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Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts is a world-renowned island and vacation spot off the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts. In addition to beautiful beaches, close-knit communities and a tourist industry that continues to thrive, the island boasts a rich history. When Vineyarders began preparations to defend themselves at the outbreak of the American Revolution, they could look back with pride at a community that they and their ancestors had been building for more than 130 years. Now, with more than an additional 200 years behind us, we continue to appreciate the historic panorama that is visible wherever one looks on Martha’s Vineyard.
The earth here tells a story erased elsewhere in New England. The famous Aquinnah Cliffs lay bare to geologists the history of the past hundred million years. Traveling the South Road to Aquinnah, one goes over low hills and valleys cut by streams that ran off melting glaciers at the end of the Ice Age.
The first humans probably came here before the Vineyard was an island. It is thought that they arrived after the ice was gone, but before the melting glaciers in the north raised the sea level enough to separate Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket from the mainland. Native American camps that carbon-date to about 2270 B.C. have been uncovered on the Island.
Legend surrounds the much later arrival of the first white men. Some believe Norsemen were here about 1000 A.D. In 1524 Verrazzano sailed past and named the Island Louisa. The natives called it Noepe. Other explorers gave different names, but the name that stuck was given in 1602 by Bartholomew Gosnold, who named it for the wild grapes and for one of his little daughters.
Within 40 years of Gosnold’s visit, all of New England was being claimed and divided up by Europeans. Thomas Mayhew, a Bay Colony businessman, bought Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands for 40 pounds. In 1642 the first white settlement on the Vineyard was established at Great Harbour, now Edgartown, under the leadership of Thomas Mayhew, Jr.
The ordained pastor of his flock, this young man by example and precept instituted a policy of respect and fair dealing with the natives that was unequaled anywhere. One of the first Mayhew rulings was that no land be taken from the native Island people, the Wampanoags, without consent and fair payment.
From this time on the colonial settlers and the Wampanoags lived without the terror and bloodshed that has marked American history elsewhere. Within a few years a congregation of "Praying Indians" was established at what is still known as Christiantown.
This colonial period was marked by plenty as well as peace. The sea provided fish for both export and Island use, and the Wampanoags taught the settlers to capture whales and tow them ashore to boil out the oil. Farms were productive as well; in 1720 butter and cheese were being exported by the shipload.
The American Revolution, however, brought hardships to the Vineyard. Despite the Island’s vulnerable position, the people rallied to the Patriot cause and formed companies to defend their homeland.
In fact, it is probable that the first naval engagement of the war occurred in April 1775, when Nathan Smith of Tisbury mounted three small cannons on a whaleboat and sailed with a small crew across Vineyard Sound, attacking and capturing the armed British schooner Volante.
Vineyarders, of course, knew that they could do little to resist a British invasion of the Island, and their worst fears were confirmed on September 10, 1778, when a British fleet of 40 ships sailed into Vineyard Haven harbor.
Within a few days the British raiders had burned many Island vessels and had removed more than 10,000 sheep and 300 head of cattle from the Vineyard. The raid was an economic blow that affected Island life for more than a generation.
Before the Revolution, Vineyarders had been building large vessels and were sailing the North Atlantic from the Grand Banks to the Western Islands in search of whales and the valuable oil they yielded. After the start of the war, all this came to a stop. The whaling industry did not make a real recovery until the early 1820s, when many of the mariners built their beautiful homes in Edgartown.
The Civil War brought the end to the Golden Age of Whaling. Ships on the high seas were captured by the Confederate navy. Others were bottled up in the harbors. Either way, it meant financial ruin for the ship owners and the Island.
A new industry was "God-sent" in a very literal way. In 1835 the Edgartown Methodists had held a camp meeting in an oak grove high on the bluffs at the northern end of the town. This was just one of the hundreds of revivals that were being held in outdoor settings at the time. The worshippers and their preachers lived in nine improvised tents and the speakers’ platform was made of driftwood. The camp meeting became a yearly affair and one of rapidly growing popularity.
Visitors found the sea bathing and the lovely surroundings fully as uplifting as the call to repent, and the Island entered into its new life as a summer resort.
Many who came for a week or two eventually rented houses and later became property owners—a pattern that still occurs today. Summer visitors become seasonal or, as in the case of many writers and artists, year-round residents. These people, along with the many who retire to the Vineyard after interesting careers in academic, government, and other professional fields, bring the world to the Island much as the far-traveled captains did in the great days of whaling.
Credit for this article goes to marthasvineyardcapecod.com
Through this site you will find comprehensive facts about as well as extensive information on buying or selling real estate in Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts. If you are looking to invest in Marthas Vineyard real estate you will find a variety of opportunities available to you. Marthas Vineyard Massachusetts real estate offers relocation information, residential real estate, new home construction and development, condominiums (condos), adult living communities (55+ communities), retirement homes and facilities, land, waterfront properties and multi-family investment properties. Marthas Vineyard, MA, and the surrounding areas offer vacation homes, farms, equine facilities, country properties. To search the statewide MLS (multiple listings service) also referred to as MA MLS, for properties in Marthas Vineyard based on a keyword search, click on the following:
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Massachusetts: The Past, Present & Future of Our Country
"Why Massachusetts?"
Why not? Located in the heart of New England, Massachusetts is the region's most popular state. Rich with the history of our country and still on the cutting edge of technology, Massachusetts offers a perfect blend of the past, present and future.
From the stunning seacoast, Cape Cod, the islands and Boston to the peaceful beauty of the Berkshires and the Blue Hills, Massachusetts offers something to everyone! Every year, new residents are drawn to Massachusetts for the diversity of culture and activities available in Boston, the picturesque seaside communities, and the quaint rural towns for which New England is known.
With New Hampshire and Vermont on the northern border, New York to the west, and Connecticut and Rhode Island bordering on the south, Massachusetts is the most centrally located of the New England States. Cape Cod juts out into the Atlantic Ocean on the east like a bent arm, creating an easily recognizable state shape. A day trip to one of Massachusetts' beautiful beaches or islands is easily accessible from any part of the state, as is a trip to the Berkshires in the western part of the state.
For all of these reasons and more, it's easy to see why people are so proud to say they live in Massachusetts!
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/ciswel/weltomas.htm
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mafidx.htm
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf1c.htm
http://www.mass.gov/legis/const.htm
http://www.dor.state.ma.us/
Climate:
Massachusetts has four very different seasons. We have beautifully white winters; nature begins to reawaken in the spring; our summers are perfect for lounging at the beach or hiking in the mountains; and our falls boast some of the nation's most beautiful foliage.
Population:
At just under 6.5 million residents, Massachusetts is the most populous of the New England states, with almost 600,000 in Boston alone. As of 2000, the number of residents in Massachusetts ranked us as the 13th largest state in the country.
Government:
The capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is Boston, situated on the Atlantic Ocean on the eastern border of the state. The state government has three branches; Executive, Legislative and Judicial, headed by a Supreme Judicial Court.
Taxes:
Massachusetts charges a 5.3% income tax, as well as 5% sales tax and a 5% meals tax, etc.
Licenses and Fees:
Information on how to obtain driver’s licenses, vehicle registration, hunting, fishing and gun permits, boating licenses, marriage licenses and more in the state of Massachusetts.
Education:
In Massachusetts, cities and towns control public schools. The state mandates school systems to operate kindergartens, but does not require children to attend them.