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The Oldest House on Nantucket Observes Its Three Hundredth Birthday THE WEEKEND OF OCTOBER three, marked the beginning of the Nantucket Historical Association's observance of the 300th birthday of the Jethro Coffin House - the oldest house on the Island. Known to most everyone in Nantucket, this venerable old structure's very existence en titles it to recognition as an historic landmark. Accorded a ranking as a place of history by the United States, this dwelling has been twice restored and is yearly visited by thousands who pay homage to the founders of the clans which continued it in use over its first 200 years of existence. It should be more properly called the Coffin-Paddack house, as the latter family lived in it longer than its founders. Built in 1686 by Jethro Coffin and his bride Mary Gardner Coffin, it was occupied by that family until the year 1708, when Jethro moved to Mendon, Mass., and sold the house to Nathaniel Paddack on September 21. The Paddacks lived here for over a century and a quarter. They were famous as whaleship masters. One of them, Captain Paul Paddack, was the first Nantucket man to take command of a London whaleship, the Royal Bounty, and take her on a voyage to Greenland. Among the Nantucket crew members were Thomas Delano and Charles West, the latter who was to marry Hepsabeth Paddack, the daughter of Captain Paul Paddack. Their three sons became outstanding whaling masters. With the decline of whaling, the house was sold to George and Mary Coleman Turner, who lived in it from 1840 to 1881. For several years near the end of the Turner occupancy, it was virtually abandoned, but the year 1881 saw the revival of the ancient structure. It was the time of the now famous Coffin Reunion, held at Surfside. In that year, Judge Tristram Coffin, of Poughkeepsie, New York, who had come to attend Clan Coffins' get-together, saw the old dwelling on the hill abandoned, and resolved to make some restoration and open it to the public as a museum. It was a wise decision. Judge Coffin's action saved the Jethro Coffin House from an inevitable ending. In 1923, the Nantucket Historical Association stepped into the picture. Through the generous support of many people, it was encouraged to con tinue its work of preservation, and in 1924, with the financial support of Judge Coffin, the Association took over the ownership of the proper ty. In January, 1926, another Coffin entered the story of the house. Winthrop Coffin, of Boston, offered to finance the cost of restoration of the "Horseshoe House," as it had been called (due to the outline of the restoration of the brick face on the front of the chimney), provided the work be done under the supervision of William Sumner Appleton, then Secretary of the Society For The Preservation of New England Anti quities, who had offered his services. The offer was promptly accepted by the Association.
