A Brief History 3 North Liberty Street Stephen Skinner, mariner, circa 1805
3 North Liberty circa 1880s
Nineteenth-century deeds for the house at 3 North Liberty describe the property as “a certain lot of land in Nantucket, in that part of the town called Egypt.” Liberty, North Liberty, and Lily Streets meet in the heart of “Egypt,” an early Nantucket place name that referred to an area south of Lily Pond, extending to the end of the Wesco Acre Lots on India Street; its exact boundaries are nowhere described. Why it was called Egypt is not known, although it is possible that the palpable darkness of the outskirts of the tightly clustered and more brightly lit town reminded some of a biblical reference: “And the Lord said unto Moses, stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.” (Exodus 10:21)
Capt. William H. Skinner grew up at 3 North Liberty
William Coffin’s 1834 Map of the Town of Nantucket, the first survey of the town to show property lines of parcels and footprints of buildings, depicts a pair of houses at the beginning of North Liberty Street, in the crotch of land created by Lily Street’s diversion to the northeast. The first house on the north side of North Liberty belonged to Jonathan Perry (1745–1823) and was removed sometime in the late nineteenth century. Perry’s oldest daughter, Nancy (1784–1818), was married to mariner Stephen Skinner (1777– 1818), who was at sea in 1805 when his father-in-law, with a power of attorney, purchased in Skinner’s name the land adjoining his on the west, for $212. The Skinner dwelling was built sometime between 1805 and 1818, when both Nancy and Stephen died, seven months apart. Their five children, aged one to sixteen the year their parents died, sold the family home in 1830 to shoemaker Rowland Pollard. Pollard owned the house for six years, selling it to Thomas Barnard 2nd, ship master, in 1836. His widow, Caroline, sold the house in 1869 to John R. Sylvia, whose family owned it until 1914.
Tony Sarg
The best known owner of 3 North Liberty was artist Tony Sarg (1880–1942). He and his wife, Bertha, acquired the house in 1920, and owned it for twenty-two years. Tony was a well-known illustrator, author, toy-maker, and puppeteer. He designed the first mechanically animated display window for Macy’s Department Store in New York City, and created the first huge hot-air balloons for the store’s annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. A 1937 sea monster hoax demonstrated for the island his talent in gigantic balloon design. The Sargs made Nantucket their summer home, and Tony had a shop at 38 Centre Street; later he opened Tony Sarg’s Curiosity Shop at the corner of Steamboat Wharf and Easy Street. A number of interior and exterior photographs of 3 North Liberty from the time of the Sarg residence is in the collection of the Nantucket Historical Association.
3 North Liberty during the Sarg ownership
The Sarg parlor
Sea monster at Nantucket
Prepared by Betsy Tyler Nantucket Preservation Trust November 2010 Historic images courtesy the Nantucket Historical Association
3 North Liberty: Owners Stephen Skinner, mariner, and Nancy Perry Skinner
1805–1818
Susan Skinner (Sherman) Samuel P. Skinner Sophronia Skinner (Worth) William H. Skinner Mary Skinner (Morrisey)
1818–1830
Rowland Pollard, shoemaker, and Sally Clasby Pollard
1830–1836
Thomas Barnard 2nd, ship master, and Caroline H. Barnard
1836–1869
John R. Sylvia and Ellen Sylvia
1869–1914
James H. Wood Jr. and Etta C. Wood
1914–1918
Mary Silva Heroo
1918–1920
William E. MacKay and Helen E. MacKay
1920
Anthony F. Sarg and Bertha E. Sarg
1920–1942
Elaine King and Mary A. King
1942–1944
Vincent Y. Bowditch and Mary King Bowditch
1944–1961
Allan W. Stapleton and Irene W. Stapleton
1961–1966
Gerhard A. Rand and Lisa Rand
1966–1972
Livingston Day Watrous and Alicia L. Watrous
1972–1994
Jane L. Schnitzer
1994–1998
Suellen Ward and John H. Copenhaver III
1998–