Built for a whaling ship owner, this Federal style residence was acquired by the Trust in 1975. In 1992, the mansion was redecorated as the first Martha's Vineyard Designer Showhouse and has been used as an elegant location for private parties and wedding receptions.
Built as a non-sectarian place of worship in 1870, Union Chapel's unique octagonal design rises into a soaring open cupola with amber diamond-pane glass windows casting a warm and beautiful light. Historically known for its excellent acoustics, Union Chapel has long been a favorite venue for concerts, recitals, political meetings, speakers and wedding ceremonies. The Trust acquired the Chapel from the Oak Bluffs Christian Union in 2002.
Designed by Fredrick Baylies, Jr., this church was built for Edgartown's Methodist whaling captains and is regarded as one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in New England. The Trust acquired the Church from the Methodist congregation in 1980.
The Island's oldest residence was donated to the Trust in 1977 by the MacKenty and Bigelow families and was moved to its current location from Edgartown Great Pond. The house is furnished to depict architecture and life on the Island throughout the last four centuries.
Acquired by the Trust in 1986, the Carousel is the nation's oldest operating platform carousel and a National Historical Landmark. It is one of the two known carousels built by Charles W.F. Dare in 1876. In 1884, the Flying Horses were brought to Martha's Vineyard from Coney Island and have been operating on the same site for more than a century.
Constructed by the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society at the crossroads of the Island, the Hall was the location for the Agricultural Fair until 1994. Sold to the Trust by the Town in 1997 and completely restored, this grand post and beam barn stands as an enduring landmark, the site of a variety of traditional Island activities such as farmers markets, artisans fairs and antiques sales.
Alley's General Store is the oldest operating retail business on Martha's Vineyard. Completely renovated by the Trust in 1993, Alley's still delivers in its reputation as "dealers in almost everything." But the store is much more. It is a community meeting place, a historical institution and an Island tradition.
The most recent addition to the Trust’s landmark properties, the Boathouse was acquired in 2008 through the generosity of the Norton family. The present structure replaced an original wharf building that was destroyed in the hurricane of 1944. For generations, it has been the waterfront headquarters of Norton sea captains, and it contains a rich collection of maritime artifacts and photographs. The Trust is in the process of determining the public uses for this building and we are most grateful to the Norton family for their farsightedness in preserving it for generations to come.
The Edwina B. is one of only three surviving catboats designed and built by Manuel Swartz Roberts, known as “the Old Sculpin” in his boatbuilding shop, now the home of an art gallery bearing his name. Originally built as commercial fishing vessels, these classic New England craft were also popular with summer residents as sturdy recreational boats. After passing through several hands, the Edwina B. was acquired by George Griswold in 1968, who returned her to the Vineyard in 1989. The boat was given to the Preservation Trust in 2010 by George Griswold, Jr. and Wendy and Boatner Reily. She is moored at the Norton Boathouse, across the street from the wharf building in which she was built, and used by the Preservation Trust to interpret the rich history of the Island’s wooden sailboats.
Acquired by the Trust in 2005 through a gift of the Martha’s Vineyard Art Association, which continues to operate their non-profit gallery and educational programs in this 1840 wharf building. The name “Old Sculpin” is an affectionate reference to Manuel Swartz Roberts who, for 50 years, had his wooden boat-building shop there. The weathered, beamed structure was built by Dr. Daniel Fisher to serve as a grain warehouse for his fleet of whaling ships and it still stands on the Edgartown waterfront as a sentinel from earlier times.
The Vineyard Gazette Building is located on the corner of historic South Summer Street and Davis Lane. This pre-Revolutionary War landmark is a classic example of Colonial architecture as was originally constructed as a residence. In 1938, the building was acquired by Henry Beetle Hough, publisher of the Vineyard Gazette and it has since been used as the newsroom and printing operation for that publication. The building was acquired by the Preservation Trust in 2010 through a generous gift from Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg and it remains as the production headquarters of the Island’s oldest newspaper.
Built by Moses Mitchell as part of the Mitchell Boys School campus, this Second Empire building served as the town library for more than fifty years. Acquired by the Trust in 1999, it is once again a cultural and educational center.
This rare surviving example of a New England Half-Cape was acquired by the Trust in 2004, in conjunction with the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, which has preserved the surrounding acreage for public use. Occupied as an affordable housing dwelling by a year-round Chappaquiddick resident, the land continues to be used for agricultural production. This spring, the Trust relocated the original one-room Chappy Schoolhouse to the property and, when restored, it will be used for kid’s crafts and environmental education programs.
The Desire Osborne House is the oldest commercial structure on Main Street in Edgartown. Built just prior to the Revolutionary War as a residence for an owner of merchant ships, the house remained a private home for 150 years before being converted to commercial use. This historic structure was acquired by the North Water Street Corporation in the late 1940’s and is now managed and maintained by the Preservation Trust.
The John Coffin House is the oldest commercial structure on North Water Street in Edgartown. Built at the turn of the 18th Century as a residence for a prosperous mariner, the house was also for many years a tavern and inn. Owned by the North Water Street Corporation, a subsidiary organization of the Preservation Trust, the John Coffin House was saved from demolition and acquired in 1946. It remains in commercial use today, housing a number of successful retail businesses.
The Island's oldest one room schoolhouse was owned by the DAR for fifty years and operated as a nautical museum. It now serves as the headquarters for Sail Martha's Vineyard, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating Island children about maritime history and sailing.
The Osborne Wharf Building is the oldest commercial structure on the Edgartown waterfront. It was built as a warehouse for goods shipped to and from the Vineyard by the Osborne family, prosperous 19th Century ship owners. It was acquired by Capt. Samuel Norton in the 1940’s and was donated to the Preservation Trust by his children; S. Bailey Norton, Floyd Norton and Drucilla Park in 2008. Today, it remains in maritime use as the chandlery of Martha’s Vineyard Shipyard.
The Village Green lies at the center of Edgartown’s original village settlement, originally founded as Great Harbor in 1642. The Green has been preserved as common green space for more than 350 years and today is a small park connecting four in-town commercial streets. Threatened by a plan to develop it as a parking lot in 1946, the Village Green and two adjacent commercial properties were acquired by the North Water Street Corporation in an effort spearheaded by Henry Beetle Hough. Today, the Green is preserved for future generations by the Preservation Trust.
The Chappy Schoolhouse is a rare remaining example of a New England one-room school building. This simple Cape was the primary educational facility for generations of Chappaquiddick children until the 1950’s, when the Schoolhouse was moved by the Heywood family to their property overlooking Cape Pogue for use as a summer house. When the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank acquired this scenic land in 2005, the Schoolhouse was deeded to the Preservation Trust, which moved it to the Marshall Farm. It is now used as a place of environmental learning for Chappy kids.
