Editing Chilmark, Massachusetts (section)

==History==
[[Thomas Mayhew|Governor Thomas Mayhew, the Elder]] (March 31, 1593 – March 25, 1682) established the first English settlement of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and adjacent islands in 1642. The town was officially incorporated on September 14, 1694, the first town to separate from the two original towns of [[Tisbury, Massachusetts|Tisbury]] and [[Edgartown, Massachusetts|Edgartown]]. The new town was named for [[Chilmark, Wiltshire|Chilmark]], the ancestral home of the family of Governor [[Thomas Mayhew]] of [[Tisbury, Wiltshire|Tisbury]], in the English county of [[Wiltshire]]. In 1714, Chilmark was made a township including the island of [[Nomans Land (Massachusetts)|Nomans Land]].

The town was once known for its unusually high percentage of deaf citizens. In 1854, Chilmark had a deaf population of one in every 25 people, while the national average was one deaf person in 5,728. (See [[Martha's Vineyard Sign Language]].)  Today the town is mostly residential, with a small working harbor in Menemsha along the [[Vineyard Sound]] side of the town.

In August 2009, 2010 and 2011, President [[Barack Obama]] and his family vacationed in Chilmark, renting the [[Blue Heron Farm]].<ref>{{cite news |title=For Obama, not the time for extended Vineyard rest |author=Susan Milligan |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/08/20/for_obama_not_the_time_for_an_extended_vineyard_vacation/ |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=August 20, 2009 |access-date=February 12, 2013 |quote=But Obama is settling for a Sunday-to-Sunday sojourn. The White House has not released details of the Obamas' plans, but locals say the first family has rented the Blue Heron Farm in Chilmark, a 28-acre estate owned by William and Mollie Van Devender, both donors to Republicans. The property includes a swimming pool, access to a private beach, even a place to whack golf balls.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Vacation time for the president |author=Erica Werner |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/08/19/vacation_time_for_the_president/ |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=August 19, 2010 |access-date=February 12, 2013}}</ref>