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Martha's Vineyard| Island in Duke's County, off the coast of southeastern Massachusetts, 24 km/15 mi southeast of Cape Cod across the Vineyard Sound; 32 km/20 mi long and 16 km/10 mi wide; population (2003 est) 14,200 resident, but over 100,000 during the summer tourist season. Edgartown, its chief town (population (2003) est) 3,800), was an important whaling centre in the 18th and 19th centuries. |
| In 1602 the English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold named the island after his daughter and the wild grapevines that he found here. The first settlers arrived in 1642, after Thomas Mayhew purchased the island the previous year. The area was occupied by the Native American Wampanoag group at that time. |
| Visitor attractions include the Gale Huntington Library of History, the Vineyard Museum, and the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. |
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