West Tisbury
Reprinted from the 2004 Visitors Guide courtesy
of the Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce. www.mvy.com
West Tisbury with its white church, general store, post office,
old mill, farms, and ponds has all the characteristics people
associate with a typical New England Village.
It was the mill site that originally attracted settlers, because
there was no stream in Edgartown with enough strength to run
a water wheel. The gristmill gave way in 1847 to the manufacture
of satinet, a heavy fabric for whales men's jackets made from
Island wool.
The Congregational Church on State road is always open to visitors.
Solid and settled as it now looks, even this structure did not
escape the Islanders' penchant for moving buildings around. The
original churchyard, where the first settlers of the town are
buried, is about a quarter of a mile down the road. Near the
church is the West Tisbury town hall.
Several old houses here started out as inns, back when a trip
from the down Island ports to Aquinnah or Chilmark was a long
haul over sandy roads. Daniel Webster stayed at the house next
to the store building. Across the little pond from the old inn
is the site of a house built by Mile's Standish's son in 1668.
The largest houses in town were owned by captains, and some
of the finest are still occupied by their descendants. Several
captains' houses can be found on Music Street, given its name
after a number of its families purchased pianos with new whaling
money. The Lambert's Cove settlement has its share of fine homes
and a charming white church. The Cove was once a place of anchorage
for the town of West Tisbury. The area housed clay works, salt
works and extensive trap fishing operations. All this has vanished.
Even the road to the harbor is gone. A Woodland path leads to
the beach, which is now set aside for year round and summer residents
of West Tisbury.
Other points of interest are Cedar Tree Neck Nature Preserve
and the Christiantown Memorial. Cedar Tree Neck is matchless
piece of unspoiled woods, with a freshwater pond and brooks,
bounded by North Shore Beach. Picnics, fishing, and bathing are
not permitted, but there are marked trails for those who enjoy
the opportunity to watch birds, follow woodland paths, and walk
along its quiet shores.
The Memorial is located off Christiantown Road. Here one may
see a tiny chapel, a pulpit rock where services were held for
the Wampanog in the 17th century, the rough small burial stones
of these first converts, and nearby wildflower garden.
West Tisbury is the home of the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural
Society, sponsors of the annual Livestock Show and Agricultural
Fair. The Fair, held each August on the grounds of the Agricultural
Hall on Panhandle Road, is the highlight of a Martha's Vineyard
summer, drawing visitors back year after year.
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