On the Market

Nahant’s grand estates started popping up in the 1800s when “Nahant was rivaling Newport.”

By Sam Shipman

June 25, 2026 | 7:00 AM

4 minutes to read

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The only thing that could make a grand historic estate on the water better is a view that tells a story.

In sleepy Nahant, 374 Nahant Road, which is on the market for $6,250,000, has a view of Egg Rock, an island with a geological strata of history.

Egg Rock, about 3 acres in size, is located less than a mile northeast of the town of Nahant; it’s said to look like a gray whale. A lighthouse was constructed on the rock in 1856 and was rebuilt in 1897 after a fire destroyed it. During World War I, the light was dimmed due to fears of enemy submarines passing through the waters, according to Coast Guard documents.

If you want to see this historic lighthouse today, you won’t have luck; not only was the light discontinued in 1922, but the tower was destroyed in 1927. The house the keeper lived in was separated from the tower and moved down the side of Egg Rock before the cable snapped, the Coast Guard documents detail.

“It slipped into the ocean,” said listing agent Annie Wachtel, an agent with Coldwell Banker Realty.

Now, Egg Rock is a bird sanctuary.

On the shore, Nahant’s grand estates started popping up in the 1800s when “Nahant was rivaling Newport.”

“Back then, it was extremely commercial,” added Wachtel.

Built in 1865, the house is 9,234 square feet and sits on 3 acres of oceanfront. And like its off-coast neighbor Egg Rock, it too has local history.

An 1890 photo from the Nahant Historical Society shows the house with a wrap-around porch that no longer exists. A 1989 file from the Massachusetts Historical Commission mentions that the house was built for the daughter of a wealthy man named George P. Upham.

“The home at 374 Nahant remained in the Upham family until at least 1936,” said Julie Tarmy, Executive Director, at the Nahant Historical Society.

Today, aside from the wrap-around porch, the house maintains its original elements, according to Wachtel. The 10-bedroom, 11- bathroom (four full, seven half) house boasts wainscoting, arches, a butler’s pantry, a billiards room, a mural room, and a central staircase that could rival Newport’s Gilded Age aesthetic.

While the house is filled with history, the buyer is allowed to make changes

“In Nahant, we don’t have historical restrictions, so it’s nice; you can preserve, but you’re not restricted,” Wachtel said.

The property has beach access, ocean views, a heated pool, and a pool house that Wachtel said could be turned into a guest house.

“It’s got two showers, two half baths; it’s got a kitchenette, and it’s got spectacular views itself,” she said.

The heated pool also has some local history. Wachtel said when she shared the listing on Facebook, locals recalled learning to swim there.

“There aren’t that many pools in Nahant, and it has this spectacular slide, and everybody remembers it,” Wachtel said. “I know people who are 60 who learned to swim there. That slide has been there for at least 30 years; it’s a bit of a local legend.”

She estimates the slide to be 15 feet high.

The house at 374 Nahant Road isn’t the only waterfront estate — or “summer cottage” as they were once called, according to Tarmy – for sale in Nahant.

Another property, located less than a mile away, also with a view of Egg Rock, has been on the market at a similar price point for over a year. The main difference between the two, according to Wachtel, is that the one at 66 Ocean St., built in 1890, is a lot closer to the water.

“We have erosion and coastal flooding in particular on that side of the island, so it’s much more of a precarious position,” she said. Meanwhile, 374 Nahant Road’s seawall and the fact that it’s above the flood line put it in a better location.

Grand estate or not, the peninsula of Nahant itself has a lot to offer buyers, according to Wachtel.

“We have made a dedication to keeping it residential, and we are a commuter town to Boston, unlike some of the other towns up on the North Shore; we are much closer, and the commute is much easier,” Wachtel said.

Connected by a causeway to the mainland, Wachtel said people say they’ve “left the world behind” when they cross over.

“They’ve left the errands; they’ve left the busyness, etc., and they’re coming to this town that has an awful lot of green space and is really dedicated to its beaches and nature, and so it’s a very relaxed town,” she said.