Nantucket Cobblestone Square and Fountain

This fountain standing sentinel in the center of a quiet (for the moment) square on Nantucket dates from the mid-19 century. Moments are possibly the best souvenirs we bring back from vacation.

The cobblestones, so identified with Nantucket and other New England seaport towns, were nobody’s idea to create some picturesque photo-op for future tourists, neither a plot to break the ankles of future tourists. They were ballast to stabilize the cargo of the whaling ships. With typical New England frugality, they were re-used to pave Main Street where the heavy carts would haul the whale oil from the ships. After the whaling industry died out, it took those future tourists, stumbling along the cobblestones, to set the depressed Nantucket economy right again.

Have a look at these two sites for more on the Main Street Square fountain, and Nantucket.