Nantucket Forests

The Nantucket forests have an unusual history. Continual salt saturated wind and nutrient poor soils set severe limits upon tree growth and the wood products that might be accessed by both indigenous peoples and colonial settlers.

Nantucket Island lies 30 miles off the southern coastline of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1775, Nantucket was the largest whaling port in the world, and the third largest port in Massachusetts. However, dominance in this most adventurous, dangerous and potentially lucrative of all maritime trades was not supported by an extensive, local, ship building industry. Early Nantucket forests were unusual and determined the scope of indigenous and colonial wooden ship building on Nantucket Island.

In spite of numerous statements about island forests as a source for lumber (see 1889 USGS report which only repeats local oral tradition), a strong case can be made that Nantucket has not been forested for the past 4,000 years at least in terms of what is usually thought of as a forest - numerous tall trees 50 or more feet in height. Visitors to Nantucket in the late 18th and early 19th centuries describe the island as nearly treeless. However, many publications mention post glacial forests composed of oak, with some beech, pine, maple, and hickory. These trees were present but only in small numbers and severely reduced in height. They were cut down for firewood, fence posts and short building timbers in the decades following settlement in 1659. Speculation that after the island trees were cut down, a rich soil was washed away by erosion cannot be confirmed. Nantucket has many small dry' valleys without outlets to the sea, and rich loam soil cannot be found in these localities. Old forests have not existed for the past 2,000 years or more, deep rich leaf mold is absent and adequate soil depth to provide root anchorage for large trees is not present. This photograph of a contemporary Nantucket moor depicts a landscape with few trees none of which are very tall, nor do they have straight trunks from which long timbers for shipbuilding or house construction could be made. These particulars make a relevant reference to the history of Nantucket forests.

...
Wikipedia