Nantucket and Its History

Nantucket is an island approximately thirty miles off the Massachusetts coast. Along with Tuckernuck and Muskeget Islands, they compose Nantucket County. The island was discovered by the Englishman Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602, and was first settled in 1659 by Quakers from Salisbury, Massachusetts, originally from West Country in England. Though Nantuckets days of glory are long gone, it is still remembered in mainstream culture as the initial setting of the fictional tale Moby Dick, as well as a handful of limericks that begin with, There once was a man from Nantucket.

About the Author and His Book

Author Bill Hoadley is a son of Nantucket, and in his autobiographical book, Please Walk Your Horses Up This Hill, he shares with readers the rich history and notable personalities that have walked through or lived in this island since the first Western settlers arrived. Emphasis is placed during the years of his life and the places and people that he lived with. It also contains a genealogy of the author's family, with notable members of his ancestry given special mention. The vivid descriptions and narrations contained within this book are supplemented by authentic photographs of people and places close to the author's heart.