Captain N Palmer House

Captain Palmer discovered Antarctica.
Or so they say.
No doubt Nathaniel Palmer was an adventurous and successful individual. Both Nat and his bother Alexander went to sea very early in life and by 20 he was already a captain of a ship and had thousands of sea miles under his hat. He sailed around and all over the world and later in life designed and built some of the fastest and most beautiful sailing ships ever imagined. His clipper ships set records that were seemed absolutely inconceivable for the time. And yes, in 1820 he sighted «a land not recorded on any chart». This particular land turned out to be Antarctica.
All this stuff is pretty cool, but I wanted to review the good captain’s house. Yeah, he built himself a good one. A real fancy house designed by some New York architect of impeccable reputation. Finished in 1853, it overlooks Stonington Harbor and is indeed lovely. The part I like best is the very cool octagonal cupola on the roof that lets you see in every direction for miles. I can see the retired captain sitting up there with a cup of grog in his hand, slowly getting plastered while watching the sun set and the world go by.
The actual tour cost eight bucks, a bit steep perhaps but it also includes entrance to the superb Stonington Lighthouse Museum, so it’s actually a pretty good deal. It’s hard not to have a good time here and If you’re not careful you might actually learn something.
The house was indeed interesting but the best part of the experience was the charming, bouncy, young lady giving the tour. She was not only very knowledgeable but also very enthusiastic about her work, which always makes it more fun. I toured the house with a couple of my friends, and one friend in particular is an architect who restores old houses in her spare time. The tour guide not only took the time to answer all her questions but was very pleasant doing it. Our perky guide made an already interesting place even more fun and enjoyable.
So should Nataniel Palmer actually get credit for discovering Antarctica? Who knows. I guess it all depends on your what your definition of discovered actually means. I do know he had a cool life and built a impressive house that’s a great place to poke around and enjoy some history.