Rise of Tourism on Martha's Vineyard, The

Rise of Tourism on Martha's Vineyard, The
Author: Thomas Dresser; Foreword by Nancy Gardella, Director of the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2020
Genre: History
ISBN: 1467143375

Now known as a resort community and vacation destination, Martha's Vineyard was once a simple fishing and whaling community. From the popularity of the Methodist Campground, founded in 1835, the Vineyard soon blossomed into a summer vacation mecca, welcoming visitors to its quaint villages and scenic seashores. As whaling lost its economic dominance, tourism became the catalyst for a revived prosperity on the Vineyard. President Grant's visit to the Vineyard in 1874 drew national attention and marked the beginning of several presidential visits to the island. By 1900, Oak Bluffs had developed an amusement park atmosphere with the iconic Flying Horses, toboggan slide and grand seaside hotels. Join local historian Tom Dresser as he reveals the island's transformation into a premier tourist destination.

The Rise of Tourism on Martha's Vineyard

The Rise of Tourism on Martha's Vineyard
Author: Thomas Dresser
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2013-04-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1439670307

Now known as a resort community and vacation destination, Martha's Vineyard was once a simple fishing and whaling community. From the popularity of the Methodist Campground, founded in 1835, the Vineyard soon blossomed into a summer vacation mecca, welcoming visitors to its quaint villages and scenic seashores. As whaling lost its economic dominance, tourism became the catalyst for a revived prosperity on the Vineyard. President Grant's visit to the Vineyard in 1874 drew national attention and marked the beginning of several presidential visits to the island. By 1900, Oak Bluffs had developed an amusement park atmosphere with the iconic Flying Horses, toboggan slide and grand seaside hotels. Join local historian Tom Dresser as he reveals the island's transformation into a premier tourist destination.

Whaling on Martha's Vineyard

Whaling on Martha's Vineyard
Author: Thomas Dresser
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2018
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1625859031

Martha's Vineyard became an integral part of the whaling industry at the beginning of the eighteenth century and inspired a lasting romantic enthusiasm for life on the open ocean. From shorewhaling to daring voyages into the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the insular whaling community offered a tempting path for many young Vineyarders to rise from cabin boy to captain. Local businesses were enticed by the potential profit from whaling voyages, and many reaped generous rewards from successful whale oil harvests. Through memoirs, music and memorabilia, author Thomas Dresser recounts this dramatic history of the bygone era of whaling on Martha's Vineyard.

Martha's Vineyard Tales

Martha's Vineyard Tales
Author: Chris Baer
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2018-06-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1493034707

Step back in island time into a time-capsule of Martha’s Vineyard history—the quirky, the gritty, the whimsical, and the hard-to-believe. This collection of stories and unique historical photographs paints a picture of the Vineyard through time. There's more to this New England treasure than postcard perfection! Pick up Martha's Vineyard Tales: From Pirates on Lake Tashmoo to Baxter's Saloon and discover the real stories that make up the island's past. Full of little-known tales and tidbits, surprises await for visitors and Vineyard history enthusiasts alike.

Martha's Vineyard in the American Revolution

Martha's Vineyard in the American Revolution
Author: Thomas Dresser
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2021-11-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1439674175

As an isolated island outpost, Martha's Vineyard faced some unique challenges during the American Revolution. Neutrality was maintained at the start of the war due to the impact of the British regulations on the fishing and whaling industries. While political expediency may have dominated the day, Vineyard Patriots protected their homeland against the Royal Navy and contributed to the revolutionary effort against marauding British redcoats. In 1778, two key events--one involving three young women and the second an armada of forty naval ships--crystalized the opinion of Vineyarders that they should no longer remain neutral to British incursions on the Island and, more broadly, on American soil. Join local author Tom Dresser as he reveals the unheralded contributions of islanders to the fight for freedom.

Martha's Vineyard in the Roaring Twenties

Martha's Vineyard in the Roaring Twenties
Author: Thomas Dresser
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2023-05-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 1467152668

The Roaring Twenties were filled with a range of events, experiences, fears, laws and advances that impacted Martha's Vineyard. Island residents were involved in rumrunning. Dozens died of the Spanish Flu. Women voted on Island. Dorothy West joined the Harlem Renaissance. Immigration from the Azores slowed, and airplanes landed in Katama. Tourism blossomed and business boomed. Local author Thomas Dresser shares the back story and the import of this remarkable decade and how it has shaped Vineyarders.

Ghosts of Martha's Vineyard

Ghosts of Martha's Vineyard
Author: Tom Dresser
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 165
Release: 2020-09-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1439671192

Martha's Vineyard has always been known as a charming seaside destination. But on this island, a cautious tour reveals darker tales that lie beneath its familiar exterior. Walk by the House of Correction, where Old Joe patrols the cells in the afterlife. Savor spirits at the Kelley House, where the ghost of the widow of a whaleman rolls Christmas ornaments across the floor and appears by the fireplace. Meander into the Victorian Inn, now The Christopher, where a honeymooning couple was spooked by towels flung on the floor and a rug that wiggled from beneath their four-poster. Local author and historian Thomas Dresser explores haunted happenings from all six island towns, as well as tales of pirates, murder and the afterlife.

Women of Martha's Vineyard

Women of Martha's Vineyard
Author: Thomas Dresser
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2016-05-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1614239304

Generations of women have traveled to Martha's Vineyard to find solace in its calming waves and varied shoreline. Many prominent and capable women set down roots, contributing to the fabric of the community on the island. Learn of the brilliant poet Nancy Luce, who lived in isolation with her chickens. Emily Post, whose name is synonymous with good manners, sought respite from her personal struggles on the Vineyard. Famed horticulturalist Polly Hill left a perennial legacy for islanders with her tranquil arboretum. In the twentieth century, novelist Dorothy West captured the beauty of Martha's Vineyard with her work. Historian Thomas Dresser provides a series of biographical sketches of these extraordinary women who were bound by their love of the island.

Hidden History of Martha's Vineyard

Hidden History of Martha's Vineyard
Author: Thomas Dresser
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2017-04-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 143966028X

Celebrated local historian Thomas Dresser unearths the little-known stories that laid the foundations for the community of Martha's Vineyard. Behind the mansions and presidential vacations of Martha's Vineyard hide the lost stories and forgotten events of small-town America. What was the island's role in the Underground Railroad? Why do chickens festoon Nancy Luce's grave? And how did the people of the Vineyard react in 1923 when the rum running ship John Dwight sank with the island's supply of liquor aboard? Delve deep below the surface of history to discover the origin and meaning of local place names and the significance of beloved landmarks.

Black Homeownership on Martha's Vineyard

Black Homeownership on Martha's Vineyard
Author: Thomas Dresser
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2024-06-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1540262391

Martha's Vineyard has always been a unique island and vacation destination, made even more diverse with the arrival of Black homeowners in the 19th century. Early landowners included the formerly enslaved Charles Shearer, who along with his wife Henrietta, founded Shearer Cottage. However, the fall of the first Black community on the island came in the 1890s when forty Black and Indigenous people were required to remove their cottages from the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association. Despite this painful blow, other families, including the Wests, Jones and Huberts bought island homes, challenging restrictive and racist covenants that encumbered the properties. They then passed their homes on to subsequent generations, leading to a legacy of Black homeownership that thrives to this day. Authors Thomas Dresser and Richard Taylor explore the challenges, triumphs and the sense of community that has endured.