History of Barntucket

Originally a horse and carriage barn, Barntucket was built in the early 1800s and was part of the former Derrymore Estates located near the present day Westmoor Club. In 1898, Barntucket was literally rolled on logs down a cow path (now Derrymore Road) to its present location on North Liberty Street. The barn was then converted to a house by a Reverend Buckey and his family who used Barntucket as a summer residence until the late 1920s. Since then there have been several owners but few changes have been made to the authentic character of Barntucket. It is believed the name ‘Barntucket’ was given by owners of the property in the 1950s.

 

Today the interior of Barntucket retains its original detailing, from ship lap planking on the walls to southern yellow pine flooring. Barntucket’s easterly lot line abuts Coffin Park, a nine acre conservation area open to the public. Also abutting Coffin Park on its southern side is Nantucket’s ‘Oldest House’ and on its northern boundary sits the very popular sandwich shop and bread bakery ‘Something Natural’. Many Nantucketers growing up in this neighborhood remember Coffin Park as an open field where children would gather after school for a baseball game or just to have fun. In the 1950s this same area was the site of the DPW and just around the corner on West Chester Street was Nantucket’s first ‘Nantucket Cottage Hospital’. This area of North Liberty Street is still a fairly quiet residential neighborhood of mostly summer residents.