The Maria Mitchell Vestal Street Observatory

Website Editor • Apr 04, 2022

I wrote this blog and posted it a few years ago but now that we are in the midst of the conservation of the Maria Mitchell Vestal Street Observatory, I thought I would share it again.


It never ceases to amaze me what I uncover in the MMA’s Archives and Special Collections.

This item was in a box labeled “Lydia Hinchman.” Not all of our institutional archives have been arranged and described – it’s a big project that has been begun but not completed – so this has not yet been processed. Lydia, a cousin of Maria’s, was one of the MMA’s founders and the driving force for purchasing several of the properties surrounding the Mitchell House. She was the force behind creating the Maria Mitchell Vestal Street Observatory in 1908.



This is from one of her MMA scrapbooks. And it is a drawing – likely by her – and describes in detail the building of the Observatory foundation and how it works. It’s always hard for me to describe the “pillar room” and what lies beneath but you can sort of make it out in this image where she has drawn a line to show the ground level. The foundation of the dome goes pretty deep into the earth – it’s a cement and brick foundation – and the telescope is meant to be supported by this piece – the walls and the movement of a building cannot affect the telescope so they surround this massive part. It’s why at Loines Observatory, for example, we do not put telescopes on the deck because as people walk across it, it makes the telescopes bounce – it makes the view unclear and can also move the telescope from what it is focused on. If an observatory moves – the telescope doesn’t as it sits on a solid separate piece.


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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