Marthas Vineyard House

Martha’s Vineyard National Bank // 1855

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Believe it or not, living on an island in the 19th century wasn’t as easy as you may think. Before this bank building was constructed in 1855, all banking was done off-island. The bank was constructed to house the newly formed Martha’s Vineyard National Bank, whose 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 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 structure is one of the oldest brick buildings in town and is a late iteration of the Greek Revival style.

Norton-Coffin House // c.1740

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This home on the idyllic Water Street in Edgartown (maybe my favorite town in Massachusetts) was built in two main phases in its storied history. What is now a rear ell, was built as a home around 1740 by “Squire” Norton, who ran the Customs office out of the house in his role as Customs Collector in town. The home was located in the current location of North Water Street, which had to jog around the home until the early 19th century when it was moved to the current location and altered as an ell of the new house standing there. The home was later owned by Captain Edward Coffin (1850-1917), a renowned sea captain. At just 15 years old, Edwin Coffin left Edgartown to be a cabin boy on his first ship. Through the end of the 19th century, he voyaged on numerous whaling vessels and served as captain on many. In 1902, Captain Coffin was chosen to command the steamer America, which carried the Fiala-Ziegler Expedition, a failed attempt at reaching the North Pole. The party remained stranded north of the Arctic Circle for two years before being rescued, yet all but one of its members survived.

Frank A. Ferris House // 1890

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Located north of downtown Oak Bluffs, this oceanfront summer estate exemplifies the grandeur of Martha’s Vineyard at the end of the 18th century. This home was built in 1890 for Frank A. Ferris, a Manhattan meat dealer who processed and shipped his product to wealthy customers, markets, luxury hotels and restaurants all over the east coast. His processing plant on Mott Street in Manhattan remains an excellent example of Romanesque Revival architecture in the city. He lived at 5 Russell Terrace in Montclair, NJ, and in summers, stayed in this waterfront mansion overlooking the Atlantic. His summer home is a great blending of the Queen Anne and Shingle styles, both very common at the time.

Hills-Claflin House // 1871

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This grand home was built in 1871 for George Hills, one of the original investors in the Oak Bluffs Land & Wharf Company development, a development to the east of Wesleyan Grove. The home was designed by Samuel Freeman Pratt, a Boston carpenter turned premier architect of Oak Bluffs, who likely designed the home in his distinct Stick Style with intricate wood carvings and posts. In 1877, the home was purchased by Governor William Claflin after his time in office as a summer retreat from his home in Newton, MA. The governor was an ardent Methodist who was involved with liberal causes such as abolition and Native American and female enfranchisement. Within 10 years of his purchasing of the home, he modified and enlarged it with Colonial Revival motifs including the gambrel roof, Tuscan columned porch, and simplified dormers.

Corbin-Norton House // 1891

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Sited prominently on Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs, the Corbin-Norton House overlooks the Nantucket Sound with no buildings obscuring the gorgeous sunrises. When the home was originally built in 1891, it belonged to Philip Corbin, a manufacturer of household hardware and locks from New Britain. Conn., who got his start as a locksmith apprentice and grew his business until it employed 15,000 people. Corbin summered on Martha’s Vineyard and saw the shift from Cottage City, a Methodist-oriented summer resort town to Oak Bluffs, an exclusive summer colony. The house was built by Eli A. Leighton, a carpenter from Oak Bluffs whose descendants still live on the Is­land. The house remained in the Corbin family for some 40 years, after which it changed hands a number of times, at one point, housing a doctor’s office. By that time, nearly all of the historic character had been stripped of the home with replacement vinyl windows, removed trim and finials, and a monochrome color scheme. In 1991, when Peter Norton, the computer soft­ware magnate, and his wife, Eileen, de­cided to buy the old Corbin house for a reported $350,000, it was begging for someone with the resources to restore it. The restoration would take three years to complete, and Mr. Norton commissioned a team of consultants, ar­chitects and contractors to do the job. They meticulously restored the home, only to have the misfortune of a fire which destroyed the home. Norton funded the replica which was completed soon after, and passers-by wouldn’t be able to tell the difference!

Crystal Palace // c.1870

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The Crystal Palace cottage Pequot Avenue in Oak Bluffs was built by Henry Clark, a local builder of many summer homes on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. The cottage is a charming blend of Stick, Shingle, and Queen Anne styles, which works perfectly. The wrap-around porch is supported by turned posts with a balustrade capped by urns, the square tower has two elongated windows with eyebrow lintels resembling a face with bushy eyebrows. Oh the charm of Oak Bluffs, architectural eccentricity on every street!

Methodist Camp Meeting Association Office // 1859

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Located at the center of the Wesleyan Grove, – the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association – this Italianate building has long served as a hub of the active summer community. The building was constructed in 1859, before any cottages were built in the newly formed summer colony. The office building was not only the headquarters for the Camp Meeting Association, it also served as a storage space for the baggage of the many who stayed in tents, many who didn’t have the means to purchase or rent a cottage. The building even was home to the associations’ post office. It now houses the Association director’s offices and contains the lease holders records back to 1864, a great way to learn about the diverse groups of people who visited and worshiped in this camp.

Riday-Evans Cottage // c.1880

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This cottage on Ocean Ave in Oak Bluffs was built before 1880 for J.F. Riday, a manager at the American Mail and Export Journal at the Wesleyan Building on Bromfield Street in Boston. The quaint cottage was photographed shortly after it was built with Riday and two women (one likely being his wife) posing on the front porch overlooking the ocean. By the early 20th century, the home was owned by George and Corielle Evans, a couple from Mexico. They likely modified the home with the shingled siding and front porch with sheltered balcony above, while the original lancet windows and doors remained.

Jones Cottage // 1876

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This charming little cottage in Oak Bluffs was built in 1876 for Charles N. Jones, a resident of Medford, MA who had a home built there in 1872. His family’s summer cottage on Martha’s Vineyard was designed by the Ripley Brothers, Alonzo and Walter, carpenters who lived in town and designed and built many of the charming little summer homes there. The home features a wrap-around porch, a covered balcony at the second floor, and pierced board balustrade and cornerboards. Oh, and the paint scheme is perfect!

Aunt Georgia’s House // c.1880

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Located on the iconic Circuit Street in Oak Bluffs, this Eclectic Victorian cottage has a storied past related to Black history on the island. Even though Oak Bluffs was a relatively safe place for African Americans to be, there were still limits on their rights. In some parts of Oak Bluffs there were laws that said that certain property could only be owned by whites. The island became a vacation spot for thousands every summer in the 19th century and seeing a lack of options for Black travelers, Mrs. Georgia O’Brien and Ms. Louisa Izett began to operate an inn for people of color. The inn was one of two such residences in Oak Bluffs and has since been listed on the African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard. The home has since been named the Tivoli Inn and retains much of the original gingerbread trim. In recent years, Martha’s Vineyard was given the nickname, “The Black Hamptons,” due to its popularity as a place for wealthy African-Americans to vacation, it remains a very diverse island in summer months.