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History · Madaket

Half of Madaket’s homes were built after 1982

Most of Madaket was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1889 on.

0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Madaket’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Madaket are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18896 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1972. Watch Madaket change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Madaket’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Madaket’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Madaket on the map, 1889 to 1972

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Madaket. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Madaket on the 1889 USGS mapMadaket on the 1893 USGS mapMadaket on the 1901 USGS mapMadaket on the 1945 USGS mapMadaket on the 1951 USGS mapMadaket on the 1972 USGS map1889Nantucket sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Madaket.

The story

How Madaket came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Madaket.

Read it all →

Madaket was home to Mildred Carpenter Jewett, a Nantucket native commonly referred to as "Madaket Millie" who spent much of her life in the area as a volunteer for the United States Coast Guard. Born in 1907, she served as a Coastal Defense Specialist during World War II, patrolling the shores for German submarines as well as training dogs to accompany military personnel during patrols. At one point, she discovered a live mine and towed it away from the shore, where it was disposed of by a Navy minesweeper.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Madaket

Nobody well known was born in Madaket itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Meghan TrainorAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1993
Lucretia MottAmerican quaker missionary · b. 1793
Mercy Otis WarrenAmerican writer · b. 1728
James OtisLawyer in colonial Massachusetts · b. 1725
B
Bill DixonAmerican composer and educator · b. 1925
Charles J. FolgerAmerican politician · b. 1818

Questions about Madaket’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.