ADDITIONAL HISTORY OF THE HOUSE

Currently being enjoyed as a private home, the house was originally built as a church – the

original Nahant Village Church. It was built in 1851 by Dexter Stetson, who earned reputation of a

skillful builder in Nahant and who’s next building accomplishments were North Carolina lighthouses

including the Cape Hatteras light, which is still the tallest US lighthouse and probably the most

famous of all!

Stetson’s building skills were marked with ingenuity and expertise *) working with wood in costal

conditions. Three of the lighthouses built in NC between 1869 and 1875, all shared his innovative

design, have withstood hurricanes, nor’easters and the harsh coastal environment, although the

Hatteras light was moved landward in 1999 to spare it from the encroaching Atlantic.

The Nahant Village Church was built so well for $2,258 that part of a Sunday sermon included praise

for Stetson, and it became a beloved church for all-year Nahant residents and a center of the town

life. It too was built to stand intact for centuries like the other Stetson’s constructions, though no

longer a church. One can’t avoid feeling the sense of awe looking at or touching the original massive

cedar beams exposed in the building’s attic, once hoisted and set in place by Stetson’s command.

Built in the center of Big Nahant, with its clock and bell in the steeple, the church stood high and

visible by fisherman at sea. Bell rang at 8:45 pm to announce curfew to town children.

After it was first built, the church has undergone changes; it was raised to create basement space to

hold vestry, Sunday school, kitchen, dining room, and the addition of women’s parlor at the back of

the church. In April 23d of 1861, citizens’ meeting at the vestry decided to form a military company

called “Home Guard” to answer the Civil War patriotic call.

In September of 1959, the congregation joined Nahant Church on Cliff Street to form the current

Nahant Village Church. A special chapel was added, and much of the furniture, organ and the stained

glass memorial windows were moved there. The steeple was removed; the bell is now displayed on

Cliff Street church’s grounds. The building was sold to the YMCA, which had a basketball court,

bowling alley and daycare in former Sunday school space (now ground level apartment). Many

Nahanters remember the good time attending dances at the “Y”.

In 1995, the building was remodeled into a private dwelling.

In 2007, new sunroom with wraparound deck was built on the roof of former lady’s parlor, designed by

O’Connell Architecture, built by Wilson Brothers Construction company.

In 2023, tin church’s ceiling over the great room was replaced with the current coffered ceiling.

References:

1928, Fred Wilson, “Some Annals of Nahant”

1991, Stanley C. Paterson & Carl G. Seaburg, “Nahant on the Rocks”

1997, Rob Risch, “The Indian Princess. A child’s history of Nahant”

September 20,2022, Island Free Press, “Lighthouse builder Dexter Stetson laid sturdy foundations”

https://islandfreepress.org/hatteras-island-features/lighthouse-builder-dexter-stetson-laid-sturdy-

foundations/

*) In March of 1867 Congress appropriated $75,000 for a new lighthouse, the very best that could be built. Dexter Stetson was chosen

as the construction foreman of the new Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Work began in November of 1868.

When the first excavation for the massive Granite, brick and iron tower began, Stetson discovered that he could only dig down about six

feet before hitting hard, compact sand. Though he had the use of pile drivers, he decided to use the naturally hard subsurface to lay 3

courses of yellow pine timbers, which would serve as the first layer of the foundation. Submerged below the fresh water table, Stetson

knew the timbers would remain steel-strong for many years to come.

The monster tower was built of the very best materials available. One and a quarter million dark red bricks came from the kilns along

the James River. The dressed granite for the quoins came from Vermont, and an enduring iron stairway was cast by Bartlett & Robbins.

Despite delays and the harshness of the elements at the Cape, Stetson and his crew completed the 198-foot tall structure in December

of 1870. The tower was topped off with a twenty-four panel, first order Fresnel lens.

In 1873 The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse received its black and white spirals that made it world-renowned.