Edgartown

History

In 1642, Rev. Thomas Mayhew, Jr. led a group of families to start a colony on the island after its purchase by his father Thomas Mayhew. Originally called Great Harbor, it was incorporated on July 8, 1671, as Edgar Towne, named for Edgar, whose father James II of England, was heir presumptive to the English throne. Those who chose the name to honor the monarchy did not know Edgar had died at the age of three on June 8, 1671. It was one of the two original towns on Martha's Vineyard, along with Tisbury, incorporated at the same time. The younger Mayhew began his work which led to his becoming the first church planting Protestant missionary after he settled in Edgartown. A Wampanoag Indian named Hiacoomes who lived nearby became his partner in founding the churches in the Indian communities. Edgartown was one of the primary ports for the whaling industry during the 1800s. Ships from all over the world would dock in its sheltered bay and captains would build grand mansions for their families with ornate top floor rooms called widow's walks, which overlooked the harbor. A myth developed that wives would watch for months from these tiny rooms, hoping to see the sails of ships that would bring their husbands home from the sea. There is little or no evidence that widow's walks were intended or regularly used for this purpose. They were frequently built around the chimney of the residence, thus creating an easy access route to the structure, allowing the residents of the home to pour sand down burning chimneys in the event of a chimney fire in the hopes of preventing the house from burning down. As more economical alternatives became available the whaling industry began to decline. By the beginning of the 20th century, its influence on the tiny town which had made its…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (78.01%) is water. Edgartown is ranked 103rd out of 351 communities in the Commonwealth by land area, and is the largest town by land area in Dukes County. Edgartown is bordered by Nantucket Sound to the northeast and east, the Atlantic Ocean to the south, West Tisbury to the west, and Oak Bluffs to the north. The town also shares a common corner with Tisbury (along with West Tisbury and Oak Bluffs). Edgartown is located at the eastern end of Martha's Vineyard (referred to as "down-island", a vestige of the island's traditional maritime manner of speaking in that as a ship travels east, it is said to be traveling "down east" as longitude decreases towards the Prime Meridian). [An alternative explanation and one prevalent in Maine, is that down east is down wind in the prevailing winds of the New England coast, down island would also be down wind. For those who have spent a lot of time sailing (as opposed to 'power boating'), down wind is more important to a sailor than decreasing longitude.]The town of Edgartown includes the smaller island of Chappaquiddick, sometimes connected to the rest of Martha's Vineyard only by a barrier beach which can be breached during storms. Chappaquiddick is separated from the town center by Edgartown Harbor and Katama Bay. The town is close to Nantucket's Muskeget Island, which is seven miles east of Wasque Point, the southeasternmost point of Chappaquiddick. Katama is the south-central portion of Edgartown. In addition to a beach, Katama has within its boundaries the Katama Airpark, the Katama Farm, the Herring Creek Farm and two resorts. Edgartown is also home to half of the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest, which extends into…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  8,778
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  7,847
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  7,576
• American herring gull, Smithsonian Gull

  Larus smithsonianus Coues, 1862 · Aves
  7,214
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,131
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  6,119
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,068
• Double-crested Cormorant

  Phalacrocorax auritus (Lesson, 1831) · Aves
  5,606

Largest nearby schools

• Martha's Vineyard Regional High
  High · Oak Bluffs · 757 students · 9.2:1 ratio
• Oak Bluffs Elementary
  Elementary · Oak Bluffs · 438 students · 9.1:1 ratio
• Edgartown Elementary
  Elementary · Edgartown · 404 students · 9.2:1 ratio
• West Tisbury Elementary
  Elementary · West Tisbury · 342 students · 8:1 ratio
• Tisbury Elementary
  Elementary · Vineyard Haven · 272 students · 7.2:1 ratio
• Martha's Vineyard Charter Public School
  Other · West Tisbury · 181 students · 9.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2020-11-08
  10 km S of Bliss Corner, Massachusetts
• M 2.5 — 2005-11-17
  4 km S of Plymouth, Massachusetts