Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard (Wampanoag: ; often simply called The Vineyard) is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts that is known for being an affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the smaller Chappaquiddick Island, which is usually connected to the Vineyard, though storms and hurricanes have separated them, as in 2007. It is the 58th largest island in the United States, with a land area of , and the third-largest on the East Coast of the United States, after Long Island and Mount Desert Island. Martha's Vineyard constitutes the bulk of Dukes County, Massachusetts, which also includes
Martha's Vineyard "land amid the streams". In 1642, the Wampanoag numbered somewhere around 3,000 on the island. By 1764, that number had dropped to 313. A smaller island to the south was named "Martha's Vineyard" by the English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold, who sailed to the island in 1602. The name was later transferred to the main island. It is the eighth-oldest surviving English place-name in the United States. The island's namesake is not definitively known, but it is thought that the island was named after Gosnold's mother-in-law or his daughter, both named Martha. The island was also known as "Martin's Vineyard" (perhaps