Visit the Historic Martha’s Vineyard Lighthouses

Lighthouse buffs consider the five lighthouses on Martha’s Vineyard to be the most diverse in a small, contained area in the country. While the Edgartown Lighthouse can be enjoyed from the Harbor View Hotel veranda, our concierge can provide directions and information on the other four. Note* While staying on Martha’s Vineyard, lighthouse buffs will also be able to see the lighthouse at Taurpaulin Cove, Nobska Light in Falmouth and Great Point Light in Nantucket. All of the Island's lighthouses, except the Cape Poge Lighthouse, are easily accessible by road.

The Gay Head, East Chop, and Edgartown Lighthouses are maintained by the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society under a 30-year lease with the United States Coast Guard. Each light has a large, fenced-in park area that makes a perfect place to relax and enjoy the island's view. The Gay Head and East Chop Lighthouses are open for sunset tours from late June through mid-September, from 1.5 hours before sunset to 0.5 hour after. The Gay Head Lighthouse is open Friday to Sunday; the East Chop Lighthouse just Sundays. Musicians and vocalists often perform impromptu. A $3 admission fee is requested for adults; children under 12 are admitted free.

The lighthouses are available for wedding ceremonies and other special events. Call the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society at 508-627-4441. Tax-deductible donations to help save the lights may be designated as "lighthouse donations" and mailed to The Martha's Vineyard Historical Society, P.O. Box 827, Edgartown MA 02539.

About the Lighthouses

The West Chop Lighthouse
Was the Island's last manned light. The lighthouse was built in 1817, and in 1838 the wooden building was replaced by the present brick structure. It was moved back from the edge of the 60-foot-high bluff in 1848 and again in 1891. In recent times, the small caretaker's cottage at its foot has been occupied by Coast Guard personnel. Vineyard Haven's harbor has been recognized as a port of protection since 1645, and for 300 years it was one of the most important ports on the Atlantic coast. Originally called "Holmes Hole," it acquired the name, Vineyard Haven in 1871.

The East Chop Lighthouse
In the mid-1800s, Captain Silas Daggett built a privately owned lighthouse on East Chop. It was funded by local merchants who sailed in the area and by some of the ships passing through. Many, however, refused to pay a fee after they arrived safely in port and this, too, lasted only six years. In 1875, the U.S. government bought the lighthouse and its land for $6,000 and the present cast-iron structure was built on the cliff 79 feet above the sea. Until 1988, when it was painted white, the East Chop Light was fondly called the Chocolate Lighthouse, for its brown-red color.

Edgartown Lighthouse
Originally built in 1828, on a small man-made island in the Edgartown harbor. For the first year, the only way to get to the light was by boat, but another $2,500 was allocated to build a foot bridge. The original structure was replaced in 1938 by one that was rafted to the Vineyard from Ipswich, MA. Although the new light was placed on the original site, sand had filled in the area between the island and the mainland, and the current Edgartown Lighthouse now stands on shore.

The Gay Head Lighthouse
Built dangerously close to the ever-eroding cliffs, the red brick light was built in 1844 to replace a wooden tower authorized by President John Quincy Adams. In 1856, the marvelous Fresnel lens with its 1,009 prisms was installed, after having been proudly exhibited at the World's Fair in Paris. It is now preserved at the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society in Edgartown, and is lighted every evening after dark throughout the year. The dangerous shoal waters of Vineyard Sound. Infamous for shipwrecks, the colored clay cliffs of Gay Head have been scenes of terrible calamity including the wreck of the steamship, City of Columbus in January 18, 1884. Over 100 lives were lost when the ship went aground on the rocky shoal directly below Gay Head Lighthouse and the Captain made the fatal mistake of trying to back his ship into deep water, where she quickly flooded and sank.

The Cape Poge Lighthouse
By far the Island's most remote lighthouse, Cape Poge Light was built in 1801. The original lighthouse was made of wood and had a small caretaker's cottage. The present white wooden structure was built in 1922, 55 feet high with a light visible for a distance of 12 miles. In 1985 it gained the distinction of being the first entire lighthouse to be moved by helicopter; in 1997 the lantern was again moved by helicopter for repairs. The lighthouse's present site is 300 feet from the sea.

The Trustees of Reservations (508-627-3599) offer tours of the Cape Poge Lighthouse.

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