Ritter House | |
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Location | Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts |
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Coordinates | 41°27′14″N70°36′10″W / 41.45389°N 70.60278°W |
Built | 1796 |
Architectural style | Federal |
NRHP reference No. | 77000169 [1] |
Added to NRHP | December 6, 1977 |
The Ritter House (also the Jirah Luce House) is an historic house on Beach Street in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, USA, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [1] The house is one of the few remaining Federal period buildings in Vineyard Haven. [2] It has had a succession of occupants and uses, and as of 2007 served as a retail establishment.
The house was built in 1796 on what was then known as “Quality Street“, next to the Mansion House hotel in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, the main port of the island of Martha's Vineyard. [3] Originally built by Jirah Luce, [4] it was occupied early by the highly respected Connecticut physician Dr. Rufus Spaulding (1760–1830) until about 1812, when he returned to his home state. [4] [5] Dr. Spaulding ran the house as an inn, and Spaulding himself was described by historian Charles Banks as "doctor, postmaster, justice, village librarian, inn-keeper, and Master of the lodge of Masons." [6] Other sources note that this house was at one time a tavern, and later became the first post office and library in the town of Tisbury. [7] The house was inherited by Dr. Spaulding's daughter Sophronia and her husband, Thomas West. [4]
Another early resident was Stephen deNeuville (1778–1816), aka "Stephen New", a young French sea-captain. [3] The house was inherited by his daughter Hannah Chase DeNeuville and her husband Orrick Peck Branscomb (1809–1859), a shoemaker and general store owner who moved to the island from Maine in the early 1830s. This house is often referred to as the “Branscomb House” in many older references. [4] The house barely survived a major fire in 1883, which destroyed the entire downtown portion of Vineyard Haven right to the edge of this property. [8]
Retired whaling captain Gilbert L. Smith (1832–1928) bought the house in 1902. [3] [4] Mr. & Mrs. Henry A. Ritter purchased the house in the early 1900s. [3] Henry Ritter was principal of the Tisbury School for many years and was remembered as an excellent teacher but a stern schoolmaster. [9] By the 1920s the home was owned by Mrs. Evangeline Merrill Ritter, known to many as "the Vineyard Weaver." [7]
The Ritter House was purchased by the Martha's Vineyard Historical Preservation Society in 1976, [10] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. [1] From 1981 to 1988 the Society rented the house out to the Tisbury Museum. The Museum merged with the Dukes County Historical Society in that year, and the Society undertook a restoration of the property. [10] It has since been converted to a retail property.
Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Island. It is the 58th largest island in the U.S., with a land area of about 96 square miles (250 km2), and the third-largest on the East Coast, after Long Island and Mount Desert Island. Martha's Vineyard constitutes the bulk of Dukes County, Massachusetts, which also includes the Elizabeth Islands and the island of Nomans Land.
Dukes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,600, making it the second-least populous county in Massachusetts. Its county seat is Edgartown.
Chilmark is a town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,212 at the 2020 census. The fishing village of Menemsha is located on the western side of the town along its border with the town of Aquinnah. Chilmark had the highest median home sale price of any town or city in Massachusetts in 2013.
Edgartown is a town on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States, for which it is the county seat. The town's population was 5,168 at the 2020 census.
Oak Bluffs is a town located on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,341 at the 2020 United States Census. It is one of the island's principal points of arrival for summer tourists, and is noted for its "gingerbread cottages" and other well-preserved mid- to late-nineteenth-century buildings. The town has been a historically important center of African American culture since the eighteenth century.
Tisbury is a town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,815 at the 2020 census.
Vineyard Haven is a community within the town of Tisbury, Massachusetts, United States on the island of Martha's Vineyard. It is listed as a census-designated place (CDP) by the U.S. Census Bureau, with a population of 2,114 as of the 2010 census.
West Tisbury is a town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census. Along with Chilmark and Aquinnah, West Tisbury forms "Up-Island" Martha's Vineyard.
The Polly Hill Arboretum includes 8 ha under cultivation, with an additional 16 ha of native woodland, located on Martha's Vineyard at 809 State Road, West Tisbury, Massachusetts, United States. It has been developed since 1958 by the horticulturist Polly Hill, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
Makonikey is a rural neighborhood on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, that lies on the border of Tisbury and West Tisbury. The Tisbury section is called Lower Makonikey, and the West Tisbury section is called Upper Makonikey. The neighborhood lies between Lambert's Cove Road and the Vineyard Sound, near Makonikey Point. It is a 5- to 10-minute drive from the center of Vineyard Haven.
West Chop Light is a lighthouse station located at the entrance of Vineyard Haven Harbor in Tisbury, Massachusetts, on the northern tip of West Chop, a few miles from the village of Vineyard Haven.
The Gay Head–Aquinnah Town Center Historic District is a historic district encompassing the center of the American town of Aquinnah, Massachusetts. The district includes six contributing buildings and two monuments, based around the intersection of South and Church Streets in Aquinnah.
The William Street Historic District is a historic district in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, on the island of Martha's Vineyard. The district includes houses on William Street from Woodlawn Avenue in the north to several houses south of Camp Street. It represents the single best preserved area of mid 19th century houses in Vineyard Haven.
The West Chop Club Historic District is a historic district in Tisbury, Massachusetts, on the island of Martha's Vineyard. The district represents a well-preserved planned summer resort community of the late 19th century. Located in and around Iroquois Avenue, the district encompasses the northernmost portion of West Chop, a peninsula that separates Vineyard Sound and the sheltered waters of Vineyard Haven Harbor, an area that was developed by the West Chop Land Company in the 1880s. The land is now owned by the West Chop Land Trust and managed by the private West Chop Club. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
The Old Mill is an historic mill building at 690 Edgartown-West Tisbury Road in West Tisbury, Massachusetts, on the island of Martha's Vineyard. The current structure was built c. 1848, and occupies a site that has seen industrial use since the 17th century. The property is currently owned by the Martha's Vineyard Garden Club.
The concept of the position of Martha's Vineyard Poet Laureate was formally initiated in 2011 by the Martha's Vineyard Poetry Society. This was the first time in Martha's Vineyard history that a position was created to designate an island-wide poet laureate. On similar note, the Martha's Vineyard Poetry Society (MVPS) is the first island-wide poetry organization with membership in the history of Martha's Vineyard. MVPS was founded in 2008 by island poet/author/musician, William Waterway.
The Cleavelands were a family of whalers from the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States, from the seventeenth though the nineteenth centuries. They are related to many of the other whaling families of the islands, including the Mayhew, Athearn, Coffin, Look, Luce, and Pease families.
The Tashmoo Springs Pumping Station is a historic waterworks facility in Tisbury, Massachusetts, on the island of Martha's Vineyard. The pump station and associated works were first constructed by private interests in the 1880s to provide a reliable water supply for the burgeoning resort areas of Tisbury as well as the port of Vineyard Haven. The facilities were taken over by the town in the early 20th century, after which some alterations were made to accommodate technological improvements. Following a series of hurricanes in the mid-20th century, which highlighted the risks of the station's location and ability to provide reliable drinking water, the town abandoned the facility. Since then it has been largely abandoned, although it was used in the 1990s by a bottled water interest, and some work has been done to preserve the Late Victorian main pumping station building.
Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority(VTA) is a bus transportation system serving Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. In addition to diesel buses, it has 19 electric buses charged at several points. The Edgartown facility has 700 kW solar panels and a 1.5 MWh battery adding to the bus power.
Nancy Luce was a poet and folk artist who lived in West Tisbury, Massachusetts on Martha's Vineyard.
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