Levi Coffin and the Ocean View House

Above the railroad depot on Ocean Avenue was the Ocean View House and the newly constructed Ocean View Annex, for years managed by Levi Coffin, who owned Bloomingdale Farm west of the village.

Levi Coffin (b. 1845) was the son of Henry Coffin, one of the well-known whale-oil magnates of the golden era of that industry. Born in the house built by his father at 75 Main Street in town, Levi grew up across the street from his cousins at 78 Main Street, where his uncle, Charles G. Coffin, had an equally impressive brick home. Charles G. and Henry were partners in the whale-oil business, and developers of the Surfside Land Company plan that never captured the imagination of investors.

Levi became a fixture of 'Sconset — proprietor of the biggest hotel in town, owner of a hardware store, and farmer; his son Henry delivered vegetables to the village in his horse and wagon several times a week, and Bloomingdale Farm supplied the hotel's kitchen. Their land would later be the site of the 'Sconset Golf Club, Nantucket's second-earliest golf course.

Bloomingdale Farm
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A digital exhibition by the Nantucket Historical Association