with an 1847 sperm whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling, a extensive scrimshaw collections in existence, and the most complete account of the global whaling industry that made Nantucket once among the wealthiest communities per capita in America.
Why It’s Worth Your Time
The Nantucket Whaling Museum occupies a former spermaceti candle factory (spermaceti being the waxy substance extracted from sperm whale heads and used to make the finest candles before petroleum) on Broad Street and is the definitive account of the industry that made Nantucket the world's whaling capital in the early 19th century. The building's most dramatic object is a 46-foot sperm whale skeleton (an 1847 individual that stranded on the island's shores) suspended from the ceiling in the main gallery — the finest single museum object in New England outside Boston's major institutions. The scrimshaw collection — whale teeth and bones carved by sailors during the long Pacific voyages — is the largest in existence. The museum's account of the industry is historically honest about the brutality and ecological impact of whaling alongside the economic and cultural achievement it represented for Nantucket. Budget two hours minimum.
What Stands Out
- 46-foot sperm whale skeleton (1847) suspended from the ceiling — finest museum object in New England outside Boston
- Largest scrimshaw collection in the world — whale teeth and bone carved on Pacific voyages
- Converted 1847 spermaceti candle factory — the building itself is a historic artifact
- Honest account of whaling's brutality and ecological impact alongside its cultural achievement
- Budget 2 hours minimum — the richest local history museum in New England