Nantucket Historic Coloured Cemetery
Site Brief:
Founded: Earliest records suggest 1805
Location: Nantucket, MA
Additional name(s): None
Affiliate group(s):
Nantucket Cemetery Commission
History:
Public cemeteries on Nantucket were established by the Select Board in the "Common and Undivided Lands of the Town and County of Nantucket. While known by various other names throughout its history, "Historic Coloured Cemetery," captures its essence including the antique spelling of "Coloured." Nantucket has had a Black community for centuries; evidence of this is the historic African Meeting House on York Street, which was at the heart of the Black community. Much more can be found on the website of the Nantucket Historical Association and its pages on the public cemeteries: https://cemeteries.nha.org/colored-cemetery. Despite the history of the cemetery's name in the NHA description, more recently, the Black community on Nantucket agreed to the current name including "Historic" providing that the antique spelling of "Coloured" was used also. The most recent interment was Dr. Donald Steward, former President of Spelman College who went into a family-owned plot.
Resource links:
www.nha.org (Nantucket Historical Association)
www.dpw@nantucket-ma.gov (the Director of the Department of Public Works is the Cemetery Administrator for the Town of Nantucket)
BCN Contact Information:
Chair of the Cemetery Commission (Department of Public Works)
