Nantucket Tap Room

Almost two hundred years ago, the cobblestones of Main Street echoed with the reverent simplicity of Quaker speech and the colorful rhythms of strange tongues from the far corners of the world. The wharves were crowded with a thousand casks of oil and the happy confusion of a multitude of men outfitting the sailing ships that were to touch on the distant shores of Tahiti and Oahu. The small shops were redolent with the exotic bouquet of oranges from Seville, olives from Cadiz, and aromatic spices from the Orient. This was Nantucket Island in 1845, just when the islands thriving whaling industry was beginning to decline. It was in 1845 that the Jared Coffin House was erected. Jared Coffin, one of the wealthiest ship owners during the heyday of whaling, built Nantuckets first mansion so that his wife could live closer to town. After less than a year of living in the stately three-story house, Mrs. Coffin decided she would rather live in Boston and so the Jared Coffin House was placed on the market. The house stood strong against the ravages of the Great Fire of 1846 with its brick faade and steel roof, one of the few Main Street buildings that survived. In April of 1846, the Nantucket Steamboat Company purchased the Jared Coffin House for less than half of its original cost and converted it into a public house, christening the building the Ocean House. In that same year, the basement was converted into a billiard saloon and gentlemans smoking room. In 1857, Eben W. Allen purchased the Ocean House for $5,000. He built a three-story addition that same year that added a kitchen, dining room, and sixteen bedrooms. A year later, Allen installed gas in the parlors, halls, dining room, and main chambers. By 1872, the Ocean House saw as many as 1,700 guests in a season. Many distinguished guests have passed through the doors of the Jared Coffin House. In July of 1852, Herman Melville stayed at the Ocean House, finally visiting the island that he described in detail in his cla