A sublime sunset at Menemsha Seaport; (c) Martha’s Vineyard CC

Martha’s Vineyard Cultural Sites

Martha’s Vineyard African American Heritage Trail
DESCRIPTION: Experience guides give you a memorable tour of important Black heritage sites on Martha’s Vineyard. Highlights include the vacation homes of the first Black U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and U.S. Representative Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
WEBSITE: https://mvafricanamericanheritagetrail.org

Seaport of Menemsha
DESCRIPTION: This was the scene of the escape to New Bedford and from there to Canada of Randall Burton, a fugitive from enslavement in Mississippi, who was hidden in Aquinnah (formerly called “Gay Head”). There is also an interesting whaling statue as you walk along the beach.
ADDRESS: Vineyard Sound in Menemsha

Mural of Captain William Martin
DESCRIPTION: See it at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School
ADDRESS: Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road; Oak Bluffs

Cottages Corner
DESCRIPTION: Formerly a firehouse, it is owned by and houses the African-American Women’s Philanthropic Organization, “The Cottagers.”
ADDRESS: Pequot Avenue at Circuit Avenue; Oak Bluffs

Powell House, “The Bunny Cottage”
DESCRIPTION: This is the home of Isabel Powell, left to her following a divorce from Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Adam was one of the earliest African American US Congressmen after Reconstruction and a Reverend at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.
ADDRESS: Oak Bluffs

Nancy Michael Memorial Plaque
DESCRIPTION: This wise woman was the subject of litigation between the town of Edgartown and Tilbury.
ADDRESS: Memorial Wharf, Edgartown Harbor

Rebecca Amos Memorial Plaque
DESCRIPTION: The life of Rebecca, a former West African slave, is celebrated by a plaque at Great Bight Reserve; she inherited property from her Native American husband, Elisha Amos, in this area where there is a field still known as Rebecca’s field.
ADDRESS: North Road, Chilmark

Return to MARTHA’S VINEYARD