Maria Mitchell Vestal Street Observatory Update

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • Nov 21, 2022

It has been a bit of time since I updated you on the conservation project at the MMO. Things are moving along although we are still confronted – as everyone else is – with supply chain issues. 


But, the mason has replaced most of the cellar lintels. The iron had rusted and started to cause shifting in the bricks. He has painstakingly dug them out and then replaced the iron lintel with steel. He will then fill them and re-brick them with the existing bricks. 


He has also been working on the main floors iron lintels. These have proved more of an issue for removal. The doors and windows in the Astronomical Study addition have large stones over them and then the lintel is found behind the stone. The stone, while smooth on the front is rough on the sides and back and when they filled in around and behind it with grout that rough stone really did a great job of adhering to the grout. And, they filled in from inside the building before it was finished so its packed and stuck in there very firmly. He has to work slowly and carefully so he doesn’t break the stone because it will be reused – and if it breaks we are never going to be able to match it. So, it’s a tough and slow process. And these stones over the windows and doors weight hundreds and hundreds of pounds so the weight is another issue.  You will note where he has dug out around the lintel over the door. He is trying to save all the brick to re-use it so it matches. And, our Observatory is made of three layers of brick – that is, it is three bricks deep.


This conservation work is funded with grants from the M. S. Worthington Foundation and the Community Preservation Act.


JNLF

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Shards

By Jascin N. Leonardo FInger • 06 May, 2024
I have written of my love for sea glass and pottery shards in the past and the recent replacement of the sewer and water lines on Vestal Street created a small shard collection over the last month. Since the work required the asphalt to be completely removed (all twelve inches of it!) and the road to be dug up multiple times as they worked to remove pipe, relay new pipe, hook up the water meters, and install drainage and manhole covers, this resulted in the earth in the street being tossed about quite a bit. And, with that, came the shards! Some of these likely came from the sewer line (yes, yuck) but others came from being simply in the dirt of the road – which was not paved until 1946/1948. Pieces were likely tossed out at times, made to act as filler in holes, or simply tossed. So I found all sorts of pieces I will keep here at the Mitchell House. They included: a lovely piece with a red floral, many pieces of plates, glass, the top of a late nineteenth or early twentieth century (medicine) bottle, glass shards, a flattened spoon, a brass knob (found by a neighbor) some nails, a spike, pieces of a larger container or two based on the size and curve and coloring of the shards, and possibly a Wampanoag stone tool. One person’s trash is another one’s treasures! JNLF

Is That A Wrap?

22 Apr, 2024
Yes. Well, almost. After about a month of working – and some living (staff and or neighbors) – on Vestal Street with all the sewer and water replacement work, the paving happened today (April 17, 2024). This is the first “layer” – a three-inch binder coat. In the fall, once time has passed, they will return for the final one inch of the finish layer. Some of the other things along Vestal Street will also be repaired and updated between now and the final coat – and a bit after that. But we are very happy, after all these years to have a modern system of piping – and all new drainage we never had before! While the curator in me loved the old clay pipes, they were riddled with roots from the trees, holes, and in some places, collapsed, and the twelve inches of asphalt had to go. Vestal Street was only paved in about 1946/1948 – and has not been paved in maybe twenty years so that is a lot of asphalt in about fifty years! And with climate change and the increase in how much rain we get in these heavy rain events, all that water rushed down Vestal Street with nowhere to go – except our cellars. I am sure the neighbors are happy too! A thank you to the Town of Nantucket’s Sewer Department, especially David Gray (who may regret giving me his cellphone number forever), N&M Excavating and Utilities (Dean, we appreciate you being so nice when we had too many questions), Victor-Brandon Corp for paving, and numerous others. We are looking forward to great flushing, powerful hose lines, and rainwater being whisked away via the new, never-before-had storm drains! JNLF And to all the N&M workers who wondered why I was constantly looking down as I walked along Vestal Street, you should see the trove of porcelain shards, glass, old nails, a bottle neck, 19 th century spoon, and even possibly a Wampanoag stone tool I found!
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