Martha’s Vineyard: More Yard than Vine
You’ve heard about it a million times in the news lately since President Obama and his family are currently vacationing there, but do you actually know where or what Martha’s Vineyard is?
Martha’s Vineyard is an island in New England, officially a part of Massachusetts. No, it’s not the same thing as Nantucket – that’s the 
island where those two wacky brothers from Wings owned an airport. Martha’s Vineyard consists of six individual towns which thrive on tourism,1 complete with all the activities and events you’d expect from a quaint East Coast stop: lighthouse tours, biking, hiking, beaches, kayaking, etc.
As for the name, Martha’s Vineyard has been renamed several times, but the “Martha” portion likely came about because English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold sailed to the island in 1602 and his mother-in-law and infant daughter shared that name. How the “Vineyard” portion became accepted is beyond me. There is not a single mention of winemaking or tours of old vineyards in any of the events or points of interests. In fact, the biggest industry for the island many years ago was whaling (whale fishing).
So when somebody brings up the President’s vacation, you will already know plenty about Martha’s Vineyard and you can also tell them these facts:
- Jaws will filmed there in 1974.
- The island, along with Nantucket, tried to secede and become the 51st state in 1977.
- JFK Jr.’s plane crashed just off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in 1999.
Read on:
Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce
1911Encyclopedia.org – Martha’s Vineyard
- only 15,000 are year-round residents, but over 125,000 people fill the island in the summer ↩
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