Jethro Coffin House Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Significant dates

Oldest House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. National Historic Landmark District Contributing Property

Jethro Coffin House
Location in Massachusetts Show map of Massachusetts Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Sunset Hill Road, Nantucket, Massachusetts
Area	0.75 acres (0.30 ha)
Built	1686
Architectural style	Early English Settler
Part of	Nantucket Historic District (ID66000772)
NRHP reference No.	68000019
Added to NRHP	November 24, 1968
Designated NHL	November 24, 1968
Designated NHLDCP	November 13, 1966

The Oldest House on Sunset Hill, also known as the Jethro Coffin House, is a very old home on Nantucket, Massachusetts. It was built in 1686. Many people believe it is the oldest house on the island still standing in its original spot. When it was built, only a few hundred English settlers lived on Nantucket. The native Wampanoag people were much more numerous.

This special house was a wedding gift for Jethro Coffin and Mary Gardner. Their marriage helped bring together two important families on the island. Jethro's grandfather, Tristram Coffin, was one of the island's first owners. Mary's father, John Gardner, was a leader in a disagreement called the "Half-Share Revolt." This was when regular workers stood up against the richer landowners. Even though the families had problems, the house was built on Gardner land using Coffin wood. It became a symbol of their new unity.

Over time, the house was left empty and started to fall apart. But in 1881, a Coffin family reunion sparked new interest in the property. The Nantucket Historical Association bought the house in 1923. A few years later, in 1927, a group called the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England) began to fix it up. They wanted to make it look like it did long ago. The Oldest House was named a National Historic Landmark in 1968. In 1987, lightning struck the house, causing a lot of damage. It needed major repairs to its roof and chimney.

Today, the Oldest House helps us remember the lives of Nantucket's first English settlers. Visitors can see what daily life was like in the 1600s. It is now a historic house museum run by the Nantucket Historical Association. It is also part of the Nantucket Historic District, which is a special historic area.

Top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Exploring the Oldest House: A Glimpse into History

The Oldest House is a fascinating place to visit. It shows how people lived hundreds of years ago. You can imagine what life was like for Jethro and Mary Coffin and their family.

The Kitchen Garden: Growing Food in the 1600s

Behind the Oldest House, there is a special kitchen garden. People have worked hard to make it look like a garden from the 1700s. It grows herbs and vegetables, just like families would have grown back then. The garden is cared for without modern fertilizers or bug sprays. Plants are grown in raised beds, which was a common way to garden at that time. You can see everyday vegetables like carrots, onions, cabbages, and parsnips. There are also about thirty different kinds of herbs. These herbs were used for cooking, medicine, or for things around the house.

Life in the 17th Century: What the House Looked Like

Mary Coffin lived in the house on Sunset Hill for about twenty years. We don't know the exact date the house was finished. But people say it was built as a wedding gift for Mary and Jethro in 1686. Mary was sixteen and Jethro was twenty-three when they got married.

The house looked different in the 1600s than it does today. It was a very impressive house for its time. It had two stories on the front, facing south. The roof on the north side was long and sloped, like a "catslide" roof. This might have been part of the original design. Inside, huge fireplaces were important features in each room. There was a parlor on the west side and a "great room" on the east. The kitchen was in the back, under the low roof. Upstairs, there were two bedrooms, with an attic above them. Evidence shows that the house originally had two gables on the front. These gables let light into the upstairs rooms. From the top of the hill, the Coffin family could see for miles around.

New Owners: The Paddack Family and Beyond

Jethro and Mary sold their Nantucket home to Nathaniel Paddack in 1708. They moved to Mendon, Massachusetts, because Jethro inherited land there. Even though the Oldest House is known for Jethro and Mary Coffin, four generations of the Paddack family lived in it. Many Paddacks were sailors. This shows how Nantucket changed from a farming community to a seafaring one in the 1700s. In 1839, George Paddack sold the house to a barrel maker named George Turner for $300. This ended 131 years of the Paddack family owning the house.

By 1867, George and Mary Turner had moved out. The old wedding house of Jethro and Mary Coffin was then used as a barn for hay.

Saving the Oldest House: From Barn to Museum

In 1881, two members of the Coffin family who lived off the island bought the Jethro Coffin house from the Turner family for $300. They made repairs to the house. In 1886, it was opened for its 200th anniversary. After that, it was mostly quiet until 1897. From then on, it was opened in the summers as a house museum. Many curious visitors came to see this old building from the island's early history.

The Nantucket Historical Association bought Jethro and Mary's house from Tristram Coffin in 1923. Winthrop Coffin, another descendant of the original Tristram, helped pay for the house's restoration. His chosen architect, Alfred F. Shurrocks, started the work in 1927. Shurrocks found that the house originally had two gables on the front. However, they decided to restore the house to its more familiar look. They also replaced the 1700s windows with diamond-paned windows. They felt these looked more like windows from the 1600s.

The Jethro Coffin house was named a National Historic Landmark in 1968. On October 1, 1987, lightning hit the house. It knocked down the chimney, destroyed half of the roof, and melted the electrical wires. The damage took two years and about a million dollars to fix. The house was built so strongly that it has remained firm on Sunset Hill since its restoration. It continues to tell the story of the first English settlers on Nantucket in the 1600s.

Images for kids

The Oldest House as it looks today.
A large fireplace inside the Oldest House.
The reconstructed kitchen garden behind the house.
A window of the Oldest House.

Jethro Coffin House facts for kids