Nantucket -- Inside the building (built 1838 by James Weeks) is as simple as we would expect. It had served previously as a Friend's School for the Wilburite (conservative) sect. Outside of Rhode Island, Quakers were typically persecuted in the American colonies and Massachusetts authorities would hang Quakers and fine those who communicated with them.Before Quakerism spread in Nantucket, the community had no significant organized religion. With its emphasis on the equality of women, Quakerism was well suited to family life where the whalers would spend years at sea. Its simplicity influenced the architecture of the town. But its pacifism was much challenged by the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. In addition, the movement broke into feuding sects after 1820, diluting the unified impact Quakers would have on Nantucket life. After 1860, Quakers on Nantucket were few and by 1900 there may have been none.
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