Martha's Vineyard is located seven miles off the southeast coast of Massachusetts and named for Bartholomew Gosnold's daughter and for the grapes that grow on the island.
Since the early 1900s Martha's Vineyard has been a tourist attraction. The island draws its charm from the beaches and the six unique towns.
Aquinnah – Home of the Wampanoag Indians.
This tribe showed the first settlers of the island how to kill whales, plant corn and find clay to make brickyards. The Aquinnah Cliffs with its brilliant colors continue to lore scientists and visitors. The cliffs, a national landmark, with their layers of sand, gravel and clay tells a hundred-year old story. In 1799, one of the first lighthouses in the United States stood watch over the rocky ledges in order to protect the seafarers. The redbrick electrified Gay Head Lighthouse has since replaced the previous lighthouse.
Vineyard Haven
Also named Tisbury for an old English parish where Thomas Mayhew, Sr, the first governor of the island, was born. At Owen Park, there is a town beach and on Sundays during the summer, the town band performs. The Old School Museum, erected in 1828, has served as a carpentry shop, a school, and a church. The white Liberty Pole, which stands in front of the museum, honors the three women who blew up the original Liberty Pole in 1778 to keep the British from using the pole as a spar. The Vineyard Playhouse is the island’s only year-round professional theater company. Holmes Hole is where many of the ships and seafarers during the whaling years found refuge from bad weather, gathered provisions, and found experienced captains to sail the notorious rips and shoals of the sea. The scenic Tashmoo Lake Overlook is a great place for photographers. Here visitors can view the West Chop Lighthouse.
West Tisbury
Just as one imagines a “New England Village,” West Tisbury has the white church, general store, post office, old mill, farms and ponds. This area is what attracted the earlier settlers. The Congressional Church has been moved from its original foundation, but still located where the church once stood is the old cemetery where many of the original settlers have been buried. Also still standing is the house built by the sons of Miles Standish in 1668. Other places of interests are the Cedar Tree Neck Nature Preserve and the Christiantown Memorial to the Praying Indians. Here visitors will find “unspoiled Vineyard woods with a freshwater pond and brooks, bounded by the North Shore Beach.” At the Memorial is a chapel, a pulpit rock and burial stones.
Chilmark
According to Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce, Chilmark is known worldwide by its rolling hills and unmatched coastline. Traveling through Chilmark visitors will experience a surreal area with a farm and the Atlantic Ocean in the background. Menemsha Creek is a popular venue to purchase fresh seafood. Here visitors will find a public beach and the home of the Coast Guard Station.
Oak Bluffs
The town is located on the northeast shore of Martha’s Vineyard. It is the home of America’s oldest working carousel, the Flying Horses. Visitors can take a ride on the horse of their choice and reach for the brass ring that promises them a free ride. Also located here are the beautifully painted gingerbread houses that date back to the mid 1800s.
Edgartown
Edgartown benefited the most from the whaling days. Visitors can take a leisurely walk along the street during the day and gaze at the houses once owned by whaling captains. At night, visitors can take a step back in time by walking beneath the lamplights. The old Whaling Church, built in the Greek Revival tradition, today is the site of many weddings. In 2005, restoration was completed to the old pipe organ. Another popular site for weddings is the Federated Church, built in 1828. There are several beaches in Edgartown and visitors can take a short ferry ride to Chappaquiddick. Chappaquiddick visitors can experience the unspoiled areas of Wasque and Cape Poge.
For more travel information, please visit Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce, Steamship Authority, Martha’s Vineyard Trip Advisor, and WeNeedAVacation.
