Jethro Coffin House

Infobox_nrhp | name =Jethro Coffin House
nrhp_type = nhl


caption =Jethro Coffin House
location= Sunset Hill Road, Nantucket, Massachusetts
lat_degrees = 41
lat_minutes = 17
lat_seconds = 15
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 70
long_minutes = 6
long_seconds = 25
long_direction = W
locmapin = Massachusetts
area =
built =1686
architect= Unknown
architecture= Other
designated=November 24, 1968cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=776&ResourceType=Building
title=Jethro Coffin House |accessdate=2008-08-06|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = November 24, 1968cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = Private (Nantucket Historical Association)
refnum=68000019

Jethro Coffin House, a saltbox house built in 1686 and located on Sunset Hill Road in Nantucket, Massachusetts, is the oldest house in Nantucket and is the only surviving structure from the island's 17th Century English settlement. It is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Because of the brick design on its chimney, it is also called the "Horseshoe House". [From NY Times Travel - see external link below]

History

The house was built in 1686 as a wedding gift for Jethro Coffin, a blacksmith, and his bride, Mary Gardner. Jethro Coffin was a grandson of Tristram Coffin, one of the island's original proprietors. It was abandoned by a later owner during the Civil War. The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA) acquired the property in 1923. [ [http://www.nha.org/sites/oldesthouse.html Oldest House of the Nantucket Historical Association ] ] The house was struck by lightning in 1987 and nearly cut in half, but was carefully restored by the NHA. [From NY Times Travel - see external link below]

It was declared a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1968.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/68000019.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Jethro Coffin House] |32 KB|date=January 23, 1975 |author=Patricia Heintzelman and Charles Snell |publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/68000019.pdf "Accompanying five photos, exterior and interior, historic and from 1974"] |32 KB]

It is located on Sunset Hill Road, in Sunset Hill, Nantucket.

ee also

List of Registered Historic Places in Nantucket County, Massachusetts

References

External links

* [http://www.nha.org/sites/oldesthouse.html Nantucket Historical Association -Oldest House]
* [http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/north-america/united-states/massachusetts/cape-cod-and-the-islands/nantucket/attraction-detail.html?vid=1154654612427 NY Times Travel Guide]
* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.ma0320 Jethro Coffin House, Sunset Hill, Nantucket, Nantucket County, MA: 20 photos and 7 data pages] , at Historic American Building Survey