Coffin School Exhibit Opens on Nantucket

COURTESY OF THE NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
The Coffin School

NANTUCKET – A new Nantucket Historical Association exhibit opened Saturday in the Mezzanine Gallery at the Whaling Museum on Broad Street.

The exhibit, “The Coffin School: A Gift of Education,” will allow visitors to explore the school through rarely-seen artifacts from a century and a half of use.

The school was created in 1827 by English Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, who visited Nantucket just once the year prior. At the time the school was founded, more than 300 Nantucket children lacked formal education.

The school was moved from Fair Street to Winter Street in 1854 and the school was integrated into the Nantucket Public School System by 1941.

Classes continued at the facility until 1968.

The building also served island nonprofit organizations as a venue for lectures, classes and musical events in the latter half of the century.

The Coffin School Trustees, which include descendants of original trustees and former students, continue to own the facility and provide grants and scholarships to support programs and island youth.

Some of the artifacts in the exhibit include a portrait of Admiral Coffin, a journal written aboard the school’s early American training ship and student work.

The exhibit will be on display from through November 20 and is included with museum admission.