The Oldest House and the Historic Garden
- Also Known As: Jethro Coffin House
- Address: 16 Sunset Hill
- Vicinity: E of N Liberty St, off Sunset Hill Ln
Nantucket's last surviving building from the original 17th century settlement. - AsNotedIn
The Jethro Coffin House was erected supposedly as a wedding present for Jethro and Mary (Gardner) Coffin sometime around 1686. All, the materials for construction came from Exeter, New Hampshire, where Jethro's father, Peter Coffin, owned timberland and a saw mill. In 1708 the Coffins sold the house to the Paddocks who owned it until 1840. After a series of unrecorded owners and uses it was bought by Tristram Coffin of Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1881, a direct descendant. At this time some repairs were made which included a new roof, a new cornice for the old chimney top, the insertion of strengthening timbers and the application of new shingles in bare sections. In 1923 it was bought by the Nantucket Historical Association who undertook its reconstruction. - NRHP, 25 January 1975