Union Jack is steeped in Nantucket history. It was built in 1806 by house carpenter Lot Hinckley, who had purchased several pieces of “Quanaty Bank” property in the first decade of the nineteenth century. Like its neighbors on either side, it is a ‘typical Nantucket house’. Ship’s carpenter Clovis Black then purchased the home in 1812 for $1,525. Owned by merchants and mariners in the 1820’s, it was purchased by another ship carpenter, or shipwright, Job L. Trafton, who also referred to himself as a ‘caulker’, in 1823. A caulker's job was to use waterproof materials to stop up the cracks between the planks of boats so they didn't leak. This involved, among other tasks, filling the cracks with oakum (untwisted strands of old ropes) and sealing planks with tar.
Trafton’s family owned the house for forth-five years, selling it to widow Catherine Killeen in 1869. When she sold the house for $300 in 1874, she retained life rights in the property. The 1870 U.S. Federal Census shows a full house at 29 Union: Killeen was in residence with the new owners of the house, Patrick and Lizzie Keane, their four school age children, a niece, and Killeen’s grandchildren ages twelve and thirteen.
The house is an excellent example of the Typical Nantucket House. The entry hall is characteristic of later example of the style with an open passageway. Note the old plaster walls, wide-board floors, transoms above the doorways and paneled fireplace walls with Federal mantels. The current dining room and upstairs den show evidence of its original plan. Floorboards at the back of these rooms indicate that the room was slightly smaller and held a partition wall possibly for a back stairway prior to the construction of the rear ell.
Darcy Creech acquired the house in March 2012 and named the property ‘Union Jack’ after its location on Union St., her father and business partner Jack, and the U.S. Union Jack (the navy blue flag with 50 white stars that is flown off the bow of U.S. Coast Guard vessels). Darcy is the visionary behind Peter Beaton Hat Studio, Hydrex Philanthropic Watch, N Charity logo, & Pay It Forward Worldwide. A single mother of two and successful serial entrepreneur, Union Jack is destined to provide Darcy with yet another means to her end--funding youth outreaches on Nantucket and constructing water wells in 3rd world villages that have no access to clean drinking water through Compassion International. Her motto? "We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give."
Family. Philanthropy. Navy and White. Nantucket. Making a world of difference. Thank you for choosing to stay at Union Jack. We truly appreciate it. May God bless this house and every person who walks through its doors more than they could have ever asked or imagined. In Jesus name, Amen.
