Martha’s Vineyard National Bank Building // 1855

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Living on an island in the 19th century wasn’t as easy as you may think. Before this bank building in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard was constructed in 1855, all banking was done on the mainland, mostly in New Bedford. As Edgartown thrived as a whaling capital and later as a vacation destination, it was clear that a bank be built on the island for easy depositing and withdrawal of funds for residents. This bank, the first brick building constructed in Edgartown, was built to house the newly formed Martha’s Vineyard National Bank. It’s first president was Dr. Daniel Fisher, who made his money as a merchant and operator of one of the largest whale and sperm oil processing facilities in the country. The bank eventually relocated to Vineyard Haven and the Edgartown National Bank was created to fill the void in town. Amazingly, the building is still to this day occupied by a bank, Rockland Trust, seemingly adding to the continuous occupancy of the building by banking facilities for well over a century. The late iteration of the Greek Revival style is evident here with the heavy lintels over the oversized windows and the dentilled pediment at the facade.

St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church, Edgartown // 1925

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Catholics on Martha’s Vineyard began worshipping in the late-1870s when a small group, mostly of Portuguese origin, began meeting in homes. As the island grew into a summer vacation destination, Catholic summer residents desired a place to have Mass celebrated on the island. Throughout the 19th century, an occasional priest from New Bedford or Cape Cod would come to the Vineyard to celebrate Mass in private residences. Residents in Edgartown purchased land in the village for a small chapel, rectory for it’s full-time summer priest, and cemetery. As the summer populations grew, it was decided that a larger Catholic church was needed for Edgartown, and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Fall River, Daniel Feehan, funded the new church and hired architect, Joseph I. Higgins, to design the new building. The church was dedicated in the summer of 1925 and features elements of Gothic and Colonial Revival styles.

Timothy Coffin House // 1828

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One of the finest Federal style houses on Martha’s Vineyard, the Timothy Coffin Jr. House on South Water Street in Edgartown is a well-preserved example of the five-bay, center hall form. The residence was built in 1828 for Timothy Coffin III (1797-1838), an attorney, after the death of his father, Timothy Coffin a year prior. The residence was built by master-builder Jared Coffin, likely a relative of Timothy. The builder stated that this was one of the finest houses he ever constructed. Timothy and his wife, Velina had six children in the home until his death in 1838 at the age of 42. One of their children, Zoraida, married Samuel Osborn, Jr. and inherited the house, which remained in the family until the 1950s. The residence is said to have some of the finest interior woodwork in Edgartown and features a stately doorway covered by a portico supported by fluted columns and intricate balustraded roof above. The residence also features a small “widow’s walk” at the roof, which provides views of Edgartown Harbor.

Captain Thomas Milton House // 1840

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Located on the idyllic South Water Street in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, the Capt. Thomas Milton House stands as a fine and well-preserved example of a sea captain’s house built in the Greek Revival style. Captain Thomas Milton (1787-1862) was born in Liverpool, England, and first arrived to the island as a young man aboard a whaling vessel. He served as a Lieutenant and privateer during the War of 1812, when England restricted trade to maritime ports, which severely crippled the Edgartown economy. After the embargo ended, Captain Milton led whaling vessels and trade routes to as far as China. On his last trade excursion to China in 1837, Captain Thomas Milton brought back a sapling of a Pagoda Tree that was planted on the lot of his soon-to-be-built house on Water Street. Construction began on the house in 1840, which is unique for its asymmetrical four-bay facade and low hipped roof. Captain Milton died in 1862 and by the turn of the century, his residence was converted to an inn, which is now a part of the multi-building, Harborside Inn complex. The property has stood here for nearly 200 years joined by the ever-growing Pagoda Tree, which is believed to be the largest of its kind in North America. 

Captain Abraham Osborn House // 1834

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Built in 1834, this early Greek Revival house with Gothic Revival detailing, sits on Edgartown’s South Water Street, a notable street lined by large mansions built for early whaling captains on Martha’s Vineyard. The residence was built for Abraham Osborn (1798-1865), a whaling captain, soon after his marriage to Eliza Norton. Captain Abraham Osborn owned several whaling ships based out of Martha’s Vineyard and New Bedford, and one of these large vessels, the Ocmulgee, came to an untimely end early in the Civil War. When captaining the ship in September 1862, the Ocmulgee was approached by a ship flying British flags. When it got within speaking range, the British flags were replaced by Confederate colors and the rebel captain took over the ship, which contained 250 barrels of whale oil. The Confederates detained the ships officers and Captain Osborn in chains bringing them aboard their ship, the Alabama, which was known for stealthy operations to damage the economy of the Northern states. The rebels torched the Ocmulgee, forcing Captain Osborn and his crew to watch their profits burn up and sink into the ocean. The crew was detained for a few days and ultimately released near the Fayal Islands where they received help. Captain Osborn returned home and would die just three years later. The Osborn house was later inherited by his son, Abraham Jr., a retired sea captain himself, who eventually converted the large family home into a hotel called Ocean View. A famous guest at his hotel was Alexander Graham Bell, who was on island to study the extensive deafness prevalence for those on the Island. The house has since been converted back to a single-family residence and maintains its stunning Greek Revival entry portico and tripartite window in the gable with shuttered lancet openings.

Captain Tristam P. Ripley House // c.1835

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One of the great old captain’s houses in Edgartown, Massachusetts, stands here on South Water Street and is emblematic of the history of the harbor community in the 19th and 20th centuries. The five-bay Greek Revival style mansion was built in about 1835 and was owned later by Tristam Pease Ripley (1821-1881) a wealthy sea captain, originally from New Bedford, who operated whaling ships while out at sea for months or a year at a time. After becoming a Master Mariner on the sea, Captain Ripley settled down back in Edgartown and worked as a coal dealer, likely bringing ships from the mainland to the island carrying coal for sale to keep these grand homes warm during the brutal New England winters. The house was purchased by a local inn during the 20th century and significantly renovated inside and out, and is owned by the Harborside Inn.

John H. Munroe House // c.1860

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Built circa 1860 for Jonathan Harding Munroe, this stately Victorian house sits on Main Street in the up-scale community of Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard. Jonathan Munroe was born in Bristol, Rhode Island and moved to Edgartown where he opened a store and worked as a high-end tailor, and became a successful businessman in town where he founded the Martha’s Vineyard Bank of Edgartown, and later financed successful whaling excursions making a large profit on his investments. With his ever-growing net worth, Mr. Munroe likely updated this house towards the end of the 19th century, with the ornate three-sided porch. Most recently, the property has operated as an inn, named after its original owner, the Jonathan Munroe House Inn.

Edgartown Town Hall – Old Edgartown Methodist Church // 1828

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Edgartown, the historic whaling harbor village, is Martha’s Vineyard’s first colonial settlement and has prospered as one of the best-preserved collections of 19th century architecture in the United States. The streets of Edgartown’s village are lined by historic residences, shops and churches built by and for prosperous whaling captains and preserved today as part of New England’s elite summer destinations. Presently occupied by the local government of Edgartown as its Town Hall, this handsome Federal style building on Main Street was originally used as the community’s first purpose-built Methodist Church. Methodism on Martha’s Vineyard began after 1787, when a vessel commanded by Capt. Thomas Luce arrived to the island containing two stowaways escaping enslavement in Virginia; John Saunders and Priscilla, his wife. They were slaves to a Virginia planter, and both were zealous christians, and Methodist speakers, who helped foster a larger community on island. A methodist church was established in Edgartown in a building shared with Baptists until this handsome building was constructed in 1828 by local architect and builder, Frederick Baylies Jr. Just fifteen years later, the town grew in population and wealth and the local Methodists felt it necessary to build a much larger church, now known as the Old Whaling Church in 1843. This building was acquired by the Town in the 1840s and converted to a town hall with space for a fire engine and police. More recently, the building served as the fictional town hall of “Amity” in the 1975 film, Jaws, where the infamous chalkboard scratch scene took place.

Lewis-Zukowski Farm // 1781

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Located on a back road in Suffield, Connecticut, the Lewis-Zukowski Farmhouse stands as one of the oldest and largest brick homes found in this part of the state. The Federal period farmhouse was built in 1781 for Hezekiah Lewis, he was a farmer of modest prosperity. The farm was owned by subsequent owners until 1905, when it was purchased by Michael Zukowski, who was born in Poland around 1867. He arrived in Suffield with his family in 1888 and found a job working on a tobacco farm for $8 a month. He married in 1898 and became a naturalized citizen in 1900. By 1905, he had saved enough money to purchase this farm property for $2,800. He grew tobacco on his farm and raised his family, who retained the property throughout the 20th century. The rural farmhouse is architecturally significant as well as historically significant for its connections with the local tobacco industry and immigration that helped the community thrive in the 20th century.

First Church of Christ, Suffield // 1869

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Located adjacent to the Town Common, the First Church of Christ in Suffield showcases the grandiose architecture seen in many churches after the Civil War in New England. This brick edifice is the fifth in the history of the church which dates back to around 1680. This church building was designed by local architect John C. Mead, who designed other stately churches in the surrounding region. The church is a blending of Italianate and Romanesque Revival styles and originally featured a tall spire and secondary tower. In 1938, the New England Hurricane destroyed the tall spire (a similar event occurred to many New England Churches, including Old North in Boston). Even without the steeple, the church remains as a great architectural treasure in town.

Thaddeus Leavitt Jr. House // 1800

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One of the many grand homes on Main Street in Suffield is this Federal style home built in 1800 for a 21-year-old Thaddeus Leavitt. Like his father, Thaddeus was a merchant with a store in Suffield and . Immediately after the home was completed, Thaddeus got married and moved into the home with his new wife, Jemima Loomis. The home was altered in the 1850s with Italianate features including a belvedere and bay windows, which lasted into the 20th century. Since then, the home was restored back to its original Federal style.

Alexander King House // 1764

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Located on Suffield’s idyllic Main Street, the Alexander King House stands as a well-preserved example of a Georgian home in Connecticut. Alexander King (1737-1802) is a prominent figure in Suffield’s history. He was a graduate of Yale, and later practiced medicine in town, as well as serving as Selectman and Town Clerk for almost thirty years. He was also a Justice of the Peace, Representative to the Assembly, participant in agitation against British colonialism, and delegate to the Connecticut Ratifying Convention of 1788, when the state ratified the U.S Constitution. The home is owned and maintained today by the Suffield Historical Society, who operate the home as a house museum with exhibits on the town’s rich history.

Dr. Aretus Rising House // 1854

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Aretus Rising (1800-1884) was born in Suffield, Connecticut, and tended to his father’s farm before graduating from the Berkshire Medical College in Western Massachusetts in 1826. Dr. Aretus Rising operated his medical practice in Suffield in the 1840s and would eventually build this unique home in 1854. Designed in the Greek Revival style with the emergence of the Italianate style, the home features a square form with broad overhanging eaves and a wrap-around porch supported by latticed columns.

Phelps-Hatheway House // c.1762

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Set back from tree-lined Main Street in Suffield, Connecticut, the Phelps-Hatheway House stands as one of the largest, and best-preserved Colonial era homes in New England. The center-chimney residence was built by 1762 by Thomas “Shem” Burbank, where he and his wife, Anna Fitch Burbank, raised nine children. Due to the unstable national economy during and after the American Revolution, the family’s financial situation suffered and they would sell the residence in 1788 to Oliver Phelps. at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Phelps joined the Continental Army and fought in the Battle of Lexington. He served as Deputy Commissary under George Washington and following the War, he became a prominent businessman and was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1785 and served on the Governor’s council in 1786 (Suffield was still a part of Massachusetts at this point). In 1794, Phelps commissioned the addition of a substantial wing designed by Thomas Hayden of Windsor. Under the employ of Hayden, a young Asher Benjamin, later to become one of the most important architects of the Federal period, was one of the workers on the new wing and is believed to have carved the Ionic capitals of the wing’s entryway. Inside, the addition was decorated with imported Parisian wallpaper. When Phelps died, the house was owned by the Hatheway family for a century and is currently open as a house museum, the Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden, administered by Connecticut Landmarks.

Israel L. Spencer House // c.1855

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The Spencer family emigrated from Braintree, England to America in 1638, with Thomas Spencer settling in Hartford, Connecticut in 1640. Thomas Spencer Jr., the second generation in Connecticut moved to modern-day Suffield in the 1670s. Generations later, Israel L. Spencer (1833-1887) became a businessman and politician, later being employed at the First National Bank in Suffield, continuing the family’s successful legacy in town. Mr. Spencer had this Italianate house on South Main Street built for him and his family. Israel’s son Charles L. Spencer grew up in the home, later following in his father’s footsteps becoming the president of the local bank. The house has been restored since this photo was taken in 2020.