Martha S Vineyard

Martha Murphy Applebee loves her island in the ocean. She knows how wonderful Martha's Vineyard is, and wants to show just how wonderful to her friend, Edgar. With her dog, Chappy, following them, Martha and Edgar tour their beautiful island home from Edgartown to Gay Head. They visit gingerbread houses, flying horses, the summer fair, Beetlebung Corner and more! It's a special story that will teach your child about a special place, Martha's Vineyard!

Published in association with the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society, this comprehensive illustrated history of the island was written by its foremost authority.

Now known as a resort community and vacation destination, Martha's Vineyard was once a simple fishing and whaling community. From the popularity of the Methodist Campground, founded in 1835, the Vineyard soon blossomed into a summer vacation mecca, welcoming visitors to its quaint villages and scenic seashores. As whaling lost its economic dominance, tourism became the catalyst for a revived prosperity on the Vineyard. President Grant's visit to the Vineyard in 1874 drew national attention and marked the beginning of several presidential visits to the island. By 1900, Oak Bluffs had developed an amusement park atmosphere with the iconic Flying Horses, toboggan slide and grand seaside hotels. Join local historian Tom Dresser as he reveals the island's transformation into a premier tourist destination.

"In the winter of 1982, long before she became the watercolor artist and author we know today, Susan Branch, 34-years-old and heartbroken from the sudden and unexpected end of her marriage in California, "ran away from home" to the Island of Martha's Vineyard hoping to gain perspective. It was meant to be temporary, a three-month time-out from the daily grind of being broken up and miserable, but within days of her arrival, alone and not quite in her right mind, Susan "accidentally" bought a tiny one-bedroom cottage in the woods - which is how she discovered she was moving 3,000 miles away from everyone and everything she had known and loved. Funny, observant, touching, and addictive (you are not going to want this book to end), based on the diaries she has kept all her life, Susan Branch relates her inspirational tale of lost love and self discovery, her search for roots, purpose, and destiny with laugh-out-loud honesty. A road map for overcoming loss, following your heart, and making dreams come true, charmingly hand-lettered and watercolored in Susan's inimitable style, there are diary excerpts, recipes, and hundreds of photographs."--Provided by Amazon.com.

Celebrated local historian Thomas Dresser unearths the little-known stories that laid the foundations for the community of Martha's Vineyard. Behind the mansions and presidential vacations of Martha's Vineyard hide the lost stories and forgotten events of small-town America. What was the island's role in the Underground Railroad? Why do chickens festoon Nancy Luce's grave? And how did the people of the Vineyard react in 1923 when the rum running ship John Dwight sank with the island's supply of liquor aboard? Delve deep below the surface of history to discover the origin and meaning of local place names and the significance of beloved landmarks.

A portrait of the thriving African-American community on the island of Martha's Vineyard describes the various groups who settled in Oak Bluffs, including vacationing families, local domestics, and multi-generational professionals.

Hoist the sails, we're off to one of the most charming islands in the Atlantic! Young skippers will explore all the beauty, sites, and landmarks this famous island offers, including ferryboats, gingerbread cottages, Aquinnah Cliffs, beaches, Chappy Ferry, Agricultural Fair, Flying Horses Carousel, fishing for striped bass, clambakes, lighthouses, fishing boats, and more.

Martha's Vineyard became an integral part of the whaling industry at the beginning of the eighteenth century and inspired a lasting romantic enthusiasm for life on the open ocean. From shorewhaling to daring voyages into the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the insular whaling community offered a tempting path for many young Vineyarders to rise from cabin boy to captain. Local businesses were enticed by the potential profit from whaling voyages, and many reaped generous rewards from successful whale oil harvests. Through memoirs, music and memorabilia, author Thomas Dresser recounts this dramatic history of the bygone era of whaling on Martha's Vineyard.