Each year, the Nantucket Preservation Trust celebrates the people and projects helping to preserve Nantucket’s historic places. The Preservation Awards honor thoughtful stewardship of historic buildings, landscapes, and island resources, highlighting work that respects the past while allowing these places to continue serving the present. They also recognize the skill of local craftspeople and the dedication of owners and stewards committed to preserving Nantucket’s historic character.
On October 1, NPT gathered at Sherburne Hall to celebrate the recipients of our 20th Annual Preservation Awards. This year’s honorees demonstrate the many forms preservation can take, from an extensive restoration of a centuries-old house to decades of careful stewardship, a sensitive rehabilitation, and a landscape designed to complement and enhance a historic property.
MICHELLE ELZAY ARCHITECTURAL PRESERVATION AWARD
Sarah Noelle McLane | 6 Gull Island Lane
The Hannah Gardner House
Built circa 1794, the Hannah Gardner House is a typical Nantucket-style four-bay residence that had weathered decades of change and, by the time Sarah Noelle McLane acquired it in 2019, years of serious neglect. Its rubble foundation had failed, structural timbers were deteriorating, windows were broken, water intrusion had caused significant rot, and the house had no utilities. Rather than treating those conditions as a reason to start over, the restoration began with a different question: how much of the original house could be saved, repaired, and brought forward into its next chapter?
The answer was quite a lot. Original floorboards were carefully lifted, tagged, mapped, and later reinstalled. Stairs, windows, doors, mantels, hardware, wall lath, and the central chimney mass with its six fireplaces were retained and restored wherever possible. New work was approached with the same care, using traditional materials and methods including mortise-and-tenon construction, hand-glazed restoration glass, lime plaster, and historically appropriate masonry.
Sarah assembled a team of expert craftspeople to undertake the work. Nathaniel Allen oversaw timber-frame repairs; Colin Evans and Henry Orton replastered the home using traditional lime plaster; Chris Bouque created new windows for the rebuilt side and rear ells; John Doyle Masonry handled foundation repairs; Niall Cassey provided finish carpentry; Barrett Enterprises managed site work; and Koba Abaloidze Tile and Stone oversaw work in the new kitchen and bathrooms. Modern plumbing, electrical, heating, and cooling systems were carefully tucked into knee walls, crawl spaces, and other unobtrusive areas by Mark Aguiar Plumbing and Heating, D&B Electric, and Randy S. Afeldt Heating & Cooling. Merlos Landscaping completed the historically appropriate landscape.
The result is not simply a repaired historic house, but a thoughtful continuation of one, preserving the craftsmanship and character of the Hannah Gardner House while making it livable for another generation.
CAROLINE A. ELLIS HISTORICAL RENOVATION AWARD
Kerin & Jason Hempel, with Stephens & Company Inc. | 17 Orange Street
James and Sarah Wyer Easton House
Built in 1831, 17 Orange Street, historically known as the James and Sarah Wyer Easton House, is one of five connected residences that form the Folger Block Rowhouses, a rare surviving example of early nineteenth-century urban development on Nantucket. When Kerin and Jason Hempel took on the property in 2022, the challenge was not simply to update an old house, but to make room for contemporary life without erasing the nearly two centuries of history already built into it. Their approach was guided by restraint: preserve what could be preserved, work around what had survived, and let the original structure continue to shape the way the house was used.
That philosophy can be seen throughout the rehabilitation. Working with Daniel Frisch Architecture of New York City and Stephens & Company of Nantucket, original millwork, staircases, shutters, flooring, fireplaces, windows, doors, hardware, and the historic room layout were retained wherever possible. The existing foundation was carefully underpinned and the basement floor lowered to create additional headroom and usable space without altering the historic appearance above. Even a structural timber that once formed part of the rear exterior wall was left visible and incorporated into the renovated primary bathroom rather than removed.
Modern plumbing, electrical, and heating systems were threaded carefully through the house by 8 Gates Heating & Cooling, Marsh Plumbing & Heating, and McAuley Electric. Where historic material could not be saved, replacement work was custom-made to match original profiles and details. Gregoire & Sons Plastering, Mac Davis Flooring, Phelps Associates LLC, and Sconset Painting also contributed their expertise to the project. The Garden Group Landscaping created a modest rear courtyard incorporating traditional paving, planting, outdoor dining space, and discreet parking, improvements that enhance the property’s functionality while remaining subordinate to the historic architecture.
The result is a house that feels neither frozen in time nor disconnected from its past, but one thoughtfully adapted to continue as part of the Folger Block and Nantucket’s historic streetscape.
JOHN A. AND KATHERINE LODGE STEWARDSHIP AWARD
George & Kathy Butterworth | 23 North Water Street
In 1792, merchant John Elkins purchased a vacant house lot on North Water Street, and by 1809 he had constructed two homes on the property. The house at 23 North Water Street has many of the hallmarks of a typical Nantucket-style house, including its four-bay façade, central chimney mass, plank-frame windows, and transom.
Since 1979, George and Kathy Butterworth have been the stewards of the more than 200 years of history encompassed within the house. They purchased the property as a young couple newly arrived on Nantucket for George’s career as a doctor at Nantucket Cottage Hospital. In the early years of their ownership, they lived in the rear of the house and rented rooms in the front. Over time, they occupied the entire house and added modern heating to a building that had not been used as a year-round residence since 1887.
The Butterworths’ care for 23 North Water Street reflects the idea that some of the best preservation is simply good maintenance. George carries out much of that work himself, with a shop on the third floor where he restores window sash and completes other carpentry projects. Their stewardship has also extended beyond their own property. Through active participation at Town Meeting, the Butterworths have twice advocated against commercial zoning changes that would have significantly altered the character of North Water Street.
More than four decades of ownership demonstrate how the cumulative choices of dedicated stewards can protect not only a single historic house, but the character of the neighborhood around it.
CAROLINE A. ELLIS LANDSCAPE & GARDEN AWARD
Harvey Jones | 78 Main Street
The stately Federal-style home at 78 Main Street was constructed in 1832 for merchant Charles Coffin. Harvey Jones purchased the property in 1992 and has taken great care to create historically appropriate, restored formal gardens that complement the home’s architecture and character. Chip Callaway of Greensboro, North Carolina, designed the gardens for the site, which at just over four-tenths of an acre is unusually large for downtown Nantucket. From Main Street, urns set within the hardscape among peastone paths and ferns provide a frame for the historic home.
In 2022, a historic “sheaf of wheat” fence design was constructed to replicate an earlier fence that had been removed. Board fencing surrounding the property incorporates gaps that allow the ancient elms standing on the site to thrive. Beyond the street, the side and rear gardens visible from Rays Court form a tucked-away haven of meandering stone paths and whimsical elements, including fountains and a small footbridge leading to a rear gate. Chris Powers Landscaping oversees care, maintenance, and new plantings for the gardens with a meticulous eye for detail. The property demonstrates how historically appropriate gardens can greatly enhance the character of both an individual historic home and the larger streetscape around it.