Marthas Vineyard Real Estate

Coffin-Dunham House // c.1682

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John Coffin (1647-1711) was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and later moved to Nantucket with his father finding work as a blacksmith. John moved to Edgartown (Martha’s Vineyard) in 1682, continuing his profession there as the island’s premier blacksmith. Soon after arriving, John Coffin and his wife, Deborah, built a small residence and blacksmith shop, here on South Water Street, which later became this stunning property with later additions and alterations. The construction of the original section is said to be built of timber infilled with brick, a luxury but also a necessity to protect John Coffin’s house in case of a fire from his attached blacksmith shop. The business did well and John and Deborah moved to a new residence on North Water Street by the turn of the 18th century. This property overlooking the harbor was later occupied and expanded by various artisans, including Elijah Dunham, a shoemaker, in 1792. It was likely under Dunham’s ownership that the house was expanded to its present two-story form with telescoping ells. More recently, the Coffin-Dunham House, one of the oldest extant buildings on the island, was thoughtfully renovated by Patrick Ahearn Architects.


Nunnepog House // c.1840

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Located on South Water Street in Edgartown, Massachusetts, the Nunnepog House stands as one of the finest mid-19th century homes on Martha’s Vineyard. The residence was built by Joseph Allen Athearn (1807-1867), who is listed in the Census as a carpenter. The first known owner is Edmund Bradley (1786-1869), then a retired sea captain, who lived here until his death. In the 1930s, the house became well known as The Seagull and the Whale, a shop in which Louise Meikleham sold homemade jams, jellies, and breads and later became her residence, known as the Nunnepog House, derived from the original Wampanoag name for the area encompassing Edgartown and Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard. The residence was moved to its present site in the 1950s or 60s and was more recently renovated and expanded from plans by Patrick Ahearn Architects. The residence is unusual for its four-bay facade with offset entrance and features many hallmarks of the Greek Revival style, including cornice returns, paneled corner pilasters, a wide frieze, and classical entry. The half-fan windows and corresponding shutters are a great design element of the facade which makes it stand out from other period homes.


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.

West Tisbury Grange Hall // 1859

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Image courtesy of @MarthasVineyardonisland

Constructed by the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society at the crossroads of the island, this Grange Hall in West Tisbury on Martha’s Vineyard, is the center of agriculture and commerce for the Vineyard. Grange Halls are traditionally where farmers have gathered to learn new agricultural practices, develop strategic business partnerships, and barter for goods and services. The building was the hub of weekly farmers markets for decades and eventually owned by the Vineyard Trust in 1997, being restored soon after. The building is a vernacular Gothic Revival building with decorative bargeboard (gingerbread trim) and full-length porch.

Edgartown Customs House // c.1825

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Edgartown in the early 19th century was booming as one of the major whaling towns in America. As goods were imported and exported in and out of the burgeoning town, a Customs House was required to essentially tax the goods. Until around 1825, the Customs House in Edgartown was located in private homes until the demand grew for a stand-alone structure on Main Street. This Federal style building was constructed to house a Customs office upstairs with two commercial spaces on the ground floor.