The historic Mill House in Vineyard Haven overlooking the lower entrance to the harbor has been torn down.
The historic Mill House in Vineyard Haven overlooking the lower entrance to the harbor has been torn down. The mill still stands as the sole survivor of an unusual home that had many occupants over the centuries. Molly Merry allowed British soldiers to bunk down on her floors. In the late 1800s General Walker added the mill onto that little Cape, which then became the center of a larger home as he added another wing for his family and a long porch that wrapped around the front of the house facing the water. Years later Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett lived there together. My family owned and cared for this wonderful home for 50 years. We were custodians of a house that we thought would last long beyond our time. There was an article written about this home by Henry Beetle Hough in the Vineyard Gazzette in the 1960s as I recall. One summer it was included in a tour of historic homes in Vineyard Haven. It is unbelievable that the town allowed this to happen. It is a loss of a part of its history. Some may call this progress. To me it is lack of respect for the past and terribly sad.
Margaret Snow
Florence, Italy
Comments
I agree with you. I could
Local MVI agree with you. I could write a thousand words on why but I won’t. Because this is part of a bigger problem here. The culture on this island celebrates outlaws and commercialism without concern for the present or future. The great and successful model of all cheats and halfassers here was then and always has been “better to ask forgiveness than permission.” It demonstrates a total contempt for fellow islanders and is completely at odds with the vast majority of year round and seasonal value systems. The contractor definitely didn’t need the money. He did it for “sport”. Because he knows nobody will do a thing about it, and that is what makes his type tick. But we feed the flame. We celebrate money, however earned; we feed the flame and don’t penalize the cheats.
It is inconceivable to me how
Down IslanderIt is inconceivable to me how this could happen. How long does it take to demolish a house? Surely a day or more.
Why didn't someone put in a call to the town as soon as the bulldozers started bulldozing?
Now we see a classic round of passing the buck.
The owner didn't know anything.
The building inspector doesn't know anything.
The architect doesn't know anything.
IMO the buck as far as who ordered the demolition really stops with the owner.
No one goes ahead with this kind of work without getting a go-ahead from the owner of the property.
The owner should be obliged to recreate the historic structure that was there.
But the building inspector, too, seems to have been clueless as to the procedure to follow in the case of a historic building.
Uh, maybe he didn't realize that the building was historic . . .
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