Our History

The Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum came about shortly after an exhibit sponsored by the Nantucket Historical Association, curated by David H. Wood, and funded in large part by Nantucket basket makers. Basket makers island wide heralded the need for a permanent museum that would annually change exhibits and provide serious study to the history of baskets and would provide education to adults and children in all aspects of this craft.

Our initial organization included a community mix of expertise in very diverse professions including basket makers and many, many volunteer fundraisers.  The concept was widely accepted and donations were very generous.

The property at 49 Union Street, Nantucket, formerly the home of Albert and Rosalina Johnson, was purchased with generous donations and a large mortgage. Structural renovations were made with strict sensitivity to the historic nature of the district and the concerns of our neighbors. We even used some flooring salvaged from an old Nantucket building which had recently suffered a fire and was under reconstruction, thus saving another piece of Nantucket history!

In the eight years we have been open to the public, we have made great strides. The Museum continues to be dedicated to preserving Nantucket’s rich history of basket making as an art form and to provide a permanent home for an exhibit of Nantucket Lightship Baskets, both historic and contemporary. Our goal is to educate the public for future generations with exhibits, lectures, and demonstrations. Other milestones include:

Annually changing exhibits have included these topics and more: teachers/students; special purpose baskets; lightship basket nests - nearly all from private collections. The Museum’s permanent collection includes examples from Reyes, Boyer, Kittila, Gibbs, and many others, including a nest of baskets made in the International Space Station.

Lightship baskets are unique to the island of Nantucket. We are very proud to be “Weaving Nantucket’s Past into its Future.”