Editing Martha's Vineyard

{{Short description|Island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S.}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox islands
| name = Martha's Vineyard
| native_name = 
| image_name = File:Marthasvineyard-Aquinnah-cliffs-summer.jpeg
| image_caption = Gay Head Cliffs and Lighthouse, Aquinnah
| pushpin_map = Massachusetts#USA
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Martha's Vineyard in [[Massachusetts]]##Location in the [[United States]]
| pushpin_relief = 1
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| nickname = The Vineyard, The Rock
| location = [[Dukes County, Massachusetts]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|41|24|N|70|37|W|scale:250000|display=inline,title}}
| major_islands = Martha's Vineyard, [[Chappaquiddick Island|Chappaquiddick]]
| area_sqmi = 96
| length_mi = 20.5
| width_km = 
| highest_mount = Peaked Hill
| elevation_ft = 311
| country = United States
| country_admin_divisions_title = State
| country_admin_divisions = [[Massachusetts]]
| country_admin_divisions_title_1 = County
| country_admin_divisions_1 = [[Dukes County, Massachusetts|Dukes]]
| country_admin_divisions_title_2 = 
| country_admin_divisions_2 = 
| country_largest_city = 
| country_largest_city_population = 
| area_total_km2 = <!-- ALL fields with measurements have automatic unit conversion -->
| population = 20,530
| population_as_of = 2023
| density_sqmi = 179.8 <!-- 17265 pop. / 96 sq. mi. -->
| ethnic_groups = 
| additional_info = 
| website = 
|coastline_mi=124|coastline_km=200}}

'''Martha's Vineyard''', often simply called '''the Vineyard''',<ref>{{cite web |website=Capecodchamber.org |url=http://www.capecodchamber.org/cape-cod-islands-nantucket-marthas-vineyard-cape-cod-travel-guide |title=Martha's Vineyard |date=June 27, 2015 |access-date=October 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424213029/http://www.capecodchamber.org/cape-cod-islands-nantucket-marthas-vineyard-cape-cod-travel-guide |archive-date=April 24, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> is an [[island]] in the U.S. state of [[Massachusetts]], lying just south of [[Cape Cod]]. It is known for being a popular, affluent [[summer colony]], and includes the smaller peninsula [[Chappaquiddick Island]]. It is the [[List of islands of the United States by area|58th largest island]] in the U.S., with a land area of about {{convert|96|sqmi}},<ref>{{Cite web |title=How large is Martha's Vineyard? |url=https://www.mvy.com/faq.html |access-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409165534/https://www.mvy.com/faq.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the third-largest on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]], after [[Long Island]] and [[Mount Desert Island]]. Martha's Vineyard constitutes the bulk of [[Dukes County, Massachusetts]], which also includes the [[Elizabeth Islands]] and the island of [[Nomans Land (Massachusetts)|Nomans Land]].

The island's year-round population has considerably increased since the 1960s. In the 2023 Martha's Vineyard Commission report, the year-round population was 20,530, an increase from 16,460 in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 7, 2023 |title=Martha's Vineyard Statistical Profile 2023 |url=https://www.mvcommission.org/sites/default/files/docs/MVSP_2023_FINAL_11_29_23_reduced.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231235449/https://www.mvcommission.org/sites/default/files/docs/MVSP_2023_FINAL_11_29_23_reduced.pdf |archive-date=December 31, 2023 |website=Martha's Vineyard Commission}}</ref> The summer population swells to more than 200,000 people. About 56 percent of the Vineyard's 14,621 homes are seasonally occupied.<ref name="Growth">{{cite web |title=Population and Housing Profile of Martha's Vineyard |url=http://www.mvcommission.org/doc.php/Population%20and%20Housing%20Profile.pdf?id=614 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306052022/https://www.mvcommission.org/doc.php/Population%20and%20Housing%20Profile.pdf?id=614 |archive-date=March 6, 2012 |access-date=January 18, 2015 |publisher=Mvcommission.org |format=PDF}}</ref> 

A study by the Martha's Vineyard Commission in 2006 found that the cost of living on the island is 60 percent higher than the national average, and housing prices are 96 percent higher.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cost of Living Found Shockingly High Here |url=http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2007/04/06/cost-living-found-shockingly-high-here |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406050459/http://vineyardgazette.com/news/2007/04/06/cost-living-found-shockingly-high-here?k=vg552213cedc1bc |archive-date=April 6, 2015 |access-date=January 18, 2015 |work=The Vineyard Gazette{{snd}}Martha's Vineyard News}}</ref> A study of housing needs by the Commission found that the average weekly wage on Martha's Vineyard was "71 percent of the state average, the median home price was 54 percent above the state's and the median rent exceeded the state's by 17 percent," all leading to a stark example of severe income inequalities between year-round residents and their seasonal counterparts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 6, 2014 |title=Highlights of the Martha's Vineyard Housing Needs Assessment |url=http://www.mvcommission.org/sites/default/files/docs/Housing%20Needs%20Assessment%20-%20Highlights.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817112327/https://www.mvcommission.org/sites/default/files/docs/Housing%20Needs%20Assessment%20-%20Highlights.pdf |archive-date=August 17, 2016 |access-date=July 20, 2016 |website=Martha's Vineyard Commission}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Kenber |first=Billy |date=August 16, 2013 |title=On Martha's Vineyard, a stark look at income inequality |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/on-marthas-vineyard-a-stark-look-at-income-inequality/2013/08/16/95df652c-069f-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926000228/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/on-marthas-vineyard-a-stark-look-at-income-inequality/2013/08/16/95df652c-069f-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html |archive-date=September 26, 2022}}</ref>

Though many have suggested that the island was renamed after English explorer [[Bartholomew Gosnold]]'s daughter Martha, it is more likely that both the island and his daughter were namesakes of his wealthy mother-in-law, Martha (Judde) Golding, who partly funded his expedition in 1602{{snd}}the first recorded European expedition to [[Cape Cod]].{{efn|Gosnold's daughter was christened in St. James' Church (now [[St. Edmundsbury Cathedral]]), [[Bury St. Edmunds]] in [[Suffolk]], England and is buried in the Great Churchyard that lies in front of the [[Bury St Edmunds Abbey|Abbey ruins]] between St. Mary's Church and the Cathedral.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/Unique-signature-found-by-town.2733763.jp|title=Unique signature found by town researcher|publisher=Buryfreepress.co.uk|access-date=January 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080416110921/http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/Unique-signature-found-by-town.2733763.jp|archive-date=April 16, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>}} A smaller island to the south was first to be named "Martha's Vineyard" but this later became associated with this island. It is the eighth-oldest surviving English place-name in the United States.<ref>{{cite book |title=Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States |last= Stewart|first=George |author-link=George R. Stewart|year=1945 |publisher= Random House|location=New York |pages= 26–27}}</ref> The island was subsequently known as ''Martin's Vineyard'' (possibly after a captain in the exploratory party, John Martin); many people and maps up to the 18th century called it by this name.<ref name="Banks">{{cite book|first=Charles Edward|last= Banks|title=The History of Martha's Vineyard|publisher= George H. Dean: Boston|year=1911|volume=I|page= 73}}</ref>

When the [[United States Board on Geographic Names]] worked to standardize placename spellings in the late 19th century, apostrophes were dropped. Thus for a time Martha's Vineyard was officially named ''Marthas Vineyard'', but the Board reversed its decision in the early 20th century, making Martha's Vineyard one of the five placenames in the United States that takes a [[Apostrophe#Possessives in geographic names|possessive apostrophe]].{{efn|The others are [[Carlos Elmer|Carlos Elmer's Joshua View]], Arizona; [[Clark's Mountain]], Oregon; [[Ike's Point]], New Jersey; and [[John E's Pond]], Rhode Island.<ref>{{Cite episode | title = Gardens | series = QI | air-date = November 26, 2009 | season = 7 | number = 1}} (BBC Television)</ref>}}<ref name="TheBoard">{{Cite web|url=https://www.usgs.gov/us-board-on-geographic-names/how-do-i|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328054944/https://www.usgs.gov/us-board-on-geographic-names/how-do-i|url-status=live|title=How Do I?|publisher=U.S. Board on Geographic Names|archive-date=March 28, 2023|website=www.usgs.gov}}</ref><ref name="Stewart">{{cite book|author-link=George R. Stewart|first=George R|last= Stewart|title=Names on the Land|publisher= Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston|year=1967|page=345}}</ref>

According to historian Henry Franklin Norton, the island was known by Native Americans as '''Noepe''' or '''Capawock'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The History of Martha's Vineyard by Henry Franklin Norton, 1923 |url=http://history.vineyard.net/hfnorton/history.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913085847/http://history.vineyard.net/hfnorton/history.htm |archive-date=September 13, 2023 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |website=history.vineyard.net}}</ref>  It is referred to in the 1691 [[Massachusetts Charter]] (which transferred the island from the [[Province of New York]] during the breakup of the [[Dominion of New England]]) as '''Cappawock'''.

==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>

==Climate==
[[File:Marthasvineyard-edgartown-lighthouse.jpg|thumb|[[Edgartown Harbor Light]] in Autumn]]

According to the [[Köppen climate classification]] system, the climate of the island borders between a [[humid continental climate]] (''Dfa''/''Dfb''), a [[humid subtropical climate]] (''Cfa''), and an [[oceanic climate]] (''Cfb''), the latter a climate type rarely found on the east coast of North America.<ref name=Peel>{{cite journal | last1=Peel |first1=M. C. |last2=Finlayson |first2=B. L. |last3=McMahon |first3=T. A. | year=2007 | title= Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal=Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume=11 | issue=5 | pages=1633–1644 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 | bibcode=2007HESS...11.1633P | url=http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf | issn = 1027-5606| doi-access=free }}</ref> Martha's Vineyard's climate is highly influenced by the surrounding [[Atlantic Ocean]], which moderates temperatures throughout the year, although this moderation is nowhere near as strong as on opposite sides of the Atlantic ([[Porto#Climate|Porto]], [[Portugal]]) or the Pacific coast of the United States ([[Crescent City, California#Climate|Crescent City]]) at similar latitudes.

As a result, winter temperatures tend to be a few degrees warmer while summer temperatures tend to be cooler than inland locations. Winters are cool to cold with a January average of just slightly below {{convert|32|°F|1}}.<ref name = WRCC >{{cite web|url = http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ma2501|title = General Climate Summary Tables|publisher= Western Regional Climate Center|access-date = February 22, 2013}}</ref> Owing to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, temperatures below {{convert|0|°F|1}} are rare, occurring at one day per year, with most days during the winter months rising above freezing.<ref name= WRCC /> The average annual snowfall is {{convert|25.3|in|sigfig=3}}. Summers are warm and mild with temperatures rarely exceeding {{convert|90|°F|1}}, with only one or two days reaching or exceeding it.<ref name= WRCC /> During the summer months, the island's warmest months (July and August) average around {{convert|71.5|°F|1}}

Spring and fall are transition seasons with spring being cooler than fall. The highest daily maximum temperature was {{convert|99|°F|1}} on August 27, 1948, and the highest daily minimum temperature was {{convert|76|°F|1}} on September 4, 2010. The lowest daily maximum temperature was {{convert|7|°F|1}} on December 26, 1980, and the lowest daily minimum temperature was {{convert|-9|°F|1}} on February 2 and 3, 1961.<ref name= WRCC /> Martha's Vineyard receives {{convert|46.94|in|sigfig=4}} of [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] per year, which is evenly distributed throughout the year. The [[hardiness zone]] is 7a in the central and most of the western areas of the main island and 7b on the east end including Chappaquiddick and the southwest end.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/|title=2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map &#124; USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map|website=planthardiness.ars.usda.gov}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Martha's Vineyard ([[Edgartown, Massachusetts]]) 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1946–present
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 65
|Feb record high F = 64
|Mar record high F = 75
|Apr record high F = 90
|May record high F = 91
|Jun record high F = 95
|Jul record high F = 95
|Aug record high F = 99
|Sep record high F = 92
|Oct record high F = 88
|Nov record high F = 74
|Dec record high F = 67
|year record high F = 99

|Jan avg record high F = 55.1
|Feb avg record high F = 54.9
|Mar avg record high F = 60.6
|Apr avg record high F = 70.2
|May avg record high F = 80.5
|Jun avg record high F = 86.1
|Jul avg record high F = 89.7
|Aug avg record high F = 87.6
|Sep avg record high F = 83.6
|Oct avg record high F = 75.7
|Nov avg record high F = 67.1
|Dec avg record high F = 59.1
|year avg record high F = 91.0

|Jan high F = 40.1
|Feb high F = 41.5
|Mar high F = 46.4
|Apr high F = 55.4
|May high F = 64.9
|Jun high F = 73.8
|Jul high F = 80.4
|Aug high F = 79.9
|Sep high F = 74.0
|Oct high F = 64.0
|Nov high F = 54.4
|Dec high F = 45.5
|year high F = 60.0
|Jan mean F = 32.9
|Feb mean F = 34.1
|Mar mean F = 39.0
|Apr mean F = 47.5
|May mean F = 56.7
|Jun mean F = 65.7
|Jul mean F = 72.3
|Aug mean F = 71.9
|Sep mean F = 66.2
|Oct mean F = 56.1
|Nov mean F = 47.0
|Dec mean F = 38.4
|year mean F = 52.3
|Jan low F = 25.6
|Feb low F = 26.8
|Mar low F = 31.7
|Apr low F = 39.5
|May low F = 48.6
|Jun low F = 57.6
|Jul low F = 64.2
|Aug low F = 63.9
|Sep low F = 58.4
|Oct low F = 48.2
|Nov low F = 39.7
|Dec low F = 31.3
|year low F = 44.6

|Jan avg record low F = 6.8
|Feb avg record low F = 10.1
|Mar avg record low F = 16.3
|Apr avg record low F = 27.5
|May avg record low F = 35.1
|Jun avg record low F = 45.8
|Jul avg record low F = 53.7
|Aug avg record low F = 53.0
|Sep avg record low F = 44.0
|Oct avg record low F = 32.8
|Nov avg record low F = 22.7
|Dec avg record low F = 15.1
|year avg record low F = 5.1

|Jan record low F = −6
|Feb record low F = −9
|Mar record low F = −7
|Apr record low F = 12
|May record low F = 28
|Jun record low F = 37
|Jul record low F = 45
|Aug record low F = 41
|Sep record low F = 32
|Oct record low F = 22
|Nov record low F = 14
|Dec record low F = −5
|year record low F = −9
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 4.10
|Feb precipitation inch = 3.57
|Mar precipitation inch = 4.80
|Apr precipitation inch = 4.18
|May precipitation inch = 3.74
|Jun precipitation inch = 3.39
|Jul precipitation inch = 2.64
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.72
|Sep precipitation inch = 3.89
|Oct precipitation inch = 4.63
|Nov precipitation inch = 4.21
|Dec precipitation inch = 4.84
|year precipitation inch = 47.71
|Jan snow inch = 8.8
|Feb snow inch = 8.1
|Mar snow inch = 4.7
|Apr snow inch = 0.3
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 0.0
|Nov snow inch = 0.0
|Dec snow inch = 3.4
|year snow inch = 25.3
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 11.9
|Feb precipitation days = 9.8
|Mar precipitation days = 11.4
|Apr precipitation days = 11.9
|May precipitation days = 12.0
|Jun precipitation days = 10.2
|Jul precipitation days = 7.8
|Aug precipitation days = 8.9
|Sep precipitation days = 9.3
|Oct precipitation days = 11.2
|Nov precipitation days = 11.4
|Dec precipitation days = 12.1
|year precipitation days = 127.9
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 3.5
|Feb snow days = 3.3
|Mar snow days = 2.0
|Apr snow days = 0.2
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.0
|Nov snow days = 0.1
|Dec snow days = 1.4
|year snow days = 10.5
| source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name=nws>{{cite web
| url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=box
| title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = May 30, 2021
| archive-date = November 13, 2020
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201113170419/https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=box
| url-status = dead
}}</ref><ref name=NCEI>
{{cite web
| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00192501&format=pdf
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
| title = Station: Edgartown, MA
| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020)
| access-date = May 30, 2021}}</ref>
|date=April 2011 }}

==Towns==
[[File:Marthasvineyard-OakBluffs-Bandstand.jpg|thumb|Ocean Park bandstand, [[Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts|Oak Bluffs]]]]
Martha's Vineyard is divided into six towns. Each town is governed by a [[select board]] elected by town voters, along with annual and periodic [[town meeting]]s. Each town is also a member of the Martha's Vineyard Commission, which regulates island-wide building, environmental, and aesthetic concerns.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Martha's Vineyard {{!}} Location, History, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Marthas-Vineyard|access-date=November 2, 2021|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=About the MVC {{!}} mvcommission.org|url=https://www.mvcommission.org/about-mvc|access-date=November 2, 2021|website=www.mvcommission.org}}</ref>

Some government programs on the island—such as the public school system, emergency management, and waste management—have been regionalized. There is a growing push for further regionalization areas of law enforcement, water treatment, and possible government regionalization.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

Each town also follows certain regulations from Dukes County. The towns are:{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}
*[[Tisbury, Massachusetts|Tisbury]], which includes the main village of [[Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts|Vineyard Haven]] and the [[West Chop]] peninsula. It is the island's primary port of entry for people and cargo, supplemented by the seasonal port in Oak Bluffs. Martha's Vineyard Museum is located here.{{cn|date=March 2025}}
*[[Edgartown, Massachusetts|Edgartown]], which includes [[Chappaquiddick Island]] and [[Katama, Massachusetts]]. Edgartown is noted for its rich whaling tradition and is the island's largest town by population and area.
*[[Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts|Oak Bluffs]] is best known for its [[Victorian architecture|gingerbread cottage]]s, its open harbor, and its vibrant town along busy Circuit Avenue. Oak Bluffs enjoys a reputation as one of the more active night-life towns on the island for both residents and tourists. It was known as "Cottage City" from its separation from Edgartown in 1880 until its reincorporation as Oak Bluffs in 1907. Oak Bluffs includes several communities that have been popular destinations for affluent African Americans since the early 20th century.<ref>[http://www.ci-oak-bluffs.ma.us/ Ci-oak-bluffs.ma.us] {{dead link|date=January 2015}}</ref> It also includes the [[East Chop]] peninsula, Lagoon Heights and [[Harthaven]].
*[[West Tisbury, Massachusetts|West Tisbury]] is the island's agricultural center, and it hosts the well-known Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Fair in late August each year.
*[[Chilmark, Massachusetts|Chilmark]], including the fishing village of [[Menemsha, Massachusetts|Menemsha.]] Chilmark is also rural, and it features the island's hilliest terrain. It is the birthplace of [[George Claghorn]], master shipbuilder of the [[USS Constitution|USS ''Constitution'', {{color|black|a.k.a.}} "''Old Ironsides''"]].
*[[Aquinnah, Massachusetts|Aquinnah]], formerly called Gay Head, is home to the Wampanoag Indian tribe and clay cliffs.
The three "Down-Island" towns of [[Edgartown, Massachusetts|Edgartown]], [[Tisbury, Massachusetts|Tisbury]], and [[Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts|Oak Bluffs]] are "wet" towns—serving alcohol. [[West Tisbury, Massachusetts|West Tisbury]] and [[Aquinnah, Massachusetts|Aquinnah]] are "soggy" towns that serve only beer and wine, and [[Chilmark, Massachusetts|Chilmark]] is a "dry" town.

==Transportation==

===Water===
[[File:Marthasvineyard-Steamship-Ferries.jpg|thumb|Ferries running between Woods Hole and Martha's Vineyard operated by the Steamship Authority]]
Martha's Vineyard is located approximately seven miles off the southern coast of [[Cape Cod]]. It is reached by a ferry that departs from [[Woods Hole, Massachusetts]], and by several other ferries departing from [[Falmouth, Massachusetts|Falmouth]], [[New Bedford, Massachusetts|New Bedford]], [[Hyannis, Massachusetts|Hyannis]], [[Quonset Point, Rhode Island]], and the East 35th Street ferry terminal in [[Manhattan]]. The [[The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority|Steamship Authority]] operates most of the shorter routes, while Martha's Vineyard Fast Ferry and [[Hy-Line Cruises]] run faster, longer distance ferries to Rhode Island and Hyannis. There are direct ferries to each place. [[SeaStreak]] operates the seasonal, weekend [[New York City]] to Martha's Vineyard route. One ferry departs New York City on Friday afternoon and returns on Sunday night. The trip through Long Island Sound and along the shoreline of Rhode Island and Massachusetts takes about five and a quarter hours.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://seastreak.com/ferry-routes-and-schedules/between-new-jersey-new-york-city-marthas-vineyard/|title=Schedules and Fares between New Jersey/New York and Martha's Vineyard|publisher=Seastreak|access-date=April 21, 2022}}</ref> In the era before modern highways and jet planes, travelers took [[New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad]] trains from [[New York City]] or [[Boston]] to Woods Hole or Hyannis, at which point they would embark on ferries to the island.

===Air===
{{Main|Martha's Vineyard Airport}}
[[Commuter airline]] [[Cape Air]] offers frequent service to the island via the [[Martha's Vineyard Airport]] (MVY). It provides year-round service to and from [[Logan International Airport|Boston]], [[Barnstable Municipal Airport|Hyannis]], [[New Bedford Regional Airport|New Bedford]], and [[Nantucket Memorial Airport|Nantucket]], and seasonal service to White Plains, New York. [[American Airlines]] operates seasonal service to [[Washington-Reagan]],  [[LaGuardia Airport|New York-LaGuardia]], [[Philadelphia Airport|Philadelphia]] and as well [[Charlotte Douglas International Airport|Charlotte]]. [[JetBlue]] serves the island out of New York's [[Kennedy Airport]], [[Logan International Airport|Boston]], [[Newark Liberty International Airport|Newark]], [[LaGuardia Airport|New York–LaGuardia]], and [[Reagan National Airport|Washington–National]]. [[Delta Connection]] also operates seasonal service to [[New York-LaGuardia]] and [[New York-JFK]]. Seasonal service flights are also available out of White Plains, New York once a day on Elite Airways to and from MVY. The airport also handles much [[general aviation]] traffic. Katama airpark, with grass runways, is popular with private pilots; it is located near South Beach.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}.

===Mass transit===
Bus service is provided on the island year-round by the [[Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority]] (VTA).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vineyardtransit.com|title=The Official Site of Vineyard Transit|publisher=Vineyardtransit.com|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref>

==Education==
[[File:MVRHS.LBG.jpg|thumb|[[Martha's Vineyard Regional High School]]]]
Martha's Vineyard is served by Martha's Vineyard Public Schools:
*[[Edgartown School]] (Grades K-8)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edgartownschool.org/|title=The Edgartown School on Martha's Vineyard – a nationally-recognized blue ribbon school of excellence|publisher=Edgartownschool.org|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref>
*West Tisbury School (Grades K–8)<ref>[http://www.wtisbury.mv.k12.ma.us/ Wtisbury.mv.k12.ma.us]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310042434/http://www.wtisbury.mv.k12.ma.us/ |date=March 10, 2009 }}</ref>
*Oak Bluffs School (Grades K–8)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://oakbluffsmv.weebly.com/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414014040/http://www.oakbluffs.mv.k12.ma.us/|url-status=dead|title=Home|archivedate=April 14, 2010|website=oakbluffsmv.weebly.com}}</ref>
*Tisbury School (Grades K–8)<ref>[http://www.tisbury.mv.k12.ma.us/ Tisbury.mv.k12.ma.us]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307013255/http://www.tisbury.mv.k12.ma.us/ |date=March 7, 2009 }}</ref>
*Chilmark School (Grades K–5)<ref>[http://– chilmarkschool.mv.k12.ma.us/ Chilmarkschool.mv.k12.ma.us]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080628061845/http://chilmarkschool.mv.k12.ma.us/ |date=June 28, 2008 }}</ref>
*Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School (Grades K–12)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mvpcs.org/|title=MVPCS Home|publisher=Mvpcs.org|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref>
*[[Martha's Vineyard Regional High School]] (Grades 9–12)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mvrhs.org/|title=Martha's Vineyard Regional High School|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref>

Five of the six towns have their own elementary schools, while Aquinnah residents usually attend nearby Chilmark's elementary school. The Chilmark school serves only grades pre-K to 5, so students in grades 6–8 must attend another middle school—usually the West Tisbury school. The Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School, located in West Tisbury, provides grades K–12 and serves the entire island; it also welcomes off-island students. Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, which is located in [[Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts|Oak Bluffs]], serves the entire island.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mvrhs.org/welcome-to-marthas-vineyard-regional-high-school/|title=Welcome to Martha's Vineyard Regional High School|work=MVRHS|access-date=January 26, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Tourism and culture==

During the whaling era, wealthy [[Boston]] sea captains and merchant traders often created estates on Martha's Vineyard with their trading profits. Today, the Vineyard has become one of the [[Northeastern United States]]' most prominent summering havens, having attracted numerous celebrity regulars.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 10, 2018|title=Here's Where Celebrities Are Going to Really Get Away From It All|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/934002/here-s-where-celebrities-are-going-to-really-get-away-from-it-all|access-date=December 7, 2020|website=E! Online}}</ref>

The island now has a year-round population of about 20,530 people in six towns; in summer, the population increases to 200,000 residents,<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 7, 2023 |title=About Martha's Vineyard |url=https://www.mvy.com/about-marthas-vineyard/ |access-date=May 7, 2023 |website=MVY}}</ref> with more than 25,000 additional short-term visitors coming and going on the [[ferry|ferries]] during the summer season. The most crowded weekend is July 4, followed by the late-August weekend of the Agricultural Fair. In general, the summer season runs from June through Labor Day weekend, coinciding with the months most American children are not in school.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 17, 2023 |title=Best time to visit Martha's Vineyard |url=https://howtobookyourtrip.com/best-time-to-visit-marthas-vineyard/ |access-date=May 7, 2023 |website=Howtobookyourtrip}}</ref>

In 1985, the two islands of Martha's Vineyard and Chappaquiddick Island were included in a new [[American Viticultural Area]] designation for [[wine]] [[appellation]] of origin specification: [[Martha's Vineyard AVA]]. Wines produced from [[grape]]s grown on the two islands can be sold with labels that carry the Martha's Vineyard AVA designation. Martha's Vineyard was the home to the winemaker Chicama Vineyards in West Tisbury, though it closed after 37 years on August 10, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mvtimes.com/2008/08/14/news/news-in-brief.php |title=News in Brief : The Martha's Vineyard Times |publisher=Mvtimes.com |date=August 14, 2008 |access-date=April 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225082934/https://www.mvtimes.com/2008/08/14/news/news-in-brief.php |archive-date=February 25, 2012 }}</ref>

Other popular attractions include the annual [[Grand Illumination]] in Oak Bluffs;
the Martha's Vineyard Film Center, an arthouse cinema which is run by the non-profit Martha's Vineyard Film Society,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mvfilmsociety.com/|title=Martha's Vineyard Film Center|publisher=Mvfilmsociety.com|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref> and which screens independent and world cinema all year long; the historic Capawock and Strand theatres, also run by the Martha's Vineyard Film Society, 
the Martha's Vineyard Film Festival,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mviff.org/|title=The Martha's Vineyard Film Festival|access-date=January 18, 2015|archive-date=June 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614174549/http://mviff.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref> which runs a winter film festival in March, a Summer Film Series and Cinema Circus every Wednesday in July and August, the Martha's Vineyard African-American Film Festival,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mvaaff.com/|title=Martha's Vineyard African-American Film Festival|publisher=Mvaaff.com|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref> which showcases the works of independent and established African-American filmmakers in August, and
Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival in September;
the Farm Institute at Katama Farm in Edgartown;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.farminstitute.org/|title=The Farm Institute |publisher=Farminstitute.org|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref>
and the [[Flying Horses Carousel]] in Oak Bluffs, the oldest operating platform [[carousel]] in the United States.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

Across the Edgartown Vineyard Haven Road from the [[Martha's Vineyard Regional High School]] in the town of Oak Bluffs, the [[Martha's Vineyard Skatepark]] is a concrete skatepark open to the public, offering a range of ramps and obstacles.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Skatepark Is Back and Everyone Is Dropping In|url=https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2017/07/18/skate-park|access-date=December 24, 2021|website=The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News|language=en}}</ref>

===Island life and residents===
{{Essay-like|section|date=March 2016}}
Its relatively small year-round population has led to a very activist citizenry who are highly involved in the island's day-to-day activities. Tourism, overdevelopment, politics, and environmentalism are of keen interest to the community. Keeping the balance between the much needed tourist economy and the [[ecology]] and [[wildlife]] of the island is of paramount importance to residents. In contrast to the seasonal influx of wealthy visitors, Dukes County remains one of the poorest in the state. Residents have established resources to balance the contradictions and stresses that can arise in these circumstances, notably the Martha's Vineyard Commission<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mvcommission.org/|title=Martha's Vineyard Commission – Dukes County, Marthas Vineyard Massachusetts Regional Planning|publisher=Mvcommission.org|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref> and Martha's Vineyard Community Services,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mvcommunityservices.com/|title=Martha's Vineyard Community Services|publisher=Mvcommunityservices.com|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref> founded by the late Dr. Milton Mazer, author of ''People and Predicaments: Of Life and Distress on Martha's Vineyard''.<ref name="Mazer">Milton Mazer, M.D. ''People and Predicaments: Of Life and Distress on Martha's Vineyard''. Published by Harvard University Press (1976), Cambridge, Massachusetts.</ref>

The majority of the Vineyard's residents during the summer are well-established seasonal vacationers. While many of these come from all over the United States and abroad, the island tends to be a destination for especially those whose primary residence lies within close proximity in the Northeastern U.S. Many communities around the island tend to have deep family roots on the island that have matured over the years to create hamlets of good friends and neighbors. Nevertheless, many visitors are summer renters and weekenders, for whom the island is simply a "home away from home".{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}}

Martha's Vineyard has also been or is home to a number of artists and musicians, including [[Albert Alcalay]], [[Evan Dando]], [[Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton]] of the [[Mighty Mighty Bosstones]], [[James Taylor]], [[Carly Simon]], [[Livingston Taylor]], [[Kate Taylor]], [[Alex Taylor (musician)|Alex Taylor]], [[Tom Rush]], [[Rick Marotta]], [[Geoff Muldaur]], [[Maria Muldaur]], [[Willy Mason]], [[Unbusted]] and [[Mike Nichols]]. Historian and author [[David McCullough]] was also an island resident, as was author [[Susan Branch]] and the young-adult books authors [[Judy Blume]] and [[Norman Bridwell]], and crime/political intrigue novelists [[Richard North Patterson]] and [[Linda Fairstein]]. Late authors [[Shel Silverstein]] and [[William Styron]] also lived on the Vineyard, as did writer, journalist and teacher [[John Hersey]], poet and novelist [[Dorothy West]] and artist [[Thomas Hart Benton (painter)|Thomas Hart Benton]]. Various writers have been inspired by the island—including the mystery writer [[Philip R. Craig]] who set several novels on the island. On a related note, [[Martha's Vineyard Poet Laureate]], Lee H. McCormack, has written many poems about the island. The Academy Award-winning [[Patricia Neal]] owned a home on South Water St in Edgartown, and [[James Cagney]], [[Lillian Hellman]] (who is buried in Abel's Hill Cemetery near the site of Belushi's grave), and [[Katharine Cornell]] all found the Vineyard an exciting, rewarding place to live.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} In addition, the famous ''Life'' magazine photographer [[Alfred Eisenstaedt]] was a fifty-year summer resident of the Vineyard until his death in 1995. Since 2006 the Australian-born author [[Geraldine Brooks (writer)|Geraldine Brooks]], writer of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel<ref>{{cite book|last=Brooks|first=Geraldine|title=March|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0732278414|url-access=registration|year=2005|publisher=Fourth Estate|location=London|isbn=978-0-00-716586-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_0732278414/page/280 280]}}</ref> ''[[March (novel)|March]]'', has lived there with her husband, [[Tony Horwitz]], himself a Pulitzer Prize winner and successful novelist, and their two sons.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Roosevelt |first1=Laura D. |title=Writers in Residence |url=http://mvmagazine.com/news/2016/03/01/writers-residence |access-date=February 25, 2019 |work=Martha's Vineyard Magazine |publisher=The Vineyard Gazette}}</ref>

Brooks wrote a  book of historical fiction ''Caleb's Crossing'' in which [[Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck]] is the title character and depicts early colonial settlement of Martha's Vineyard.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Atlas |first1=Amelia |title=Pride of the Indian College |url=https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2011/05/pride-of-the-indian-college |website=Harvard Magazine |access-date=October 10, 2021 |language=en |date=April 17, 2011}}</ref>

Other well-known celebrities who live on or have regularly visited the island: Harlem Renaissance artist [[Lois Mailou Jones]];  former president [[Bill Clinton]] and his wife, former Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]]; former U.S. President [[Barack Obama]];<ref name="Obama">{{cite news
|url = http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?22680
|title =President Obama and Family Arrive
|last =Seccombe
|first =Mike
|date =August 25, 2009
|access-date =September 9, 2009
|newspaper =Vineyard Gazette
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Martha's Vineyard: Race, property, and the power of place|last=Taylor|first=Richard L.|year=2016|isbn=9780997670400|pages=265–274|publisher=Richard L. Taylor }}</ref> comedian and talk show host [[David Letterman]]; [[Bill Murray]]; [[Tony Shalhoub]]; [[Quincy Jones]]; [[Ted Danson]] and wife [[Mary Steenburgen]]; [[Larry David]]; the [[Farrelly brothers]]; [[Meg Ryan]]; and [[Chelsea Handler]]. [[Mike Wallace]] of ''60 Minutes'' was a summer resident of Martha's Vineyard. Late anchorman [[Walter Cronkite]] was a prominent summer resident as well. Other regularly appearing celebrities include film writer/director [[Spike Lee]], attorney [[Alan Dershowitz]], comedians [[Dan Aykroyd]] and [[James Belushi]], politico [[Vernon Jordan]], television news reporter [[Diane Sawyer]], fashion designer [[Kenneth Cole (designer)|Kenneth Cole]], former Ambassador and President of the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] [[William H. Luers]], and [[Charlayne Hunter-Gault]]. Despite popular perceptions of the Vineyard as "Hollywood East", the island is very low-key and quiet; celebrities go to the Vineyard to enjoy the atmosphere, and not to be seen. Locals tend to be protective of [[celebrity privacy]], though recent coverage of celebrity sightings (most notably in the two local newspapers on the Island) has begun to erode that respect for privacy through more frequent reporting on celebrity sightings and famous visitors.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125150193908668295 |work=The Wall Street Journal |first=Elizabeth |last=Williamson |title=Newspaper War Disturbs the Peace In a Summer Haven |date=August 29, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510021750/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125150193908668295.html |archive-date=May 10, 2013 }}</ref> In August 2014, both President Obama and Hillary Clinton planned to have overlapping visits to the island, where the presence of security details that create traffic challenges is becoming an annual affair.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Zezima|first1=Katie|title=Is Martha's Vineyard big enough for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/08/11/is-marthas-vineyard-big-enough-for-both-barack-obama-and-hillary-clinton/?tid=hpModule_f8335a3c-868c-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 11, 2014}}</ref>

Many of the country's most affluent African-American families have enjoyed a century-old tradition of summering on the island. Concentrated primarily in and around the town of Oak Bluffs, and the East Chop area, these families have historically represented the black elite from Boston, Washington, D.C., and New York City. Today, affluent families from around the country have taken to the Vineyard, and the community is known as a popular summer destination for judges, physicians, business executives, surgeons, attorneys, writers, politicians, and professors. The historic presence of African-American residents in Oak Bluffs resulted in its Town Beach being pejoratively called "The Inkwell", a nickname which was [[Reappropriation|reappropriated]] as an emblem of pride.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blackpast.org/aah/inkwell-martha-s-vineyard-1890s |title=Inkwell, Martha's Vineyard (1890s– ) |last=Jefferson |first=Alison Rose |website=BlackPast.org |date=February 8, 2013 |access-date=February 3, 2017}}</ref> ''[[The Inkwell]]'' (1994), directed by [[Matty Rich]], dealt with this close-knit Vineyard community.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} The Run&Shoot Filmworks Martha's Vineyard African-American Film Festival, held every second week in August, highlights the works of independent and established filmmakers from across the globe. This annual event draws attendees from all across the world.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hufstader |first1=Louisa |title=African American Film Festival Grows into Cultural Powerhouse |url=https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2017/08/03/marthas-vineyard-african-american-film-festival-grows-cultural-powerhouse |access-date=February 25, 2019 |work=Vineyard Gazette |agency=Vineyard Gazette |date=August 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225103103/https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2017/08/03/marthas-vineyard-african-american-film-festival-grows-cultural-powerhouse |archive-date=February 25, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Since the 19th century, the island has had a sizable community of [[Portuguese-Americans]], concentrated primarily in the three down-Island towns of Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, and Edgartown; they have traditionally worked alongside other island residents in whaling and fishing. It also has a large community of [[Brazilian diaspora|Brazilian]] [[Immigration to the United States|immigrants]] who work mainly in the maintenance of the island's vacation facilities.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[BBC News]]|date=August 23, 2009|title=Obama island's Brazilian 'engine'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8216840.stm}}</ref>

The island's permanent residents were profiled in a London ''Telegraph'' article showing "the dark side of Martha's Vineyard".<ref>{{cite news
|url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/6104806/The-dark-side-of-Marthas-Vineyard.html
|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090830021137/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/6104806/The-dark-side-of-Marthas-Vineyard.html
|url-status =dead
|archive-date =August 30, 2009
|title =The dark side of Martha's Vineyard
|last =Leonard
|first =Tom
|date =August 28, 2009
|access-date =September 12, 2009
|work=Daily Telegraph|location=London
}}</ref> In the same month an article titled "Edgartown's Darker Side" appeared in the ''Boston Globe'' detailing the extremely poor working conditions suffered by Irish and Serbian students in a newly built private members club in Edgartown.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/08/13/edgartowns_darker_side/|title= Edgartown's darker side|last=Cullen|first=Kevin|date=August 13, 2009|access-date=May 21, 2019}}</ref> Concerns over munitions that may be buried on Martha's Vineyard, most from World War II,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/10/peril_lingers_along_marthas_vineyard_beaches/|title=Along pristine beaches, hidden dangers linger|last=MacQuarrie|first=Brian|date=December 10, 2010|work=Boston.com|access-date=November 21, 2018}}</ref> have led to an 8.1 million dollar project to remove and rebuild part of a privately owned barrier beach off the [[Tisbury Great Pond]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2017/09/28/bomb-removal-begins-long-point|title=Bomb Removal Begins at Long Point|work=The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News|access-date=November 21, 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121203742/https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2017/09/28/bomb-removal-begins-long-point|archive-date=November 21, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The year-round working population of Martha's Vineyard earns 30 percent less on average than other residents of the state while keeping up with a cost of living that is 60 percent higher than average.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Community Reinvestment Act Performance Evaluation |url=http://www.occ.gov/static/cra/craeval/Apr09/7957.pdf |page=3 |date=December 9, 2008 |access-date=August 21, 2015}}</ref> Many people are moving to more affordable areas.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}} Schools have seen a successive drop in enrollment over the past few years.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}} Typically home to artists, musicians, and other creative types, the Island has many residents who manage by working several jobs in the summer and taking some time off in the winter.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}} The lack of affordable housing on the island has forced many families to move off-island.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

Many high-profile residents, movie stars, politicians, writers, and artists contribute to fundraisers and benefits that raise awareness of the fragile ecosystem of the Vineyard and support community organizations and services. The largest of these is the annual Possible Dreams Auction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.possibledreamsauction.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618232317/http://www.possibledreamsauction.org/|url-status=dead|title=Possibledreamsauction.org|archive-date=June 18, 2013}}</ref>

==Media==
===Local newspapers and magazines===
* ''[[Martha's Vineyard Magazine]]''
* ''[[Vineyard Gazette]]''
* ''[[The Martha's Vineyard Times]]''

===Radio===
====FM====
*[[WMVY]]/88.7-Edgartown: [[Adult Album Alternative]]
*[[WBUA]]/92.7-Tisbury: [[Public broadcasting|Public radio]] (relays WBUR-FM Boston)
*[[WVVY-LP]]/96.7-Tisbury: [[Community radio]]

===Television===
====Over-the-air====
Television broadcasts are available using varied methods from nearby broadcast markets. 
*From Boston via U.S. satellite providers, [[Comcast Xfinity]], and [[RCN Cable]] providers.
*Or via [[Terrestrial television#North America|over-the-air]] television stations from: Boston, [[New Bedford, Massachusetts|New Bedford]] and [[Providence, Rhode Island]]; with reception methods powerful enough to receive it.
====Cable====
*MVTV: Martha's Vineyard Community Television (Comcast Channels 6, 8, 9)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mvtv.org/|title=Martha's Vineyard Community Television|website=Martha's Vineyard Community Television}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Elizabeth Islands]]
**[[Cuttyhunk]]
**[[Naushon Island]]
*[[Outer Lands]]
*[[Vineyard Golf Club]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

;Additional sources
* Gookin, ''Historical Collections,'' 53; Railton, "Vineyard's First Harvard men", 91–112.
* Monaghan, E.J. (2005). ''Learning to Read and Write in Colonial America'' [[University of Massachusetts Press]]. Boston: MA

==External links==
{{Sister project links |auto=yes}} 
* [https://www.mvy.com Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce] 

{{Massachusetts}}
{{Islands and Peninsulas of Massachusetts}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Martha's Vineyard| ]]
[[Category:Cape Cod and the Islands| ]]
[[Category:Islands of Dukes County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Coastal islands of Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Dukes County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Jaws (franchise)]]