julie tarmy

April 18, 2021

The Founding of the Historical Society

julie tarmy

April 18, 2021

Calantha Sears chronicles the beginning of the Nahant Historical Society in 1975.

NHS NEWS

History of the Howe Estate

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 Soap Box Derby

“The Thrill on the Hill” was run in Nahant for many years on Memorial Day Weekend, primarily in Little Nahant

Calantha Ruth Doane Sears

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.

War on Sea Won in Nahant Laboratory

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.

Nahant the “Birthplace of American Tennis"

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

Boston Post Cane for Calantha

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.

The Nahant Hotel, 1857

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 a Blue Star Museum

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.

The First People of Nahant

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

Happy 100th Birthday Calantha Sears

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.

Remembering the Valiant: A Community Launches a Dream

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

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".

The Founding of the Historical Society

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.

Everyday Heroes

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.

Happy 99th Birthday Calantha

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.

"Cheerio"

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.

Johnson School Reflections on the Pandemic

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.

Fry Day

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.

Nahant digs into its plants, then and now.

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.

There is in Nahant a wonderful boulder

"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.

Operators of the Nahant Phone Exchange

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.

The Founding of Nahant’s First Public Library

By Bonnie Ayers D’Orlando, NHS Curator (retired)

Nahant Historical Society salutes Nahant Public Library on the bicentenary of its founding. Among our museum’s rarest artifacts is a framed collection of four original letters. Although fragile and faded after 200 years, they document that beginning. On Saturday June 1st, 2019, the letters will be displayed for one evening during the Library’s gala.

Women's Right to Vote

On the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, we thank the strong women who fought for equality and support those who continue to fight for what is fair and equitable. Read more about how the smallest municipality in Massachusetts played an important part in the suffrage movement.

Greenlawn Veterans Map

The Greenlawn Veterans Map Project was created as an aid to ensure that the War medallions and flags are placed at the correct graves so that all Nahant Veterans are honored. Producing a color-coded map of Nahant Veterans graves was the focus of several Nahant Boy Scout Troop 50 Eagle projects. Find your loved one’s grave with these downloadable Maps and Lists.

Dr. Joe

For 50 years, Dr. DiClerico's house calls were the rule rather than the exception. Most babies never saw the inside of the inside of a hospital delivery room. He recalled "in my first 10 years, 75% of the deliveries were done at home. Women just didn't want to go to the hospital." His first official delivery was David Solimine Sr. (of Solimine Funeral Home). When DiClerico retired in 1984, Solimine recalled "He's done so much good, given more free treatments. He always had a fresh boutonniere on his lapel and a cigar in his mouth. The nurses at the hospital would have to yell at him to take it out. It was just one of his trademarks."

Bicentennial Quilt

Molly Conlin was our guest speaker at the 2018 annual meeting. She shared with us the ins and outs of putting this incredible piece of art together. Under Molly’s gracious leadership, a total of 30 Nahant women gathered at the Conlin home to create the quilt in honor of our country’s Bicentennial celebration. We learned from Molly, and some of the other quilters who were in attendance, that a few husbands ‘lost’ their shirts and ties for the good of the Bicentennial. Some of their children were also involved in the project.