Martha's Vineyard Aquinnah History

New Light House at Gay Head

Vineyard Gazette | Saturday, August 13 1853 - 3:00pm

We learn from Samuel Flanders, Esq., that a light house is to be erected at Gay Head the coming fall. It is to be located about five or six rods back of the present one. The light, at an altitude of 60 feet, will be seen by mariners over Noman’s Land, which will be of great service. A new dwelling house is also to be erected. An appropriation of $13,000 was made at the last session of Congress to cover the expense of constructing these buildings.

Aquinnah Sites Reveal 10,000 Years of Wampanoag History

Louisa Hufstader

A 2001 Aquinnah bylaw requiring archaeological reviews of proposed building sites has unearthed scores of significant discoveries.

Aquinnah Officially Turns 20, But Gay Head Name Endures

Landry Harlan

Just over 20 years ago this week, the Island’s smallest town voted to rebrand itself from Gay Head to Aquinnah, the area’s original Native American name.

Having Faith in the Power of History

Louisa McCullough

Established in 1693, the Gay Head Community Baptist Church is the oldest continuously operating Native American Baptist Church in the country.

On the Cliffs in Aquinnah, History Is Alive at the Vanderhoop Homestead

Mary Jane Carpenter

Aquinnah is not the place to go looking for interesting houses without trespassing. Interesting stories, yes, but the houses visible from the road are few and far between. The exception of course is the Vanderhoop homestead.

Bustle Lies Beyond These Small Walls

Ivy Ashe

Most of the time the Aquinnah Public Library lies dormant. Activity in the center of Aquinnah takes place at the town hall, not at the little red schoolhouse building across the street.

Heroic Rescuers Up for Posthumous Award

Mark Alan Lovewell

Jan. 18 marked the 127th anniversary of one of the worst marine disasters in southeastern Massachusetts, when the 275-foot steamer City of Columbus foundered on the rocks of Devil’s Bridge and sank a half mile off Gay Head. A total of 103 passengers and crew were lost.