Visit the Martha’s Vineyard Museum for more details and a beautiful view of Vineyard Haven’s Lagoon Pond and Nantucket Sound.
Martha’s Vineyard played an important role in the whaling industry. Today, it is primarily a vacation destination. The island was once occupied primarily by the Wampanoag tribe of Indians (they called the Vineyard Noepe) before the arrival of Europeans.
History of the Name
The island was named Martha’s Vineyard by an Englishman, Bartholomew Gosnold, who arrived in 1602. We think it was named after his daughter and because he found wild grapes on the island.
An Island with Ancient Beginnings
The unique geography of the bare Aquinnah cliffs on Martha’s Vineyard provide an interesting history that reaches back hundreds of millions of years. There is some evidence that it was not always an island. In fact, it seems as though glaciers cut through the land, creating the island. Runoff from the glaciers likely created the rivers, streams and lakes that are found throughout the island now. This means the first humans on the Vineyard probably just walked onto it!
Fast forward to the glaciers disappearing and sea levels rising, and we have an island with Native American inhabitants. It’s believed that the Wampanoag people lived on the island for thousands of years well before it became The Vineyard.
Arrival of the Colonists
There’s much legend surrounding the arrival of the first colonists. Many believe that Norsemen arrived on Martha’s Vineyard in 1000 A.D. The first documented visitor was Verrazzano in 1524 who named the island Louisa. It wasn’t until 1602 that the island was given a permanent name by Bartholomew Gosnold after his daughter Martha and the wild grapes growing in the island.
Approximately 40 years after Gosnold named the island, New England was being colonized by Europeans. Martha’s Vineyard was purchased by the businessman Thomas Mayhew. He quickly established the first settlement in what is now Edgartown. Thomas Mayhew purchased the entire island for 40 British pounds.
The Development of Martha’s Vineyard
Relations between the Native Americans and colonists were unparalleled. Thomas Mayhew decreed that no land could be taken from the Natives without fair payment and consent. The two cultures coexisted peacefully and prosperously. Colonists harvested fish from the ocean and had enough left over to sell. The Wampanoags taught the colonists how to capture whales and extract the oil.
The American Revolution brought hard times upon the inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard. Even though they were technically neutral, island citizens rallied behind the Patriots. Their fishing and whaling skills made them effective soldiers in maritime combat. However, this led the British to raid the island and abscond with over 10,000 sheep and 300 cattle. This devastating loss rattled the economy for more than a generation, and whaling didn’t recover until the 1820s.
Once whaling picked back up, many of the captains built lavish and beautiful homes in Vineyard Haven and Edgartown. Waterfront property on Martha’s Vineyard created by these mariners would end up setting the pace for the entire island.
The Whaling Industry Fades and Tourism Becomes the Island’s Major Industry
The Civil War effectively ended the whaling industry but tourism was to take its place starting in the 1860s. After the war Methodists began coming to the island to hold religious camp meetings in a grove of oaks (Wesleyan Grove) in today’s Oak Bluffs. Originally the meetings lasted just a day but grew into longer sessions. People started building tent sites in what is now known as “The Campgound”. Little by little these tents were transformed into charming gingerbread cottages. The original meeting tents were replaced by “The Tabernacle”, an open air structure declared a National Historic Landmarkin 2005. The Campground was separated from the rowdier town of Cottage City (now Oak Bluffs) by a tall fence! Illumination Night on August 14 (first celebrated in 1869) is a highlight of the summer season when cottages are decorated with thousands of paper lanterns. (For more information see mvcma.org)
For more than a hundred years tourists have been so enchanted with the island that they end up buying a place of their own. Vacation visitors stay for a season or become year round residents, joining retirees, authors and artists who call the island “home”. It’s safe to say that the entire world comes to Martha’s Vineyard.
Quailwood Cottage 