Edgartown

Main Street, Edgartown, looks the way Main Street in a small New England town should look: a one-way street barely two lanes wide; a few blocks of inns, shops and restaurants; a church or two, and the movie theater; the old town hall, with a balcony where regulars can watch the Fourth of July parade; the 1858 courthouse, guarded by shady elms; a small park.

Main Street ends at the harbor, at the Edgartown Yacht Club that was once the dock for the town's whaling ships. Standing there, you can see the hundreds of yachts, sail and motor boats docked here on a summer's day. Stroll from here down to Memorial Wharf to watch the On-Time ferry carry three cars at a time (a two-minute ride) over to Chappaquiddick Island, which, while geographically separate, is a part of Edgartown's jurisdiction. There are bicycle rentals and ice cream shops and a hardware and specialty clothing and antique stores and casual and high-end restaurants all within a four-block area. (Edgartown is one of two "wet" towns on the Island, so liquor is served and can be purchased at several shops.)

The town also has a high percentage of the Island's art galleries, displaying some of the beautiful offerings of both on and off-Island talent. The galleries sometimes hold strolls on summer evenings, inviting visitors to go from one to the other. For a quick reminder of Edgartown's artistic link to the sea, drop into the Edgartown Scrimshaw Gallery on Main Street for a look at some of the oldest art of Martha's Vineyard, the hand-carved ivory pieces done by the sailors on the whaling ships. Or, to evoke the past, look into the Old Sculpin Gallery across from Memorial Wharf. Although it's now an art gallery owned by the Vineyard Preservation Trust, it was for years a boat-building center.

Edgartown is a walking town, and there's a guidebook that says so: Stop in the Martha's Vineyard Museum, at 59 School Street, and purchase a copy of Island historian's Arthur Railton's "Walking Tour of Historic Edgartown," for $8. While you're there, take a look the old lighthouse light in the middle of the museum's compound. The light is an original 1854 Fresnel lens removed from the Gay Head lighthouse and given to the museum by the Coast Guard. The Museum is the steward of three of the Island's lighthouses, and have regularly scheduled tours.

The European settlement of Martha's Vineyard began in Edgartown; its founders first called it Great Harbor, but later named it for an infant nephew of Britain's King Charles. By the 1800s, more than 100 Edgartown men were captains of whaling ships. Now many of their homes are owned and maintained by summer residents, some of whom keep the traditional sky-blue paint on the ceilings of their wraparound porches; the blue was said to repel bugs. Just off Main Street, there are modest houses dating from the 18th century, whalers' mansions from the 19th century (see the big houses along North Water Street), and 21st century renovations or reconstructions and additions scattered throughout. Many of these still serve as family homes. Among the oldest buildings is the Vincent House, built in 1672, now a museum furnished to depict architecture and life on the Island throughout the last four centuries. Edgartown is home to the Old Whaling Church, often used for weddings and cultural events. Owned by the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust, the church, built in 1843 by the whaling captains, is considered one of the finest examples of Greek revival architecture in New England. Just off Main Street, up the quiet South Summer Street, is the Federated Church, built in 1828 and the oldest continually operating church on the Vineyard. Its beautiful old tower is often pictured in paintings of the town, and the original box seats with their wooden doors are worth a Sunday morning visit. It is also a favorite performing space for Vineyard Sound, an a capella group of young men who bring beautiful music to the Island during the summer.

Although the village center is fairly compact, the town has a total of 35 square miles, with a population of 3,000. It contains miles of waterfront, either on the beaches, harbor or Edgartown Great Pond, with homes often tucked down dirt roads that feel especially "last century." One of the special geographical areas is the Katama Plains, a 190-acre site south of Edgartown and visible on your way to South Beach. The glacier-produced sand plains have been maintained as a grasslands through mowing and burning for more than 100 years and is one of the most significant ecosystems in Massachusetts; many of the plants there occur nowhere else on earth.

In a typical Island bow to past and future, the plains is also home to the Katama Airfield, which has a single runway mowed through the grasses and used only for small private propeller plane. Stop for breakfast at the little restaurant there and look at some of the old open-cockpit crafts parked there, including the Red Baron that takes up riders.

Edgartown also contains a portion of the Island's state forest, with abundant walking, hiking and mountain bike riding paths.

Public Beaches Bend-in-the-Road Beach along Beach Road. Shallow water, small waves and clean sand, with lifeguards in clearly marked roped-off areas. Lighthouse Beach, (also known as Norton's Point), the harbor beach at Starbuck's Neck. Beautiful spot with calm water, although the harbor is very busy. Chappy Point, reachable via the On Time Ferry. Not suitable for swimming. East Beach on Chappaquidick, managed by The Trustees of the Reservations. Fee. Wasque Point on Chappaquidick, another The Trustees of Reservations property. Great place to enjoy the ponds, ocean and Katama Bay. Some places have riptides. Fee. South Beach. The long, popular south shore beach with fine surf.

Beyond the village center, Edgartown includes:

Important events on the Edgartown calendar, in addition to the Island's only Fourth of July parade and fireworks, include Christmas in Edgartown, a festive collection of events on the first or second weekend of December that brings many part time residents and day trippers back to the Island for an old-fashioned celebration that includes a lighting of the trees set up along Main Street. Another delicious way to enjoy the Island is through the annual Taste of the Vineyard held in mid-June in a tent next to the Old Whaling Church.

And most certainly not to be missed is the Possible Dreams Auction, a star-studded outdoor event held in August to support Martha's Vineyard Community Services. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are raised there each year with the Island's glitterati try to out do each other for sails with summer resident Walter Cronkite or a place at Seinfield originator Larry David's poker table.

Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority buses serve Edgartown, with stops both outside of town and just off Main Street, at the town information center, 29 Church Street. There is also a passenger ferry service – the Pied Piper – that connects Edgartown to nearby Falmouth on Cape Cod. It runs in the summer months, and docks at Memorial Wharf.

Edgartown has an elementary school with 300-plus students in grades pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. It is housed in a recently-constructed building that includes a central section built like a lighthouse. If you're looking for an internet wireless hotspot or for books or tape, the town's library is located in a historic building constructed with funds contributed by Andrew Carnegie 100 years ago.