Martha’s Vineyard

The name Martha’s Vineyard first appears in a book describing the English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold’s 1602 voyage from England. Long before that, the Wampanoag called this island Noepe. English colonists–missionaries, farmers, and seafarers–began to settle on the Vineyard in the 1640s. During the 19th century, seafaring industries dominated the economy, with busy harbors hosting thousands of ships as they put in for refitting, supplies, and crew members. Vineyarders from all classes and diverse ethnicities traveled the world in search of trade and whales, returning home after their long voyages to fishing, farms, and the families who stayed behind. Even as the whaling boom diminished, religious revivalism and then tourism brought more and more summer visitors. By the 20th century, the now familiar yearly cycle of quiet winters alternating with enormous bursts of activity and population in the summers was well established.