History of Martha’s Vineyard

Martha’s Vineyard is a small island off the coast of Cape Cod that is home to six small towns: Chilmark, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, West Tisbury and Aquinnah.

The following is a timeline of the history of Martha’s Vineyard:

Pre-colonization:

• Prior to colonization, Martha’s Vineyard is inhabited by the Wampanoag tribe for about 5,000 years. The Wampanoag have various names for the island including Noepe and also Chapawack.

1602:

• English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold explores Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard during an expedition. Gosnold names the island Martin’s Vineyard and names a nearby uninhabited island Martha’s Vineyard.

1605:

• French explorer Sieur de Monts visits the area during an expedition and names Martha’s Vineyard La Soupconneuse, which means “the Doubtful” in French because the crew originally thought it wasn’t an island at all.

1619:

• In the summer, English explorer Captain Dermer arrives in Martha’s Vineyard during an expedition and meets a Nauset tribal leader named Epenow who had been previously captured and enslaved by the English but had escaped.

1620:

• In the summer, Captain Dermer returns to Martha’s Vineyard with his native interpreter Squanto but they are attacked by Epenow who fears they have been sent to recapture him. Most of Dermer’s crew are killed, Dermer is mortally wounded but escapes to Jamestown and Squanto is captured and enslaved by the Wampanoag.

• In the fall, Squanto is transferred from Martha’s Vineyard to Plymouth where he remains a prisoner until the tribe meets the pilgrims in 1621 and he is freed in order to assist the pilgrims.

1641:

• Thomas Mayhew purchases Martha’s Vineyard from William, the Earl of Sterling.

1642:

• The town of Edgartown is settled.

1660:

• The town of Tisbury is settled.

• The Norton – Webb House, a First Period House, is built on Barnes Road in what is now Oak Bluffs.

1669:

• The town of Aquinnah is settled.

1671:

• On July 8, the towns of Tisbury and Edgartown are incorporated as towns in the Province of New York.

1672:

• The Vincent House is built on Main Street in Edgartown.

1680:

• The Joseph Norton House, a First Period House, is built on Cooke Street in Edgartown.

• Nicholas Norton Dam is built on Calves Pasture Lane in Oak Bluffs.

1690:

• The Nathan Skiff – Vincent Herman House, also known as Barn House, a Colonial Cape-style house, is built on South Road in Chilmark.

1692:

• The Province of New York cedes Martha’s Vineyard to the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

1694:

• On September 14, the town of Chilmark officially separates from Tisbury and Edgartown and is incorporated as a town in the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

1695:

• The Experience Mayhew House is built by Experience Mayhew, eldest son of John Mayhew, on Quenames Road in Chilmark.

1700:

• By 1700, the name Martha’s Vineyard transfers from the nearby uninhabited island, now known as No-Man’s land, to the island that now bears its name.

• The Captain Samuel Hancock – Captain West Mitchell House, a First Period House, is built sometime around 1700 or possibly before on Quansoo Road in Chilmark.

• The Coffin – Dunham – Murray House, a Colonial-style house, is built on South Water Street in Edgartown.

1701:

• The first meetinghouse is established on Abel’s Hill in Chilmark.

1717:

• Abel’s Hill Cemetery is established sometime around 1717, but possibly earlier, on South Road in Chilmark.

1719:

• Crossways Cemetery is established on Villa Drive in Tisbury.

1724:

• A second meetinghouse is built on Abel’s Hill in Chilmark.

1759:

• The Oak Grove Cemetery is established on School Street in Oak Bluffs.

1763:

• A Marine Hospital is built on Shirley Ave in Oak Bluffs.

1764:

• The Norton Cemetery is established on Old Harbor Land in Oak Bluffs.

1770:

• The Proprietors’ Burying Ground is established on Franklin Street in Tisbury.

1778:

• On September 10 – 14, Martha’s Vineyard Raid takes place during which British troops raid Martha’s Vineyard and take over 10,000 sheep, 300 cattle, over 300 weapons and they destroy around 30 vessels and boats as well as a saltworks on Beach Street.

1786:

• A third meetinghouse is built on Abel’s Hill in Chilmark.

1791:

• The Holmes – Dunham Cemetery is established on West Chop Road in Tisbury.

1796:

• The Ritter House, a Federal-style house, is built on Beach Street in Tisbury.

1801:

• The Cape Poge Light, a 35-foot-tall wooden lighthouse, is built on Chappaquiddick Island.

1804:

• The Lagoon – Marine Cemetery is established on Shirley Ave in Oak Bluffs on the site of the first Marine Hospital on Martha’s Vineyard.

1810:

• The Benjamin Luce Cemetery is established on Benjamin Luce Path in Oak Bluffs.

1819:

• The Chappaquiddick Schoolhouse is built on Jeffers Lane in Edgartown.

1820:

• The Gay Head – Aquinnah Cemetery is established on Rose Meadow Way.

1825:

• The Thaxter Academy, a Federal-style building, is constructed on Davis Lane in Edgartown and serves as the town’s first private academy.

1828:

• The Edgartown Customs House, a Greek Revival-style house, is built on Main Street in Edgartown.

• The First Methodist Church, a Federal-style building, is constructed on Main Street in Edgartown.

• The Congregational Church – Federated Church, a Federal-style building, is constructed on South Summer Street.

• The Nathan Mayhew School House, a Greek Revival-style building, is constructed on Main Street.

1830:

• The Gothic Hall, a Federal / Gothic Revival-style building, is constructed on main Street in Edgartown.

1831:

• The Smith Cemetery is established on Edgartown Road in Oak Bluffs.

1835:

• The Edgartown Methodist Church establishes the Wesleyan Grove Camp-Meeting campground in Oak Bluffs with a few hundred worshipers attending. It marks the beginning of Martha’s Vineyard’s rise as a summer resort.

1839:

• The Old Baptist Church, a Greek Revival-style building, is constructed on School Street.

1842:

• The Old Whaling Church – Methodist Church, a Greek Revival-style building, is constructed on Main Street in Edgartown.

1844:

• A new Cape Poge Light is built on Chappaquiddick Island to replace the previous one.

• The Aquinnah – Gay Head Public Library, a Greek Revival-style building, is constructed on Church Street in Aquinnah.

1848:

• The Old Mill, a woolen mill, is built on Edgartown-West Tisbury Road in West Tisbury.

1850:

• The Old North Schoolhouse, a Colonial Revival / Greek Revival-style building, is constructed on Pease’s Pt North Way in Edgartown.

• The South School, a Greek Revival / Italianate-style building, is constructed on School Street in Edgartown.

• The Aquinnah – Gay Head Community Baptist Church is constructed on Meetinghouse Way in Aquinnah.

1852:

• The North Road Town Pound is established on North Road in Chilmark and is used to contain stray farm animals until they can be collected by their owner.

1855:

• In the summer, the Wesleyan Grove Camp-Meeting hosts tens of thousands of worshipers.

1856:

• Gay Head Light, a 45-foot-tall brick lighthouse, is constructed on Aquinnah Circle.

1857:

• The Dukes County Courthouse, an Early Classical Revival-style building, is constructed on Main Street in Edgartown.

1864:

• The Wesleyan Grove Camp-Meeting moves its first “gingerbread” cottage to the campground by horse-drawn wagon. Throughout the 1860s, the campground continues to bring in over 300 of these prefabricated cottages to the campground.

1865:

• The Dukes County Jail is built on Main Street in Edgartown.

• The Samuel Osborne Jr. House – Charlotte Inn, an Italianate-style house, is built on South Summer Street in Edgartown and first serves as a private residence before becoming an inn in the 1940s which it still is today.

• The Gay Head – Aquinnah Town Pound is built on Rose Meadow Way.

1866:

• Hartford Park, a 2-acre ribbon park, is built on Massassoit Ave in Oak Bluffs.

1869:

• The U.S. Post Office – Campground Branch, a Victorian Eclectic-style building, is constructed on Commonwealth Square in Oak Bluffs to serve as a post office for the Methodist campground.

1870:

• On April 13, the town of Aquinnah is incorporated as Gay Head.

• The Tashmoo Springs Pumping Station is built on Spring Street in Tisbury.

• Union Chapel, an Octagon-shaped building, is constructed in Oak Bluffs.

• Union Chapel – Oak Bluffs Christian Union Chapel, a Stick Style building, is constructed on Narragansett Ave in Oak Bluffs.

1871:

• The Arcade, a Victorian Gothic building, is constructed on Circuit Ave in Oak Bluffs.

• Hiawatha Park, a 1.3-acre park, is built on Hiawatha Ave in Oak Bluffs.

• Nashawena Park, a 4.7-acre park, is built on Nashawena Ave in Oak Bluffs.

• Naushon Park, a 1.5-acre park, is built on Naushon Park in Oak Bluffs.

• Ocean Park, a 7-acre park, is built on Ocean Avenue in Oak Bluffs.

• Waban Park, a 8.1-acre park, is built on Sea View Ave in Oak Bluffs.

1872:

• The Dr. Harrison A. Tucker Cottage, a Queen Anne-style house, is built on Ocean Avenue in Oak Bluffs.

1875:

• The Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse is constructed on North Water Street in Edgartown.

• The Wilbur Cemetery is established on Hidden Cove Road in Oak Bluffs.

1876:

• East Chop Light, a cast iron lighthouse, is built on East Chop Drive in Oak Bluffs.

1877:

• The Chilmark Town Pound is established on State Road and is used to restrict stray horses, cattle and sheep.

1878:

• The Trinity Methodist Church, a Gothic Revival-style building, is constructed on Trinity Park in Oak Bluffs.

1880:

• On February 17, the town of Cottage City is incorporated as a town in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

• A third Cape Poge Light is built on Chappaquiddick Island to replace the previous one.

• The Church of the Sacred Heart, a Victorian Gothic-style building, is constructed on Circuit Ave in Oak Bluffs.

• The Grace Episcopal Church, a Gothic Revival-style building, is constructed on William Street in Tisbury.

1883:

• The Trinity Episcopal Church, a Victorian Eclectic / Gothic Revival-style building, is constructed on Ocean Ave in Oak Bluffs.

• The First Baptist Church, a Queen Anne-style building, is constructed on Spring Street in Tisbury.

• On August 17, the Tisbury Fire of 1883 takes place during which 62 buildings are destroyed.

1884:

• The Flying Horses Carousel is moved from a New York seaside resort to North Bluff in Oak Bluffs. It was later moved to Oak Bluffs Ave in 1886.

1886:

• The Oak Bluffs Fire Station, an Italianate-style fire house, is constructed on Lake Ave.

1890:

• The Edwin DeVries Vanderhoop Homestead is built on South Road in Aquinnah.

• The Soldier’s Monument, a Granite statue of a Civil War soldier, is erected on Lake Ave in Oak Bluffs.

1891:

• West Chop Lighthouse is built on Main Street in Tisbury.

1892:

• The Sea View Hill – Sacred Heart Cemetery is built on Vineyard Ave in Oak Bluffs.

• Oak Bluffs Town Hall and Fire Station, a Queen Anne-style, is constructed on Pequot Ave.

1893:

• A new Cape Poge Light, a wooden lighthouse, is built on Chappaquiddick Island in Edgartown to replace the previous one.

1895:

• The Edgartown Reading Room is built on Church Street in Edgartown and serves as a place to host parties and balls.

• The Bradley Memorial Church, a Colonial Revival-style building, is constructed on Masonic Ave in Oak Bluffs and serves as a church for the local African American community.

• A U.S. Marine Hospital is built on Lagoon Pond Road in Tisbury to care for ailing soldiers and sailors and their families.

1899:

• The Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, an English Revival-style building, is constructed on North Summer Street in Edgartown.

1900:

• The Harborview Hotel is built on Fuller Street in Edgartown.

1901:

• A Civil War Memorial Obelisk is erected on Main Street in Edgartown.

1902:

• The Putnam family cemetery is established on Rebecca Lane in Chilmark.

1905:

• The Edgartown Public Library, a Colonial Revival-style building, is constructed on North Water Street.

1907:

• The Tisbury Civil War Memorial, a bronze plaque on a granite boulder, is erected at Oak Grover Cemetery on Pine Tree Road and is dedicated to the unknown dead Union soldiers of the Civil War.

• On January 25, the town of Cottage City is officially renamed Oak Bluffs.

1915:

• The Edgartown Police Station is built on Church Street.

1918:

• Gay Head – Aquinnah World War I Monument is erected on State Road in Aquinnah.

1922:

• William Owen Barry Park is built on Main Street in Tisbury.

1924:

• The Christ United Methodist Church, a Neo Gothic Revival-style building, is constructed on William Street in Tisbury.

1925:

• The Saint Elizabeth’s Roman Catholic Church, a Colonial Revival-style building, is constructed on Main Street in Edgartown.

• The Tisbury World War I Monument, a bronze plaque on a granite boulder, is erected on Causeway Road and is dedicated to the WWI soldiers of Tisbury.

• The U.S. Post Office – Gay Head – Aquinnah Branch is built on State Road in Aquinnah.

1927:

• The Edgartown Yacht Club, a Shingle-style building, is constructed on Dock Lane.

1929:

• Gay Head – Aquinnah Town Hall is built on State Road in Aquinnah.

1930:

• The World War Monument, a granite slab engraved with the names of the WWII soldiers of Oak Bluffs, is erected on Lake Ave in Oak Bluffs.

1935:

• Lagoon Pond Bridge is built on Beach Road in Oak Bluffs.

• Beach Road Bridge is constructed on Beach Road in Tisbury.

• The Gay Head – Aquinnah Coast Guard Station Barracks is built on State Road in Aquinnah.

1936:

• The Edgartown Road Bridge is built on Edgartown Road in Oak Bluffs.

1939:

• Hariph’s Creek Bridge is built on State Road in Chilmark.

1959:

• Gay Head – Aquinnah Fire Station is built on State Road in Aquinnah.

1969:

• On July 19, the Chappaquiddick Incident takes place on Chappaquiddick Island during which Senator Edward M. Kennedy drives his car off a wooden bridge and his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowns. Kennedy leaves the scene of the accident and doesn’t report it to the police for many hours.

1970:

• The Hagerty Memorial, a bronze plaque on a granite boulder, is erected on Hagerty Street in Tisbury and is dedicated to William Hagerty who was the first of three soldiers from Tisbury killed in the Vietnam War.

1974:

• Between May and October, the movie Jaws is filmed in the fishing village of Menemsha and in Oak Bluffs.

1987:

• In January, the Cape Poge Light on Chappaquiddick Island is moved back 500 feet from the eroding cliff by a helicopter, making it the first lighthouse moved by helicopter.

• On April 10, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head becomes a federally acknowledged tribe. The Federal government awards the Wampanoags 485 acres of tribal lands.

Sources:
“History.” MVCMA.org, mvcma.org/history-1
“How the Wampanoag Indians Took Back Gay Head.” New England Historical Society, newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/wampanoag-indians-took-back-gay-head/
“Tisbury Fire of 1883.” Vineyard Gazette, vineyardgazette.com/timemachine/collection/tisbury-fire-1883/from-article
“Marine Hospital Was Not Obtained Without Struggle.” Vineyard Gazette, vineyardgazette.com/news/1930/07/08/marine-hospital-was-not-obtained-without-struggle
“Marine Hospital.” Vineyard Gazette, vineyardgazette.com/timemachine/collection/marine-hospital/from-article
Blake, Edith. “Jaws in Retrospect.” Vineyard Gazette, 4 Oct. 1974, vineyardgazette.com/news/1974/10/04/jaws-retrospect
“Ted Kennedy’s Chappaquiddick – 1969.” Washington Post, washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/kennedy.htm
Wells, Julia. “Back from the Edge, Cape Pogue Lighthouse Move Set the Stage.” Vineyard Gazette, 28 May. 2015, vineyardgazette.com/news/2015/05/28/back-edge-cape-pogue-lighthouse-move-set-stage
“Original Vineyarders.” New York Times, archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/fodors/top/features/travel/destinations/unitedstates/massachusetts/marthasvineyard/fdrs_feat_617_9.html?n=Top%252FFeatures%252FTravel%252FDestinations%252FUnited+States%252FMassachusetts%252FMartha%2527s+Vineyard
“Towns.” Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce, mvy.com/towns/