Day 2, and we headed for Martha's Vineyard. We needed to get to the ferry terminal at Woods Hole. Not a very promising name BUT 'Hole' means a small harbour.
Clearly New Englanders have the same problem with Health and Safety that we have in the UK.
The twenty-mile long Martha's Vineyard is the largest offshore island in New England.
The Wampanoag tribe have been calling the island home for at least 10,000 years, Wampanoag legend claiming that in order to separate his tribe from enemies on the mainland, the native American chief Moshup placed his cape on the ground and created Vineyard Sound. The island gained its English name in 1602 when the English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold named it after his daughter.The 'vineyard' part was for its fertile store of wild vines which virtually covered the entire island.
In 1642 Puritan Thomas Mayhew bought the island from the Earl of Stirling for £40 and a beaver hat, paving the way for other Puritan farmers to settle there. They learned the whaling industry from the natives and the economy flourished until the time of the Civil War.
The island's tourist industry owes its origins to the Methodist camp meetings of the 1820s, Methodist families from all over the nation gathering in tents at Oak Bluffs for two weeks of preaching and recreation. By 1850 over 12,000 people were attending. s the movement grew, small cottages with extraordinarily fancy facades were constructed in what is now known as 'gingerbread' style. In 1867 developers constructed a separate secular community next to the original campground, and large hotels were soon built around the harbour.
VINEYARD HAVEN
Because the water was choppy the ferry was re-routed from Bluff Oaks into Vineyard Haven at the northern tip of the island.
Founded by islanders from Edgartown disillusioned with the iron-fist rule of the Mayhew family, in the mid-1880s it supplanted Edgartown as the island's main commercial centre. It's a bustling little place
and on Main Street we found some attractive copies of the original homes built by prosperous whaling captains in the 19th century that were destroyed in a fire in 1883.
Founded by islanders from Edgartown disillusioned with the iron-fist rule of the Mayhew family, in the mid-1880s it supplanted Edgartown as the island's main commercial centre. It's a bustling little place
and on Main Street we found some attractive copies of the original homes built by prosperous whaling captains in the 19th century that were destroyed in a fire in 1883.
OAK BLUFFS
The newest of the island's six towns, and originally called Cottage City, Oak Bluffs was a quiet farming community until in the 1820s Methodist families from all over the nation started gathering in tents there for two weeks of preaching and recreation. By 1859 over 12,000 people were attending, renting large family tents and worshipping in the Tabernacle.
Eventually people wanted more comfort than tents so began to build small, brightly-coloured 'carpenter-Gothic' or 'gingerbread' cottages. Of the 500 built, 300 remain today, available to rent in the summer for about $2000 a week; leases sell for upward of $350,000.
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| Lynne, our Tour Guide, filling us in. |
Eventually people wanted more comfort than tents so began to build small, brightly-coloured 'carpenter-Gothic' or 'gingerbread' cottages. Of the 500 built, 300 remain today, available to rent in the summer for about $2000 a week; leases sell for upward of $350,000.
President Grant was a notorious drinker so when he visited Oak Bluffs, and stayed in this staunchly Methodist, and tee-total house, even though he was President, he was asked to leave!
EDGARTOWN
Originally known as Great Harbour, Edgartown is the oldest and swankiest settlement on the island, its elegant colonial residences surrounded by exquisitively maintained gardens. Edgartown is well known as having been one of the primary ports for the whaling industry during the 1800s.
The Old Whaling Church, more formally known as the United Methodist Church
was built in 1843 and its 92ft-high clock tower is visible for miles.
Ships from all over the world would dock in the town's 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.
The Old Whaling Church, more formally known as the United Methodist Church
was built in 1843 and its 92ft-high clock tower is visible for miles.
Ships from all over the world would dock in the town's 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 fortunes through the industry, was ended. Today the town is more known for tourism, as well as the site of the Chappaquiddick (aka 'Chappy') ferry,
Chapaquiddick being where Ted Kennedy's infamous incident took place in 1969. The bridge where Mary-Jo Kopechnik perished has long been torn down.
Chapaquiddick being where Ted Kennedy's infamous incident took place in 1969. The bridge where Mary-Jo Kopechnik perished has long been torn down.
Martha's Vineyard looks *really* interesting. The ginegerbread cottages look ace! Like dolls houses!
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