Michigan native Ralph P. Marble bought roughly 400 acres on Nantucket in 1956 and began building the course in 1960; it opened in 1963 as a public, year-round layout. The Nantucket Island Land Bank purchased the property in 1985. In 2003 architect Howard Maurer expanded it to 18 holes, making it the island's only 18-hole public facility. "Miacomet" is a Wampanoag name meaning "the meeting place."