(Click on the map below to enlarge)   The age of whaling shaped the Federal and Greek Revival homes of Edgartown. Born in 1642, as the Island's first settlement, the town grew steadily during the 17th and 18th centuries. By 1825, it was a major whaling port.

Although Edgartown was first settled in 1642, the vast majority of buildings in the historic district date from 1830 to 1845 — popularly known as the golden era of whaling. The building boom which took place during that time, the direct result of rapidly amassed fortunes, was not dissimilar to the Island's present real estate expansion.

This walking tour provides an introduction to the distinguished Federal and Greek Revival homes built during that era, as well as some erected much earlier, the oldest of which dates to 1672. Enjoy your stroll and come back again. You'll discover something new — however old it might be — each time you return.

1. Visitors Center

A good starting and ending point for your tour, since the Visitors Center is also the place where you can hop a bus for our other Island towns as well as the shuttle to South Beach. The restrooms are here, too.

2. Daniel Fisher House

Dr. Daniel Fisher was one of Edgartown's most successful whaling entrepreneurs. When he built his Federal style house at 101 Main Street in 1840 he had an income of $250,000 and owned what is now the town wharf as well as a whale oil refinery and spermaceti candle factory (once located on North Water Street). He also supplied whale oil to all of the nation's lighthouses and founded the Martha's Vineyard National Bank (see #13). The house is crowned with a cupola from which Dr. Fisher could view his many enterprises. Tours of the property, which is now used for wedding receptions and meetings, are available by calling 508-627-8619.

3. The Vincent House

Located behind the Fisher House, this is the oldest unaltered house on the Vineyard. Built in 1672 and occupied by descendants of the original Vincent family for 250 years, it was originally located on Edgartown Great Pond and moved to its present location in 1977. It is now a museum designed to highlight 300 years of Island life.

4. Old Whaling Church

Built in 1843 at the height of the whaling industry, the six-columned Greek Revival church at the corner of Main and Church Streets was the third and last designed by Frederick Baylies. Originally built as the Edgartown Methodist Church, the 800-seat building is now used primarily as a town meeting place and performing arts center. Of note: the 92-foot clock tower, which can be seen far out at sea, and the Simmons and Fisher organ. The church is owned by the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust, and tours are available through the Vincent House Museum, 508-627-8619.

5. Dukes County Courthouse

Built in 1858, the red brick courthouse is considered a model of New England styling. It is still very much in use today.

6. Baptist Church

Now a private residence, the 1839 structure on School Street between Davis and Pent Lanes housed the Baptist congregation until it merged in 1925 with the Congregational church to form the Federated Church (see #9). This was the second church designed by Frederick Baylies, Jr. Its tower is gone, the victim of rot.

7. Norton House

A 1730 farmhouse moved from Oak Bluffs in 1822. It has hand-hewn beams, hand-split laths and handmade nails, hinges and latches. It is still a private residence.

8. Vineyard Museum

With over 25,000 items in its collections, The Martha's Vineyard Historical Society at School and Cooke Streets offers visitors a thoughtful look at the Island's history. Portraits, furniture, tools and folk art are displayed in the 1765 Thomas Cooke House (open in summer). The Foster Maritime Gallery features nautical and whaling exhibits.

The Pease Galleries include Wampanoag artifacts, the Students' Gallery and Vineyard Voices exhibits. The Huntington Reference Library has an extensive collection of Vineyard related material, including 10,000 books, historic photographs, maps, ship logs, diaries and more. The historic Fresnel lens that once belonged to the Gay Head lighthouse is also on the grounds. The Museum Store offers books, posters and crafts by Island artists and writers. Open Tuesday-Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 508-627-4441.

9. Federated Church

At the corner of Cooke and South Summer Streets, the Federated Church is a traditional New England meeting house. Erected in 1828, it is still in use by the Island's oldest congregation (established in 1642) and was the first of Frederick Baylies's designs to be constructed in Edgartown. Of note: whale oil lamp chandelier, 1895 Hook and Hastings organ and the old box pews.

10. Vineyard Gazette

Built in 1760 by Benjamin Smith, the house at 34 South Summer Street now houses the Vineyard Gazette, the Island's oldest newspaper. After building the house, Benjamin Smith later became a captain in the Island Militia during the Revolutionary War.

11. Capt. Pease House

The private residence at 80 South Water Street was built between 1822 and 1836 by Captain Valentine Pease, master of The Acushnet, the whaler on which Herman Melville sailed in 1841. Captain Pease is reputed to have been the prototype for Captain Ahab in Melville's Moby Dick.

12. The Pagoda Tree

Captain Thomas Milton, who first came to the Vineyard during the War of 1812, brought this tree from China when it was a seedling. Planted in the 1830s, it is the oldest of its kind on the continent. Commonly called the Flame Tree in China, its horticultural name is Sophora Japonica. It shades the home Captain Milton built on South Water Street, now part of the Harborside Inn.

13. Edgartown National Bank

Dr. Daniel Fisher (see #2) started the Martha's Vineyard National Bank in this building. The doorway and pediment are characteristic of Edgartown houses.

14. Osborn's Wharf

Samuel Osborn Jr. outfitted and unloaded his ship at this 19th century wharf, which now houses the Edgartown Yacht Club. In the 1850s, a bilge pump shop, blacksmith, hardtack bakery and tombstone carver shared the waterfront with other shops selling staples and supplies to sailors.

15. Town Wharf

Here's where you take the On Time III ferry to Chappaquiddick. The wharf's upper platform offers a great place to sit and view the harbor activities.

16. Old Sculpin Gallery

Now owned by the Martha's Vineyard Art Association, this 1800s building is on the site of Daniel Fisher's whale-oil refinery. By the end of the 19th century it had been converted into a boat shop by Manuel Swartz. Two of his catboats are in the Smithsonian.

17. Captain's Homes

Many of the houses along North and South Water Streets are consistent with the Greek Revival and Federal styles, dating to the mid-1800s when Edgartown was in the midst of its biggest building boom — when fortunes from the whaling and China trade brought huge fortunes to the Island. Most are still private residences, although some are used as inns. Crowning some roofs are platforms popularly called widow's walks, but more accurately known and used as a place from which to pour sand down the chimney in the event of a chimney fire.

18. St. Andrew's Church

The stained glass windows in this 1899 church were made and signed by Louis C. Tiffany. The pulpit is the bow of a dory from the schooner Northern Lights, for many years the largest ship in Edgartown harbor.