West Chop

Last updated
"The Cedars," a turn-of-the-19th-century hotel at West Chop, as it appeared in the early 20th century. Hsl The Cedars.jpg
"The Cedars," a turn-of-the-19th-century hotel at West Chop, as it appeared in the early 20th century.

West Chop is a residential area located in the town of Tisbury, Massachusetts on the north end of the island of Martha's Vineyard. It is a peninsula surrounded on the north and west by Vineyard Sound and on the east by Vineyard Haven Harbor. A lighthouse, West Chop Light, stands at the north end of the chop. It is accessible by car from Vineyard Haven by two roads, Franklin Street and Main Street.

West Chop has no obvious commercial businesses or stores, it used to have its own zip code (02573) and a seasonal post office, but these were closed during cutbacks to the USPS. It also has a private seasonal country club, the West Chop Club, and a nine-hole golf course, Mink Meadows Golf Club. There is also a small graveyard, the West Chop cemetery.

West Chop has been a popular summer resort area since the late 19th century, and has been the summer home to many notable residents, including Panama Canal engineer Gen. George W. Goethals, [1] [2] [3] Yale president and U.K. ambassador Kingman Brewster Jr., [4] United States Secretary of the Air Force James H. Douglas Jr., [4] and composer George Chadwick. [4] [5]

In the summer of 1888, a steamboat wharf was completed at West Chop with regular steamship landings from the mainland, [6] and throughout the 1890s the West Chop summer colony boasted two hotels, a bowling alley, a billiard hall, and tennis courts., [7] although today only the club's tennis courts and small private docks remain.

Notes

  1. Flemish-American heroes
  2. 1914 Map of Vineyard Haven, Mass. - Section #2C: East of Main Street, South of Crocker Ave., North of Owen Park
  3. Vineyard Gazette Online
  4. 1 2 3 From Martha's Vineyard National Bank to Around West Chop
  5. Martha's Vineyard Hotel, Martha's Vineyard Inn, Martha's Vineyard Bed and Breakfast, Thorncroft Inn, Marthas Vineyard Island, (800)-332-1236
  6. "The Vineyard Gazette". 10 Aug 1888.
  7. Hough, Henry Beetle. Martha's Vineyard, Summer Resort 1835-1935. (Tuttle Publishing Co., 1936)

Related Research Articles

Marthas Vineyard Island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S.

Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts in the United States in North America that is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the smaller adjacent Chappaquiddick Island, which is usually connected to the Vineyard. The two islands have sometimes been separated by storms and hurricanes, which last occurred from 2007 to 2015. It is the 58th largest island in the United States, with a land area of about 96 square miles (250 km2), and the third-largest on the East Coast of the United States, 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.

Edgartown, Massachusetts Town in Massachusetts, United States

Edgartown is a tourist destination on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States, for which it is the county seat.

Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts Town in Massachusetts, United States

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, Massachusetts Town in Massachusetts, United States

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, Massachusetts Census-designated place in Massachusetts, United States

Vineyard Haven is a community within the town of Tisbury, Massachusetts 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.

Watch Hill, Rhode Island United States historic place

Watch Hill is an affluent coastal neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Westerly, Rhode Island. The population was 154 at the 2010 census. It sits at the most-southwestern point in all of Rhode Island. It came to prominence in the late 19th and early 20th century as an exclusive summer resort, with wealthy families building sprawling Victorian-style "cottages" along the peninsula. Watch Hill is characterized by The New York Times as a community "with a strong sense of privacy and of discreetly used wealth," in contrast with "the overpowering castles of the very rich" in nearby Newport.

Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge

Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge on Chappaquiddick Island owned and managed by The Trustees of Reservations. The refuge consists of 516 acres (2.09 km2) and includes the 1893 Cape Poge Lighthouse.

Prouts Neck Peninsula in Maine, United States

Prouts Neck is a coastal peninsula, located within the town of Scarborough, in southern Maine.

Katama is a residential area in the town of Edgartown, Massachusetts, on the south shore of the island of Martha's Vineyard. It is bordered on the west by Edgartown Great Pond, on the east by Katama Bay and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. It starts at a fork in the road when you head south on Katama Road out of central Edgartown; Katama Road leads to the left and Herring Creek Road leads to the right.

East Chop, also known as the Vineyard Highlands, is a residential area located in the town of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts on the north end of the island of Martha's Vineyard. It is a peninsula surrounded on the North and East by Vineyard Sound and on the West by Vineyard Haven Harbor, and features the high, prominent bluffs that gave Oak Bluffs its name. A lighthouse, East Chop Light, stands at the north end of the chop on Telegraph Hill.

West Chop Light Lighthouse

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.

Menauhant, Massachusetts Human settlement in United States of America

Menauhant is a neighborhood at the southern end of Central Avenue in East Falmouth, Massachusetts, United States. The community, which lies between Bournes Pond on the west and Eel Pond on the east, is located across Vineyard Sound from Martha's Vineyard. The community has approximately 105 homes, the earliest of which date to the 1870s, a small chapel that serves the community during the summer months, and the public Menauhant Beach. The neighborhood is the home of the Menauhant Yacht Club, which owns two private beaches, tennis courts and several boats, and hosts a summer program for members.

East Chop Light Lighthouse

East Chop Light is a historic lighthouse standing on a bluff overlooking Vineyard Haven Harbor and Vineyard Sound, located along East Chop Drive in the town of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. It is one of five lighthouses located on the island of Martha's Vineyard.

West Chop Club Historic District Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

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.

Frederick Bristol American voice teacher (1839–1932)

Frederick E. Bristol was a celebrated American voice teacher who operated private studios in Boston and New York City during the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century.

<i>Vineyard Gazette</i>

The Vineyard Gazette is one of two paid circulation newspapers on the island of Martha's Vineyard. Founded in 1846, it also circulates in many other states and countries to seasonal residents of the resort island.

Amelia Montague Watson (1856–1934) was an American watercolorist well known for her work in Martha's Vineyard.

Marthas Vineyard Transit Authority

Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority(VTA) is a bus transportation system serving Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. In addition to diesel buses, it has 12 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.

Historic Hotels of America National Trust for Historic Preservation program

Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that was founded in 1989 with 32 charter members; the program accepts nominations and identifies hotels that have maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity. As of June 5, 2015, the program included over 260 members in 44 states, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Henry Beetle Hough was an American journalist and owner, editor and publisher of the Vineyard Gazette, known for winning the only Pulitzer Prize for Newspaper History with Minna Lewinson in 1918.

References

Coordinates: 41°28′48″N70°36′10″W / 41.48000°N 70.60278°W / 41.48000; -70.60278