The Hospital Thrift Shop, located at the Sanford House on Federal St. in the 1930s.

Hospital Thrift Shop History

The Thrift Shop was founded when a group of dedicated volunteers established the Thrifty Shop, selling affordable, recycled clothing and household items to benefit the Nantucket Cottage Hospital.

The first monetary donations to the Cottage Hospital were made in 1929 and 1930 for a total of $603 and $603.84, respectively. Mrs. Helen Congdon gathered women in her Monomoy home to knit, sew, hook rugs, and make canned goods and jelly for the purpose of raising funds to support the Island’s hospital. These women formalized their efforts in 1931 by renting St. Paul’s Parish House at 12 Liberty Street and began a proper business called the Hospital Thrift Shop. That year, the business netted $3,000. Over time, four other locations downtown were rented to house the business.

On September 15, 1944, the women held the first meeting of the Incorporators in which an Agreement of Association and Articles of the Organization under the Commonwealth of Massachusetts were enacted and voted on unanimously. A Board of Directors and Executive Committee were elected, By-laws were approved, and certification was made by the Commissioner of Corporations and the Secretary of the Commonwealth. A new Nantucket business corporation founded by women was created.

In 1945, the Board of Directors purchased the property at 17 India Street for $7,500. A permanent home for the Hospital Thrift Shop became a reality. The business has flourished for 97 years, and more than $8 million has been donated to Nantucket Cottage Hospital to support the purchase of medical equipment and general improvements to enhance quality health care for all. That sum includes a donation of $500,000 to the Capital Building Campaign in 2018.

Devoted volunteers, staff, donors, and shoppers are responsible for this thriving enterprise, which provides affordable clothing, books, furniture, and an array of merchandise. The Hospital Thrift Shop boasts being the first recycling business on the island and one of Nantucket’s first not-for-profits. It is also one of the oldest and longest-lasting businesses on the island. Everyone who is a part of this wonderful organization takes pride in serving our community and providing financial support to the Nantucket Cottage Hospital.

In 1945 the Hospital Thrift Shop Moved to its Present Location at 17 India Street. It’s one of the oldest and longest-lasting businesses on the island.

nantucket preservation trust award

Nantucket Preservation Trust 2018 Architectural Award

In 2015, the Hospital Thrift Shop was awarded the first grant from the Conservation and Preservation Committee of Nantucket to repair the building, and was recognized in 2018 with the Nantucket Preservation Trust Architectural Award. Along with the grant to repair the building came introductions to a professional architectural preservationist and craftsmen and women who could make the diagnosis of repairs that needed to be addressed immediately and set forth a plan for the next 5 and more years of repairs.

The house, built in 1792 had been the victim of years of water damage, resulting in a rotten sill, a moving rubble foundation which resulted in a building that was bowed to the east side.  Brian Pfeiffer, built a team, Matt Anderson, Michael Gault, Pen Austin and Michael Burrey (and his North Bennett Street School interns) to repair the building using methodologies and materials that would have been used when the building was built.  Today repairs continue to be made in the off season when the shop is “nearly” closed for the winter.

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