The Martha’s Vineyard Museum has taken an option on the former Marine Hospital in Vineyard Haven, giving the museum’s board until the end of January to decide whether the historic property perched on a hilltop above the harbor could serve as the new home for the Island’s historical collections.

The marine hospital went on the market in April with an asking price of $3.19 million.

An important piece of Island history is for sale.

The old Marine Hospital in Vineyard Haven has been placed on the market by the St. Pierre family, which has owned the property since the 1950s.

Built on a hill overlooking the Vineyard Haven waterfront in 1895, the hospital treated soldiers and sailors and their families, in peacetime and through two world wars. From the late 1950s until two years ago, the property has housed a summer camp for children.