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Martha's Vineyard winter islands II - A TDM series

Islands, no matter how close, seem far away.

Martha's Vineyard, off Cape Cod, is in fact so close to shore it feels as if you could hop there with a running start. Fortunately, there is both a regular ferry and an airport.

Edgartown Light

Martha's Vineyard is only 4 miles from the mainland. It was originally settled by the Wampanoag tribe. By the mid-1600s European settlers arrived and like nearby Nantucket, the Vineyard became a center of the whaling industry. In the late 1800s, the whaling industry collapsed and, over the years, the island became the tourist destination it is today.

Closed for the season.

In mid-February, much of the island is closed for business. Less than half the shops and restaurants that cater to the summer population are open. Many homes and cottages are shuttered, some more neatly than others. While the summer population can swell to nearly 200,000; in the off-season, Martha's Vineyard is home to only about 20,000 full time residents.

It may be cold, it may be windy; there could be snow or a cold rain, but it is the best time of year to see the island in its raw form, from end to end.

Martha's Vineyard in winter presents a palette of tan, gold, amber, and blue-green.

During my visit, a wind storm with gusts of 50 miles per hour kicked up the surf and churned the ocean bottom. The waves crashed on shore taking small pieces of the island out to sea creating a band of brown water between the stretches of blue and green and foamy ocean.

The weather changes hourly. Over two days I experienced high winds, light and heavy rain, fog, and warm sunshine. Ferries were cancelled the morning on the date of my planned departure, but by noon time, the boats were running again.

Cottages shuttered against the winter.

The Vineyard attracts celebrities and the wealthy from across a wide spectrum, but it is also known as an early safe place for vacationing African-American families and for a large deaf community which peaked in population in the 1800s.

No lifeguard on duty.

Martha's Vineyard was part of the so-called underground railroad which helped Blacks escape slavery. This despite the fact that the island itself was not free of the sin.

By the 1900s, the island was becoming a place of summer retreat for African-American families. Many built small cottages, that still stand today, in Oak Bluffs. An African-American History Trail marks significant historic places and buildings across the island including, Villa Rosa, a victorian style beach mansion known as the "summer White House" for Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.

In the 1800s, well into the last century, Martha's Vineyard was known for its large population of residents with inherited deafness. So many islanders were deaf that everyone who lived on Martha's Vineyard learned a version of sign language unique to the island. Deafness and the use of sign language were considered normal. There were no special programs for the deaf, there was equality.

Researchers believe the genetic trait responsible for Vineyard deafness can be traced to an area in Kent County, England where many of the original English settlers were born. By the 1950s, as island intermarriages declined, so too did the recessive gene. It is believed that the last Martha's Vineyard resident who used Vineyard sign language died in 1952.

Martha's Vineyard is large, covering almost 100 square miles. It has six main towns with villages within the boundaries of some of those towns. You'll recognize some of the more well-known names; Edgartown, Vineyard Haven and West Tisbury.

It is never more than thirty minutes to the beach, but the island is big enough that a drive through the interior allows you to forget that you are on an island, and for some, that may be part of the attraction. In many ways, Martha's Vineyard feels like any other New England town.

You should not rule out a visit in the middle of winter. You will be able to see and experience the quaint feel of what makes the island such a popular summer tourist destination, without the crowds. You may be the only one on the beach. And you will fully appreciate the peace, beauty and ruggedness of life on an island.

Gay Head Lighthouse at Aquinnah.

Next Month: Nantucket

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© Dean Pagani 2022

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© Dean Pagani 2022

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