The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority Vineyard and Nantucket that are not transported by air. The present Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority was formed from the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamboat Co., which in turn was a consolidation of earlier companies dating to the early 19th century, just before the railroad arrived. Early steamers included the "Marco Bozzaris", "Telegraph", "Massachusetts", "George Law", "Naushon", "Helen Augusta", "Metacomet" (1854), "Canonicus" (1856), "Eagle's Wing" (1854–1861), "Monohansett", "River Queen", "Island Home", "Martha's Vineyard", "Nantucket", "Gay Head", "Uncatena", "Sankaty", "Nobska", "New Bedford", "Naushon", "Mercury", and "Hackensack". The motor vessel retired in 2007. The last steamship in
Martha's Vineyard (steamboat) Martha's Vineyard (steamboat) The Martha's Vineyard was a sidewheel steamer operating as a ferry serving the island of Martha's Vineyard during the second half of the nineteenth century. It was built in 1871 in Brooklyn, NY. It was a 515-ton vessel, 185 feet long, with a 29' beam. A 1961 "Vineyard Gazette" article noted the beauty of the vessel: "The "Martha's Vineyard"...had decorated paddleboxes that made large, rhythmic and beautiful half-circles on the sides." as well as how exposed it was: " The "Martha's Vineyard" at first had no hurricane deck open to passengers, and eventually only a partial one."