Editing Martha's Vineyard (section)

==History==
===Pre-European settlement===

The island was originally inhabited by [[Wampanoag people]], when Martha's Vineyard was known in the [[Massachusett language]] as ''Noepe'', or "land amid the streams". In 1642, the Wampanoag numbered somewhere around 3,000 on the island. By 1764, that number had dropped to 313.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/peopleshistoryof00zinn_2|url-access=registration|quote=peoples history of the united states.|title=A People's History of the United States|publisher=Harper Collins|access-date=January 18, 2015|isbn=9780060528423|date=February 4, 2003|last1=Zinn|first1=Howard}}</ref>

===Colonial era===
[[File:Old Whaling Church, Edgartown MA.jpg|thumb|upright|Old Whaling Church, [[Edgartown Village Historic District]]]] [[European colonization of the Americas|European settlement]] began with the purchase of Martha's Vineyard, [[Nantucket]], and the Elizabeth Islands by [[Thomas Mayhew (governor)|Thomas Mayhew]] of [[Watertown, Massachusetts]], from two New England settlers. He had friendly relations with the Wampanoags on the island, in part because he was careful to honor their land rights. His son, also named Thomas Mayhew, established the first settlement on the island in 1642 at Great Harbor (later [[Edgartown, Massachusetts]]).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Banks |first=Charles E. |date=1911 |title=Annals of Edgartown by Dr. Charles E. Banks |url=http://history.vineyard.net/dukes/bnk2e_9.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208202220/http://history.vineyard.net/dukes/bnk2e_9.htm |archive-date=December 8, 2019 |access-date=October 20, 2020 |website=history.vineyard.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Village Green – Vineyard Trust |url=https://vineyardtrust.org/property/village-green/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809202433/https://vineyardtrust.org/property/village-green/ |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |access-date=October 20, 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The younger Mayhew began a relationship with [[Hiacoomes]], a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] neighbor, which eventually led to Hiacoomes' family converting to [[Christianity]]. During [[King Philip's War]] later in the century, the Martha's Vineyard band did not join their tribal relatives in the uprising and remained armed, a testimony to the good relations cultivated by the Mayhews as the leaders of the colony.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}
In 1657, the younger Thomas Mayhew was drowned when a ship he was travelling in was lost at sea on a voyage to England. Mayhew's grandsons [[Matthew Mayhew]] (1648{{endash}}), John Mayhew (1652{{endash}}), and other members of his family assisted him in running his business and government.<ref>[[Thomas Mayhew]]</ref> In 1665, Mayhew's lands were included in a grant to the [[James II of England|Duke of York]]. In 1671, a settlement was arranged which allowed Mayhew to continue in his position while placing his territory under the jurisdiction of the [[Province of New York]]. 

====Attempted annexation by Rhode Island (1684)====
In 1682, Matthew Mayhew succeeded his grandfather as Governor and Chief Magistrate, and occasionally preached to the Native Americans. He was also appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Dukes county in 1697, and remained on the bench until 1700. He was judge of probate from 1696 to 1710.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Davis|first1=William|title=Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Volume 2|publisher=Boston History Company}}</ref> In 1683, [[Dukes County, New York]] was incorporated, including Martha's Vineyard. In 1691, at the collapse of rule by Sir [[Edmund Andros]] and the reorganization of Massachusetts as a royal colony, Dukes County was transferred to the [[Province of Massachusetts Bay]], and split into the county of [[Dukes County, Massachusetts]] and [[Nantucket County, Massachusetts]].{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}Following the revocation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony Charter in 1684, [[William Coddington Jr.]], who was governor of [[Rhode Island]] at the time, attempted to seize Martha's Vineyard through a group of militia as "reparations for former damages of past leaders made by the settlers,"<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last1=Peterson |first1=Edward |title=History of Rhode Island |date=2015 |publisher=FB&C Limited |isbn=9781331376668 |url=https://www.ebay.com/itm/134883422154?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A10WlrM_KwQgiL7dC9b2cQgg43&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-166974-028196-7&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=134883422154&targetid=2206408420304&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9002049&poi=21172&campaignid=20452027649&mkgroupid=147588966890&rlsatarget=pla-2206408420304&abcId=9319472&merchantid=566619504&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnrOtBhDIARIsAFsSe50d6iZFp6hiDFxb4LAu1PiMoXmuEAZ8fZumZucm4Kg1b2yoTRKtLh8aAmzEEALw_wcB |access-date=January 21, 2024}}</ref> most likely referring to the [[Puritan]] actions on [[Rhode Island]] leaders [[Roger Williams]] and [[Anne Hutchinson]], as well as annex threats made by Massachusetts. It is possible that [[William Coddington Jr.|Coddington]] only wanted to annex Martha's Vineyard due to its proximity to Rhode Island and the fact that it would have taken more labor for colonists in Massachusetts to reach Martha's Vineyard before Rhode Island could obtain full control of the island. The plan flopped: on the week that was taken to go to the island, Rhode Island militiamen were deployed in a group of three boats and "upon seeing men on Martha's Vineyard, the men immediately fled the vicinity of the island and returned home after The Governor dispatched them from their duties and made the plan defunct".<ref name="auto"/> There is still wide debate as to who told leaders from Massachusetts about the plan. One story has prevailed, that a traveler going to and from Rhode Island and Massachusetts for business purposes heard the claim and reported it back to officials in Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Laxton |first1=Glenn |title=Hidden History of Rhode Island |date=November 27, 2009 |publisher=Arcadia |isbn=9781625843036 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5cl2CQAAQBAJ |access-date=January 21, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dresser |first1=Thomas |title=Hidden History of Martha's Vineyard |date=April 17, 2017 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing (SC) |isbn=978-1540215826 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Middleton and Lombard |first1=Richard and Anne |title=Colonial America: A History to 1763 |date=May 2, 2011 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1405190046 |edition=4}}</ref> Massachusetts, specifically Martha's Vineyard, was not intimidated by this attempt and thought Rhode Island to be weaker because of their immediate retreat.

As for the history following the attempted annexation, Native American literacy in the schools founded by Thomas Mayhew Jr. and taught by [[Peter Foulger|Peter Folger]] (the grandfather of [[Benjamin Franklin]]) was such that the first Native American graduates of Harvard were from Martha's Vineyard, including the son of Hiacoomes, [[Joel Hiacoomes]]. "The ship Joel Hiacoomes was sailing on, as he was returning to Boston from a trip home shortly before the graduation ceremonies, was found wrecked on the shores of Nantucket Island. [[Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck|Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk]], the son of a sachem of Homes Hole, did graduate from Harvard in the class of 1665."<ref>Moneghan, E.J., 2005, p.&nbsp;59.</ref> Cheeshahteaumauk's Latin address to the corporation (New England Corporation), which begins "Honoratissimi benefactores" (most honored benefactors), has been preserved.<ref>Gookin, as quoted in Monaghan, 2005, p.&nbsp;60.</ref> In addition to speaking Wampanoag and [[English language|English]], they studied Hebrew, classical Greek, and Latin. All of the early Native American graduates died shortly after completing their course of study. Many native preachers on the island, however, also preached in the [[Christianity|Christian]] churches from time to time.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}[[File:House next door to the Old Whaling Church.jpg|thumb|Historic house next to the Whaling Church]]

Mayhew's successor as leader of the community was the Hon. Leavitt Thaxter,<ref>{{cite book|title=Contemporaneous writings from Thaxter describe his increasing affinity for the Native Americans and their customs|quote=They are kind and considerate to one another and especially to the poor, Leavitt noted|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bi5f99F9glAC&q=%22leavitt+thaxter%22&pg=PA247|access-date=January 18, 2015|isbn=9780521842808|date=April 4, 2005|last1=Silverman|first1=David J.|last2=Silverman|first2=David L.|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> who married Martha Mayhew, a descendant of Thomas Mayhew, and was an Edgartown educator described by Indian Commissioner [[John Milton Earle]] as "a long and steadfast friend to the Indians."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lbd8VHi8HjgC&q=%22leavitt+thaxter%22&pg=PA196|title=After King Philip's War|access-date=January 18, 2015|isbn=9780874518191|year=1997|last1=Calloway|first1=Colin Gordon}}</ref> After living in [[Northampton, Massachusetts|Northampton]], Thaxter, a lawyer,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5vMBAAAAYAAJ&q=%22leavitt+thaxter%22&pg=PA92|title=The Massachusetts Register and United States Calendar for the Year of Our ..|access-date=January 18, 2015|year=1847}}</ref> returned home to Edgartown, where he took over the school founded by his father, Rev. Joseph Thaxter,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/annalsamericanu00spragoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/annalsamericanu00spragoog/page/n119 85]|quote=joseph thaxter leavitt thaxter.|title=Annals of the American Unitarian Pulpit|publisher=R. Carter & brothers|access-date=January 18, 2015|year=1865|last1=Sprague|first1=William Buell}}</ref><ref>One of the first chaplains in the [[Continental Army]], Rev. Thaxter was wounded at the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]]. On June 17, 1835, Thaxter returned to the battleground and officiated as chaplain at ceremonies laying the cornerstone for the [[Bunker Hill Monument]]</ref> and served in the State [[Massachusetts House of Representatives|House]] and the [[Massachusetts Senate|Senate]], was a member of the [[Massachusetts Governor's Council]], and later served as [[United States Customs Service|U. S. Customs Collector]] for Martha's Vineyard.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qwN_i3tIDIYC&q=%22leavitt+thaxter%22&pg=PA67|title=Memorials of Elder John White, One of the First Settlers of Hartford, Conn ..|access-date=January 18, 2015|year=1860|last1=Kellogg|first1=Allyn Stanley}}</ref> Having rechristened his father's Edgartown school Thaxter Academy, on February 15, 1845, Thaxter was granted the sum of $50 per year for "the support of William Johnson, an Indian of the Chappequiddic tribe." By this time, Leavitt Thaxter<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cdm.reed.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/colhist&CISOPTR=150&CISOBOX=1&REC=10|title=Reed Digital Collections : Item Viewer|publisher=Cdm.reed.edu|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref> had taken on the role, described in an act passed by the [[General Court of Massachusetts]], as "guardian of the Indians and people of color resident at Chappequiddic and Indiantown in the County of Dukes County."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ehgRAAAAYAAJ&q=%22leavitt+thaxter%22&pg=RA2-PA593|title=Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court|access-date=January 18, 2015|year=1845|author1=Massachusetts }}</ref> Thaxter Academy, founded by Leavitt Thaxter as first principal in 1825, became known for educating both white and Native American youth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.vineyard.net/hfnorton/history.htm|title=The History of Martha's Vineyard by Henry Franklin Norton, 1923|publisher=History.vineyard.net|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref>

===19th century===
[[File:Marthasvineyard-OakBluffs-Cottages.jpg|thumb|[[Gingerbread cottage]]s at [[Wesleyan Grove]], Oak Bluffs]]Like the nearby island of [[Nantucket]], Martha's Vineyard was brought to prominence in the 19th century by the [[whaling]] industry, during which ships were sent around the world to hunt whales for their oil and [[blubber]]. The discovery of [[petroleum]] in [[Pennsylvania]] gave rise to a cheaper source of oil for lamps and led to an almost complete collapse of the industry by 1870. After the Old Colony railroad came to mainland Woods Hole in 1872, summer residences began to develop on the island, such as the community of [[Harthaven]] established by William H. Hart, and later, the community of Ocean Heights, developed near Sengekontacket Pond in [[Edgartown]] by the prominent island businessman, Robert Marsden Laidlaw.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4QjL3hBwDv0C|title=Martha's Vineyard, Summer Resort After 100 Years|access-date=January 18, 2015|year=1966|last1=Hough|first1=Henry Beetle}}</ref> Although the island struggled financially through the [[Great Depression]], its reputation as a [[resort]] for [[tourist]]s and the wealthy continued to grow. There is still a substantial Wampanoag population on the Vineyard, mainly located in the town of [[Aquinnah, Massachusetts|Aquinnah]]. Aquinnah means "land under the hill" in the Wampanoag language.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

The island was the last refuge of the [[heath hen]], an extinct subspecies of the [[greater prairie chicken]], which was a once common game bird throughout the [[Northeastern United States]]. Despite 19th century efforts to protect the hen, by 1927, the population of birds had dropped to 13. The last known heath hen, named "Booming Ben", perished on Martha's Vineyard in 1932.<ref name="Encyclopedia">{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Shukla|first1=Arvind N.|first2=Rajiv|last2=Tyagi|title=Encyclopaedia of Birds|publisher=Anmol Publications|year=2001|page=52|isbn=81-261-0967-X<!--|access-date=May 21, 2011-->}}</ref>

===Modern era===
{{See also|Martha's Vineyard in World War II}}
Martha's Vineyard was used by the Army, Navy and Air Force from 1941 through 1945 for  training missions that ranged from landings on beaches to climbing cliffs and bombing practice.
 
The linguist [[William Labov]] wrote his [[Master of Arts|master's thesis]] on changes in the Martha's Vineyard dialect of English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/hsl_shl/tristan.htm|title=Nonstandard verb forms in the dialect of Tristan Da Cunha|publisher=Let.leidenuniv.nl|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref> The 1963 study is widely recognized as a seminal work in the foundation of [[sociolinguistics]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://albuquerque.bioinformatics.uottawa.ca/Papers/labov.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070627121040/http://albuquerque.bioinformatics.uottawa.ca/Papers/labov.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Albuquerque.bioinformatics.uottawa.ca|archive-date=June 27, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Marthasvineyard-Chappaquiddick-DikeBridge.jpg|thumb|Dike Bridge, Chappaquiddick]]The island received international notoriety after the "[[Chappaquiddick incident]]" of July 18, 1969, in which [[Mary Jo Kopechne]] was killed in a car driven off the Dike Bridge by U.S. Senator [[Ted Kennedy|Edward "Ted" Kennedy]]. The bridge crossed Poucha Pond on [[Chappaquiddick Island]] (a smaller island formerly connected to the Vineyard and part of Edgartown). The bridge was intended for people on foot and [[bicycle]]s, as well as the occasional emergency vehicle when conditions warranted. Currently, [[4×4]] vehicles with passes are allowed to cross the reconstructed bridge.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Martha's Vineyard in Timeline - Popular Timelines |url=https://populartimelines.com/t/62207/Marthas-Vineyard |access-date=June 27, 2023 |website=populartimelines.com |language=en}}</ref>

On November 23, 1970, in the Atlantic Ocean just west of Aquinnah, [[Simas Kudirka]], a Soviet seaman of [[Lithuania]]n nationality, [[History of the United States Coast Guard#The Kudirka incident|attempted to defect]] to the United States by leaping onto a [[United States Coast Guard]] cutter from a Soviet fishing trawler and asking for asylum. The Coast Guard allowed a detachment of four seamen from the Soviet ship to board the cutter and "drag the kicking, screaming Kudirka back to their vessel." He was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor in the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,944247,00.html |title=Refugees: How Simas Was Returned |magazine=[[TIME]] |date=December 28, 1970 |access-date=July 3, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Weiser |first=Benjamin |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/09/15/a-new-country-and-a-new-courtroom/9aefc300-2cf3-4d1d-8788-c947245c31a4/ |title=A New Country and a New Courtroom |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=September 15, 1980 |access-date=July 3, 2021}}</ref>

In 1974, [[Steven Spielberg]] filmed the movie ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' on Martha's Vineyard, most notably in the fishing village of [[Menemsha]] and the town of [[Chilmark, Massachusetts|Chilmark]]. Spielberg selected island natives Christopher Rebello as Chief Brody's oldest son, Michael Brody; Jay Mello as the younger son, Sean Brody; and [[Lee Fierro]] as Mrs. Kintner. Scores of other island natives appeared in the film as [[Extra (actor)|extras]]. Later, scenes from ''[[Jaws 2]]'' and ''[[Jaws: The Revenge]]'' were filmed on the island, as well. In June 2005 the island celebrated the 30th anniversary of ''Jaws'' with a weekend-long Jawsfest.<ref>{{Cite web|title=JawsFest '05 marks 30th anniversary of Jaws' release|url=https://www.post-gazette.com/life/travel/2005/06/04/JawsFest-05-marks-30th-anniversary-of-Jaws-release/stories/200506040129|access-date=October 26, 2021|website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Martha's Vineyard secession flag, unoriginal, but free bird.png|thumb|Martha's Vineyard secession flag]]

In 1977, distressed over losing their guaranteed seat in the Massachusetts General Court, inhabitants of Martha's Vineyard considered the possibility of [[secession]] from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, either to become part of another state (having received offers from both [[Vermont]] and [[Hawaii]]), reincorporating as a separate U.S. territory, or as the nation's [[51st state]]. The separatist flag, consisting of a white seagull over an orange disk on a sky-blue background, is still seen on the island today. Although the idea of separation from Massachusetts eventually proved impracticable, it did receive attention in the local, regional, and even national media.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.mvmagazine.com/2007/september-october/secession.php |title=Talkin' About a Revolution |last=Seccombe |first=Mike |year=2007 |access-date=September 10, 2009 |publisher=Martha's Vineyard Magazine |pages=September–October issue | url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110714141528/http://www.mvmagazine.com/2007/september-october/secession.php |archive-date= July 14, 2011}}</ref>

On March 5, 1982, [[John Belushi]] died of a drug overdose in Los Angeles, California, and was buried four days later in Abel's Hill Cemetery in Chilmark. Belushi often visited the Vineyard and his family felt it fitting to bury him there. On his gravestone is the quote: "Though I may be gone, Rock 'N' Roll lives on." Because of the many visitors to his grave and the threat of vandalism, his body was moved somewhere near the grave site. His grave remains a popular site for visitors to Chilmark and they often leave tokens in memory of the late comedian.<ref>{{cite book |title=Belushi |last=Belushi Pissano |first=Judith |year=2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1919236_1919237_1919234,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906235719/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1919236_1919237_1919234,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 6, 2009 | magazine=Time | title=Top 10 Celebrity Grave Sites | date=September 3, 2009}}</ref>

Since the 1990s, [[Bill Clinton]] has spent regular vacation time on the island during and after his presidency, along with his wife, [[Hillary Clinton]], and their daughter, [[Chelsea Clinton|Chelsea]]. Clinton was not the first president to visit the islands; [[Ulysses S. Grant]] visited the vacation residence of his friend, Bishop [[Gilbert Haven]] on August 24, 1874. As a coincidental footnote in history, Bishop Haven's [[Gingerbread (architecture)|gingerbread cottage]] was located in Oak Bluffs at 10 Clinton Avenue. The avenue was named in 1851 and was designated as the main promenade of the [[Wesleyan Grove|Martha's Vineyard Campmeeting Association campgrounds]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Oak Bluffs: The Cottage City Years on Martha's Vineyard |author=Jones, Peter A.|year=2007<!--
|access-date=September 9, 2009--> |publisher=Arcadia Publishing| page=37| isbn=978-0-7385-4977-4}}</ref>  In December 2019, President [[Barack Obama]] completed the purchase of a {{convert|30|acre|adj=on}} homestead on the Edgartown Great Pond.<ref name="ObamaHome">{{cite news | url= https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2019/12/04/president-obama-buys-home-edgartown-great-pond |title= President Obama Buys Home on Edgartown Great Pond |last= Wells |first= Julia |date= December 4, 2019 |access-date= May 13, 2020 |newspaper= Vineyard Gazette
 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200421051947/https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2019/12/04/president-obama-buys-home-edgartown-great-pond |archive-date= April 21, 2020 |url-status= dead}}</ref>

On July 16, 1999, a [[John F. Kennedy Jr. plane crash|small plane crashed]] off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, claiming the lives of pilot [[John F. Kennedy Jr.]], his wife [[Carolyn Bessette]], and her sister Lauren Bessette. Kennedy's mother, former U.S. first lady [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]], maintained a home in Aquinnah (formerly "Gay Head") until her death in 1994.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 24, 2021 |title=And This is the House That Jackie Built |url=https://mvmagazine.com/news/2021/02/24/and-house-jackie-built |access-date=October 26, 2022 |website=Martha's Vineyard Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

In the summer of 2000, an outbreak of [[tularemia]], also known as rabbit fever, resulted in one death and piqued the interest of the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]], which wanted to test the island as a potential investigative ground for aerosolized ''[[Francisella|Francisella tularensis]]''. Over the following summers, Martha's Vineyard was identified as the only place in the world where documented cases of tularemia resulted from [[lawn mowing]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Tularemia on Martha's Vineyard: Seroprevalence and Occupational Risk |volume=9 |issue=3 |journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases |doi=10.3201/eid0903.020462 |date=March 2003 |doi-access=free |last1=Feldman |first1=Katherine A. |last2=Stiles-Enos |first2=Donna |last3=Julian |first3=Kathleen |last4=Matyas |first4=Bela T. |last5=Telford |first5=Sam R. |last6=Chu |first6=May C. |last7=Petersen |first7=Lyle R. |last8=Hayes |first8=Edward B. |pages=350–354 |pmid=12643831 |pmc=2958548 }}</ref> The research could prove valuable in preventing [[bioterrorism]].{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} In the television show ''[[The X-Files]]'', [[Fox Mulder]]'s parents live on the island,<ref name="Maslin">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/books/25masl.html|title=The Ghost – Robert Harris – Books – Review|last=Maslin|first=Janet|date=October 25, 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 26, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and it was also the setting for Robert Harris' 2007 novel ''[[The Ghost (novel)|The Ghost]]''.<ref name="Maslin" />

In September 2022, Florida governor [[Ron DeSantis]] flew two planeloads of Venezuelan [[Martha's Vineyard migrant crisis|migrants to Martha's Vineyard]] in an effort to draw attention to what Republican governors consider "the Biden administration's failed border policies".<ref>{{cite news | date = September 15, 2022 | title = Florida's DeSantis flies dozens of migrants to Martha's Vineyard | url = https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/floridas-desantis-flies-dozens-of-migrants-to-marthas-vineyard/ar-AA11R0GB | work = CBS News}}</ref> Some observers criticized DeSantis because the migrants were flown there unannounced. For nearly two days, island residents provided clothing, food, toys, toiletries, and temporary shelter, before removing the migrants from the island.<ref>{{cite news | date = September 20, 2022 | title = Critics Ron DeSantis Lured Migrants to Martha's vineyard under terrible Lie | url = https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2022/09/19/critics-ron-desantis-lured-migrants-marthas-vineyard-terrible-lie/10424956002/ | work = Tallahassee Democrat}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | date = September 16, 2022 | title = Venezuelan Migrants Welcomed to Martha's Vineyard with Open Arms | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/migrants-arrive-warm-welcome-marthas-vineyard/ | work = CBS News}} </ref>

=== African American history on Martha's Vineyard ===
People were bought, sold, and probated as property on Martha's Vineyard. In 1700, Reverend [[Samuel Sewall]], a seasonal resident of Martha's Vineyard, was one of the first to publicly oppose slavery in the New England Colonies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goldenberg |first=David M. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/501292312 |title=The curse of Ham : race and slavery in early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam |date=2003 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-2854-8 |location=Princeton, N.J. |pages=142 |oclc=501292312 |quote=it was a notion that went back, at least, to the year 1700, when the Puritan Samuel Sewall published one of the earliest anti-slavery tracts}}</ref> In 1646, magistrates in Massachusetts ruled that two Africans who had been enslaved and imported be returned to their native country. In 1652, Rhode Island passed a law abolishing slavery and ordering that Africans be freed after a term of 10 years, just like indentured servants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Slavery in New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/slavery-new-england-ct-me-ma-nh-ri-vt |access-date=September 24, 2022 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref> In addition to that, "at no time during its history did people of color lose the right to use the courts to challenge their status. Nor did they lose the right to inherit property in certain circumstances."<ref name=heritagetrail/>
   
On October 15, 2020, Edgartown Harbor was officially recognized as an [[Underground Railroad]] Site by the [[National Park Service]].<ref name=edgartown20>{{cite news |url=https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2020/10/15/edgartiwn-harbor-named-historical-underground-railroad-site |work=The Vineyard Gazette |title=Edgartown Harbor Named as Historical Underground Railroad Site |date=October 15, 2020 |access-date=November 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022143125/https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2020/10/15/edgartiwn-harbor-named-historical-underground-railroad-site |archive-date=October 22, 2020}}</ref> This recognition was given after a submission from a  nonprofit corporation, the African American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard. The corporation was founded in 1998 by Martha's Vineyard NAACP vice president Carrie Camillo Tankard and teacher Elaine Cawley Weintraub. Their mission is to "continue to research and publish previously undocumented history and to involve the Island community in the identification and celebration of the contributions made by people of color to the island of Martha's Vineyard."<ref name=heritagetrail>{{cite web |url=https://mvafricanamericanheritagetrail.org/general-information-mission-statement/ |publisher=The African American Heritage Trail |title=General Information & Mission Statement |date=August 27, 2016 |access-date=November 19, 2020}}</ref> The trail consists of 31 sites all marked by a descriptive plaque.<ref name=edgartown20/>

===Hereditary deafness and sign language===
Martha's Vineyard became known as an "everyone signs" community after three centuries of an unusually high level of hereditary deafness<ref name=Groce1985>{{cite book |title=Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha's Vineyard |last=Groce |first=Nora Ellen |year=1985|publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, MA|isbn=978-0-674-27041-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/everyoneherespok00groc_0 |url-access=registration |quote=everyone here sign. |access-date=October 21, 2010}}</ref> caused Martha's Vineyard to be labeled a "deaf utopia".<ref name=Kusters>{{citation |last=Kusters |first=Annelies |year=2010 |title=Deaf Utopias? Reviewing the sociocultural Literature on the World's "Martha's Vineyard Situations" |journal= The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education |volume=15| issue= 1|pages=3–16 |doi=10.1093/deafed/enp026|pmid=19812282 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The island's deaf heritage cannot be traced to one common ancestor and is thought to have originated in the [[Weald]], a region that overlaps the borders of the English counties of [[Kent]] and [[Sussex]], prior to immigration. Researcher Nora Groce estimates that by the late 19th century, one in 155 people on the Vineyard was born deaf (0.7 percent) — about 37 times the estimate for the nation at large (1 in 5,728, or 0.02 percent)<ref name="Groce1985"/> — because of a "recessive pattern" of genetic deafness, circulated through [[endogamous]] marriage patterns.<ref name=Fox>{{cite book |title= Kinship and Marriage: An Anthropological Perspective |last= Fox |first=R |year=2011 |publisher= Harmondsworth, EnglandPenguin |orig-year=1967}}</ref>

Deaf Vineyarders generally earned an average or above-average income (proved by tax records) and they participated in church affairs with passion.<ref name=Groce>{{citation |last=Groce |first=Nora Ellen |year= 1985 |title= The Island Adaption to Deafness |journal= Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha's Vineyard |pages=50–75 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K5nbuza--nYC|hdl=2027/heb.02825.0001.001|publisher= Harvard University Press |doi=10.4159/9780674037953-005 |isbn= 9780674270411 }}</ref> The deafness on the island affected both females and males in approximately the same percentage. In the late 19th century, the mixed marriages between deaf and hearing spouses comprised 65 percent of all deaf marriages on the island, as compared to the rate of 20 percent deaf-hearing marriage in the mainland.<ref name=Lane>{{citation |last1=Lane |first1=Harlan L. |first2=Richard C. |last2=Pillard |first3=Mary |last3=French |year=2000 |title= Origins of the American Deaf-World: Assimilating and Differentiating Societies and Their Relation to Genetic Patterning |journal= Sign Language Studies |volume=1 |pages=17–44 |doi=10.1353/sls.2000.0003 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The sign language used by Vineyarders is called [[Martha's Vineyard Sign Language|Martha's Vineyard Sign Language (MVSL)]], and it is different from [[American Sign Language]] (ASL). However, the geographical, time, and population proximities state that MVSL and ASL are impossible to develop in complete isolation from each other.<ref name="Lane, Pillard, and Hedberg">{{cite book |title= The people of the Eye: Deaf Ethnicity and Ancestry |last1=Lane |first1=Harlan L. |last2=Pillard |first2=Richard C. |last3=Hedberg |first3=Ulf |year=2011 |publisher= Oxford Scholarship Online |isbn= 978-019975929-3 |doi= 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199759293.001.0001 }}</ref> MVSL was commonly used by hearing residents as well as deaf ones until the middle of the 20th century.<ref name=Bahan>Bahan, B., and J. Poole-Nash. "The Signing Community on Martha's Vineyard". Unpublished address to the Conference on Dean Studies IV. Haverhill, Mass. 1995. Quoted in Lane 28</ref> No language barrier created a smooth communication environment for all the residents of the island.

In the 20th century, tourism became a mainstay in the island economy, and new tourism-related jobs appeared. However, jobs in tourism were not as deaf-friendly as fishing and farming had been. Consequently, as intermarriage and further migration joined the people of Martha's Vineyard to the mainland, the island community more and more resembled the oral community there.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.nurturedevelopment.org/blog/fantasy-island-is-disability-just-a-construct |title= Fantasy Island: Is disability just a construct? |last= Russell |first=Cormac |date= August 14, 2014 |website= Nurture Development |access-date= August 4, 2017}}</ref> The last deaf person born into the island's sign-language tradition, Katie West, died in 1952, but a few elderly residents were able to recall MVSL as recently as the 1980s when research into the language began.<ref name=Groce1985/><ref name=Sacks>{{cite book | last=Sacks |first=Oliver |author-link= Oliver Sacks |title= Seeing Voices: A Journey into the World of the Deaf |place= Berkeley and Los Angeles, California |publisher= [[University of California Press]] |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-520-06083-8 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tOjavKkVRNoC&q=%22seeing+voices%22 |access-date= October 21, 2010}}</ref>