From Grapes to Hens: Fun Facts Brought to You by Martha’s Vineyard Live Music
Tens of thousands of summer visitors come to Martha’s Vineyard each summer, swelling the island’s year-round population from 15,000 to about 75,000 – though some statistics indicate that those numbers soar past the 100,000 mark.
Whether you are a local resident or a visitor, have you ever asked yourself how much do you really know about this island? We don’t just mean things like wonderful entertainment options – live music performed by bands or solo artists – as well as weddings and other events. Yes, all of them liven up summer days and nights, but there’s so much more fascinating information about our island that you may not know.
We at Martha’s Vineyard Live Music would love to be your guides on the journey through the island’s fascinating history, as well as its present. These tidbits might be nothing more than trivia, but they are certainly not trivial!
Let’s start at the beginning…
The 57th largest island area in the U.S. and the third largest on the East Coast, Martha’s Vineyard was formed more than 20,000 years ago. Thick sheets of ice, flowing from the frigid North, descended on what is now New England. When the glaciers melted, the island, along with Nantucket and Cape Cod, was formed out of chunks of earth and rocks pushed here by the ice.
When the first settlers arrived, about 3,000 Indians were living in four tribes on the island. However, they soon succumbed to diseases brought by the settlers, and only the Aquinnahs survived.
The island was “christened” by an English explorer, Bartholomew Gosnold, when he landed here in 1602. He called it Martha’s Vineyard in honor of his mother, Martha, as well as the wild grape vines he found growing amid the lush greenery.
Four decades later, businessman Thomas Mayhew purchased Martha’s Vineyard, as well as Nantucket and the Elizabeth Islands, for £40. Today, this amounts to about $60, but was probably worth much more in the 17th century.
President Ulysses S. Grant used to vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, even though in those days the island’s was known more for its whaling industry than as a tourist destination.
Modern times
Martha’s Vineyard might be described in tourist guides as “laid back” and “low-key,” but interesting stuff happens here all the time. For example, did you know that when Steven Spielberg filmed the movie Jaws here in 1974, he hired 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?
And only thee years later, island residents considered a drastic step of seceding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as a result of losing a seat in the state’s General Court. Both Vermont and Hawaii offered to include Martha’s Vineyard, and the islanders also considered becoming the nation’s 51st state. None of the above ever came to fruition, but the separatist flag, a white seagull over an orange disk on a blue background, still remains on the island as a reminder of the discontent.
And here are some more “must-know” island facts:
Long after Ulysses S. Grant holidayed here in the 1800s, other presidents and celebs also visited. Among them were Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President and Mrs. Obama, late newscaster Walter Cronkite and columnist Art Buchwald, singer Carly Simon, and many others.
The island was home to one of the earliest deaf communities in the country, prompting the development of a special dialect of sign language, called Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language.
The Flying Horses Carousel, located in Oak Bluffs, is the oldest operating carousel in the United States.
North America’s last heath hen, a type of prairie chicken, died in a forest fire here in 1932. A monument to it stands in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest.
We hope you enjoyed learning these fascinating facts, and are as happy as we are to be part of our island’s history!
