The Nahant Historical Society mourns the passing of our beloved Curator Emerita Calantha Ruth Doane Sears. A third generation Nahanter, she was 103, and known informally as “the First Lady of Nahant,” for countless reasons.

The initial phase of construction of the Nahant Antisubmarine Laboratory was completed on April 7, 1914, one day after the United States declared war on Germany.

On July 14, 2024, Tennis lovers gathered in Nahant - the Birthplace of American Tennis - to celebrate the sport on it’s 150th anniversary

In 1880, Boston merchant Thomas Howe asked architectural firm Wait and Cutter, along with builder J.T. Wilson, to build him a ‘Gentleman’s Residence’ on a hilltop site in Little Nahant. Located at 9 Little Nahant Road, the Howe Estate is one of Nahants finest examples of Queen Anne style design.

Nahant Historical Society co-founder, Calantha Sears, was all smiles as she entered the Society for the Boston Post Cane ceremony. The ceremonial cane is presented to Nahant's oldest resident, Sears being 101-and-a-half.

Ever wonder what a warm, summer day in Nahant would have been like in 1857?

From The Boston Sights and Strangers’ Guide R.L. Midgley, James Monroe & Company, 1857: “Stranger, if you would visit one of the most pleasant and delightful watering places in the world, seat yourself in the cars, be landed in Lynn, take passage in one of the stages that leave almost hourly, and when deposited in Nahant – take your Guide’s word for it – you will bless you stars, and thank him.”

The Nahant Historical Society is proud to announce that it will once again join museums nationwide in the Blue Star Museums initiative, a program that provides free admission to currently-serving U.S. military personnel and their families this summer. Admission to the Nahant Historical Society’s museum is already free to all, but as part of our Blue Star Museums involvement, we will offer all qualified military members a 10% discount in our shop, as well as $10 Membership in the Society.

Ever wonder who lived in Nahant during the 16th century and before?

This Sunday, October 17, 2021, we have the honor of celebrating Calantha’s 100th birthday. While we would have enjoyed a huge parade, town wide parties, and fireworks, it is with great pleasure that we honor Calantha in her own style – quiet, humble, and welcoming. Enjoy this special video message from Calantha.

This is the story of the backyard construction of the Valiant, an 80 foot, 90 ton dragger, and how the community helped to make that dream come true. This professional off­shore fishing vessel built in Nahant, Massachusetts, was constructed between 1955 and 1963 by owners and neighbors Raymond Palombo and Francis "Swede" L. McClain, Jr. in the narrow space between their houses with their partner Charles Baxter.

Milo was a Newfoundland/St Bernard mix who moved to Egg Rock Lighthouse with the first keeper, George B Taylor, and his family in 1855. Often he swam the mile wide channel back to Nahant to visit and carouse with the mainland dogs. Milo achieved international fame and admiration when he rescued one of the Taylor children from drowning. After word of Milo's heroic act spread across the Atlantic Ocean, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer painted Milo’s portrait depicting a small child nestled between the noble animal's enormous paws in "Saved".

At our Annual Meeting on April 18, Calantha Sears gave a presentation of the beginning of the Nahant Historical Society in 1975. Please enjoy the video.

The Nahant Historical Society wishes all of you happy holidays and a new year full of hope and recovery. These have been tough times for us all, but together we will get through it. Seaside Pizza is a shining example of the spirit of generosity and caring for others. The Sunday Boston Globe had a special section on people who have gone above and beyond to help others during Covid 19. We are proud that Beni Noci, and his team at Seaside Pizza, were recognized for their wonderful gift to the seniors of Nahant.

We invite you to celebrate the 99th birthday of Calantha Sears on October 17, 2020. We will happily pass along your wishes through email or by mail. Send your emails to info@nahanthistory.org and cards can be sent to the Nahant Historical Society, 41 Valley Road, Nahant. We will make sure she receives them. Click below to read how Calantha was born to be Nahant’s historian and see pictures of her throughout the years.

On Friday, September 4, 2020, The Nahant Historical Society made Cheerio the duck an Honorary Lifetime Member. Please see the video of his induction ceremony, pictures of the event, as well as the Proclamation which includes his duties.

Nahant’s 3rd and 4th grade students shared with us their thoughts and feelings during the pandemic so that we could document them for future generations. Click below to see how our school children’s everyday lives have changed through their own heartfelt words and drawings.

From at least 1895, and perhaps before, and lasting into the late 1950s, Nahant had a very special tradition that most families looked forward to each spring. On the 19th of April, or Fry Day, by late morning there would be an exodus of Nahanters to the rocks and beaches of the town for an outing. Mothers, fathers, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and even dogs all cooperated in carrying the well-filled picnic basket and a blanket to each family’s favorite spot on the shore (usually the same spot each year) for a cookout or a “Fry” as it was called at that time.

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is providing Nahant with a $15,000 federal grant for the initiative, Go Local: Nature in Nahant. The project will involve discovering the plants that grow — and once grew — in the seaside town’s unique natural surroundings, using a 19th-century pressed plant collection held by the library. The herbarium was created in 1897 by Nahant schoolteacher Florence “Miss Flossie” Johnson and her pupils.

"The Nahant Boulder" is an old friend to those who love to study rocks. The boulder was doubtless carried to Nahant by the ice, when this part of the country was ice covered, and deposited when the ice melted. The stone is well known to geologists.

All Nahant calls (incoming and outgoing) were handled by the Operators at the Nahant Exchange on the corner of Valley Road and Spring Road, from 1911 until Nahant went ‘over dial’ in 1960. They definitely had their fingers on the pulse of Nahant. Not only did they know what was happening, they knew where everyone was. If someone needed Dr. DiClerico, they usually know where they could get a message to him.