Though the legend of Moshaup creating Martha's Vineyard with the sand from his moccasin is fun to relate, Martha's Vineyard was in fact created during the last ice age when the Laurentide ice sheet deposited the boulders and gravel it had carried along on its slow journey southward. As the ice sheet receded, the southernmost deposits became the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. The oceans began to rise with the melting ice, thus forming Nantucket Sound between these lovely islands and the equally lovely peninsula to the north known as Cape Cod.

As the climate warmed, American Indians began to migrate to the island, settling here some 5,000 years ago.

Legend has it that Viking explorers discovered the island back around A.D. 1000, but that story is very hard to prove--or disprove for that matter. What is known for sure is that in March 1602, English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold set off in his vessel Concord across the Atlantic to arrive months later along the coast of Maine. Farther south, he discovered Cape Cod and, on May 22, he arrived at Martha's Vineyard (Edgartown, to be more exact-- Cape Poge, Chappaquiddick to be even more exact), which he named for his daughter, Martha. Gosnold later attempted to establish a settlement on nearby Cuttyhunk Island, but abandoned the attempt, citing unfavorable living conditions.

Though there is a story of white settlers arriving as early as 1632, the official settlement of Martha's Vineyard, by Thomas Mayhew, Jr., would not occur until 1642. During the previous year, in October 1641, his father, also named Thomas Mayhew, a merchant of Watertown, and Thomas Jr. were deeded rights "to plant and inhabit" the islands of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the neighboring Elizabeth Islands by William, Earl of Sterling, a representative of Charles I. Thomas Mayhew, Jr., brought a group of 80 to settle at Great Harbor, which later incorporated as Edgartown in 1671. The settlement was renamed by New York Governor Lovelace to honor Edgar, the son of the Duke of York, and was no doubt done to earn the favor of the royal family. Edgar was the 3-year-old nephew of King Charles, and because the King did not have children of his own, Edgar appeared to be heir to the throne. Unbeknownst to Lovelace, poor little Edgar died a month before the town's incorporation.

White settlers and American Indians quickly learned to live together in this island paradise. As they had at the Plymouth colony, the American Indians shared their farming and fishing skills with the settlers. Hostilities between the two groups were nonexistent, and even during the King Philip War of 1676-77 (which saw white settlers and Indians battling on the mainland) relations on the island remained friendly. Yet, this paradise turned to disaster for the American Indians as they began to fall in great numbers to the diseases brought by the white settlers. Around 3,000 Indians lived on Martha's Vineyard when Mayhew and his group first arrived. Within 30 years, the Indian population had been cut in half due to disease. Many of the surviving American Indians converted to Christianity because they believed the English settlers' god was protecting the settlers from the diseases that swept through the Native American community.

Very soon the settlers outnumbered the dwindling American Indians. By the middle of the 18th century there were perhaps only 500 American Indians remaining. Fortunately, pockets of them survived, and today half the population of the town of Aquinnah are Wampanoag Indians.

The history of each of the Vineyard's towns is as varied as their differing personalities. Though settlement began in Edgartown, people began to settle in different parts of the island. Farming and fishing provided the staples of life early on, but soon each town developed based on its unique characteristics.

Edgartown prospered as a whaling port during the early to mid-1800s. More than 100 whaling captains hailed from this town, and today their stately homes, a majority of them built between 1830 and 1845, line the main roads as reminders of the fortunes made harvesting whale oil. The last half of the 19th century saw a rapid decline in whaling when the discovery of petroleum made the pursuit of the leviathan an obsolete profession. Edgartown's prosperity stagnated until tourism restored the town and its many beautiful buildings to their 18th- and 19th-century splendor.

Vineyard Haven, known early on as Holmes Hole, is the island's second-oldest town, incorporated in 1671 as Tisbury. Its excellent harbor made it an important port town where the wares of the Vineyard could be readily sold to off-islanders. Oceangoing traffic was so busy in the area that Nantucket and Vineyard sounds were considered second to only the English Channel for the number of vessels passing through. The sea played a large part in the town's development since locals would serve as sailors and fishermen on local and foreign vessels. Today, Vineyard Haven maintains its port status, providing a busy harbor connecting the island to the mainland--and to the rest of the world, for that matter.

The town of Oak Bluffs, incorporated in 1907, was once part of Edgartown. Its development as a seasonal community began in 1835 when an Edgartown man, Jeremiah Pease, selected the area of Oak Bluffs to hold a Methodist camp meeting. The idea caught on, and each summer the camp meeting grounds were visited by religious folk who pitched tents to spend time worshiping and relaxing beneath the oaks, which grew abundantly in the area. Very soon the tents were replaced by cottages. So many cottages were built that when Oak Bluffs broke away from the town of Edgartown in 1880 it was named Cottage Town (until 1907 when it was renamed). Residents decorated the cottages with ornate woodwork, and today their gingerbread flavor dictates the personality of this quaint resort town.

Up island lie the towns of West Tisbury, Chilmark, and Aquinnah. West Tisbury was largely a farming community and maintains its rural personality. It was formally a part of the town of Tisbury until it broke away as a separate town in 1892. Meanwhile, Chilmark, with its fishing village of Menemsha, earned its living from both the sea and the land. Chilmark was incorporated in 1694. Aquinnah, which became an independent town in 1870, is a geological wonder with its cliffs of clay displaying the fingerprint of the last ice age. The town's roots stem from a Native American settlement, and today Aquinnah is home to more than 100 members of the Wampanoag tribe.

At present Martha's Vineyard economy is largely driven by tourism. Tourism began in the mid-19th century at Oak Bluffs. In fact, the tourism, prevalent in Oak Bluffs and then in neighboring Vineyard Haven, helped resurrect Edgartown years after the whaling boom of the mid-1800s had gone bust. Islanders seized this new industry by renovating the old sea captains' houses, turning them into inns, bed and breakfasts, shops, and restaurants. In the process, they also preserved magnificent architecture and irreplaceable history. Today, Edgartown is an
upscale vacation town where you can stay and dine in buildings that speak volumes about a century when men went to sea to hunt whales.

From Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard appears to be just a good swim away--it seems that close! Well, not quite. It takes a bit more than a brisk breaststroke to get to the island.

More than once we've heard a visitor to Cape Cod asking a native of the peninsula for directions to "the bridge to Martha's Vineyard," and more than once we've heard the story of how a wisecracking local directed them to it. There's no bridge or tunnel for that matter. There are only two ways of getting to the island: by air and by sea.

Journeying to the island by water, you get a feel for what Gosnold saw and felt upon that May day in 1602 when he first made his discovery. Yet, for a singular treat, make the journey after nightfall and watch as Nobska Light of Woods Hole, West Chop Lighthouse of Vineyard Haven, and East Chop Lighthouse of Oak Bluffs beam across the waves to one another like a triangle of lovers.

If you cross by sea you'll notice the sea gulls of Woods Hole following along in hopes of grabbing a morsel of food from the passengers. Large, powerful engines move the ferry forward, yet the gulls seem to coast along at the same speed with very little effort, their God-given aerodynamics accomplishing with ease what it takes man's mighty machines to do.

The gull's graceful aerial passage reminds us that we too can fly to the island and causes us to consider what wondrous sights can be seen along the way. Several airlines service the island and can provide those incredible sights.

Arriving at the island without your car? No problem. The island is prepared for your arrival in a big way. There are cars, mopeds, scooters, and bicycles for rent. Buses run every 15 minutes during peak season, and, in the summer, school buses are used. For less than $5 the buses will shuttle you to the three towns of Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs, and Edgartown and back again! Sightseeing tours and taxis are available as well.

Depending upon your visit, you may not even need any of the above. For instance, if you arrive at Oak Bluffs or Vineyard Haven via ferry for a daytrip and don't plan to leave the town at all, your legs alone can get you to nearly all the hot spots. Or, a shuttle can take you to an adjoining town for a couple of bucks and your legs can take care of the rest.

This is probably as good a point as any to give you an idea of distances between the island towns. Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs are side by side, straddling the Harbor of Vineyard Haven; it's a 10-minute car ride (if that) from the ferry dock of one, around the harbor, to the ferry dock of the other. Southeast of Oak Bluffs is Edgartown, a good 15-minute car ride along Beach Road. Southwest of Vineyard Haven lies West Tisbury, maybe 10 minutes from Vineyard Haven and about 20 minutes from Edgartown via the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road. From that point in West Tisbury to Beetlebung Corner in Chilmark is about 4 or 5 miles, about 10 minutes of driving. Another 6 miles (10 minutes, perhaps 12) along State Road brings you to Aquinnah. Then, to get from Aquinnah back up north to Vineyard Haven, allow perhaps 35 to 40 minutes for the 18-mile trip. There, you just traveled the island in one paragraph's time!