Vineyard Haven Walking Tour

The naming of Vineyard Haven has a complicated history. It is mentioned in a deed from 1646, only a quarter century after the settlement of Plymouth. Back then, however, the town was called Holmes Hole, after Plymouth blacksmith John Holmes, who bought land in the area. "Hole" was sailing slang for a nick in the coastline, like Woods Hole. In 1871, townsfolk voted to adopt the more graceful name of Vineyard Haven because, as one historian put it, "to hail from a 'hole' was a source of chagrin to many inhabitants when traveling abroad."

But there's the rub, because Vineyard Haven was originally the name for only the harbor settlement. The larger town around it was and is named Tisbury, after the English hometown of Thomas Mayhew Sr., who bought the Vineyard and Nantucket in 1641 for $200.

Today, Tisbury is the official name of the township, and its offices are in the Tisbury Town Hall. Still, most local townsfolk will say they live in Vineyard Haven. After exploring the town, take a drive to West Chop for splendid ocean views. "Chop" is 18th century English for jaw or cheek, but also a nautical term for rough water.

1. Bank of Martha's Vineyard

The bank building was originally the site of Rodolphus W. Crocker's harness and saddle shop. It is believed that the 1883 fire, which destroyed much of Vineyard Haven, started in Crocker's shop, a contention that Mr. Crocker denied to his dying day. The fire spread along the length of Main Street to Beach Road, sparing everything to the north including the 1712 Jonathan Manter house adjacent to the bank.

2. Old Schoolhouse/MV Sea Faring Center & Old Seamen's Bethel

The 1829 building at 110 Main Street, originally Nathan Mayhew's schoolhouse and formerly the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, is now owned by the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust. It houses the Seaman's Bethel, the Bethel Maritime Collection and is also headquarters for Sail Martha's Vineyard.The Seaman's Bethel, or House of God, still serves visiting seamen, but the center also features a unique collection of maritime artifacts including ivory carvings, ships in bottles, early photographs of Vineyard Haven, a lifebelt from the Titanic, and more. This building is not open to the public.

3. Owen Park

Located just off Main Street, the town park is named for Captain Leander Owen, survivor of the great Arctic whaling disaster of 1871. Under each of the cedar trees along the south side the town buried a small time capsule containing records of local Civil War heroes. The park includes a town beach and this is also where the town band plays every other Sunday evening in the summer.

4. William Street

Named for Captain William Daggett, this residential street is part of Vineyard Haven's officially designated Historic District. Ship captains, who expected the same kind of sturdiness from their homes as from their ships, built most of the William Street houses, the majority of which date to the mid 1800s. These are protected by law against alterations in construction.

5. Vineyard Playhouse

Constructed in 1833 and originally used as a Methodist meeting house, the structure at 10 Church Street is now home to the Vineyard's year-round theater company. The building was abandoned as a meeting house when a new church was built across the street in 1845. The church burned down several times (eventually replaced by the Stone Church) but the meeting house still stands. A second story has been added since its original construction.

6. Association Hall

Built in 1844 as a combination Congregational/Baptist Church, the neoclassic building at 21 Spring Street now houses the town offices and on the second floor, the Katharine Cornell Memorial Theatre, still very much in use today. If time allows, be sure to catch a production here and to view the Island murals that decorate its walls.

7. Association Hall Cemetery

One of the town's oldest cemeteries, this beautifully peaceful spot is reminiscent of an old English burying ground. Most of the stones in the cemetery, which is located at the corner of Center and Franklin Streets, behind the town hall, date from 1805 to 1817, although there are some earlier ones including the oldest from 1770, which marks the grave of Abigail Daggett.

8. Jirah Luce House

Located across the street from the present fire station, this 1804 building was formerly the home of Rufus Spalding — town physician, postmaster and justice of the peace.

9. Henry Beetle Hough Memorial Library

On Greenwood Avenue off Main Street. Mr. Hough, awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism, was editor of the Vineyard Gazette for 65 years. The library has a complete collection of his books and a section devoted to Island studies.