- West Chop
West Chop is a residential area located in the town of
Tisbury, Massachusetts on the north end of the island ofMartha's Vineyard . It is a peninsula surrounded on the North and West byVineyard Sound and on the East by Vineyard Haven Harbor. A lighthouse,West Chop Light , stands at the north end of the chop. It is accessible by car from Vineyard Haven by two roads, Franklin Street and Main Street.West Chop has no obvious commercial businesses or stores, although it has its own zip code (02573) and a seasonal post office. It also has a private seasonal country club, the West Chop Club, and a nine-hole golf course, Mink Meadows Golf Club. There is also a small graveyard, the West Chop cemetery.
West Chop has been a popular summer resort area since the late 1800s, and has been the summer home to many notable residents, including
Panama Canal engineer Gen. George W. Goethals [ [http://www.rootsweb.com/~gsfa/heroes.html#George%20W.%20Goethals Flemish-American heroes ] ] [ [http://history.vineyard.net/vh1914/vhn34c.htm 1914 Map of Vineyard Haven, Mass. - Section #2C: East of Main Street, South of Crocker Ave., North of Owen Park ] ] [ [http://mvgazette.com/commentary/gazette_chronicle/index.php?document=19720900_history_depth&format=print Vineyard Gazette Online ] ] ,Yale president and U.K. ambassadorKingman Brewster, Jr. [ [http://history.vineyard.net/fmmvnb.htm From Martha's Vineyard National Bank to Around West Chop ] ] ,United States Secretary of the Air Force James H. Douglas, Jr. [ [http://history.vineyard.net/fmmvnb.htm From Martha's Vineyard National Bank to Around West Chop ] ] , composer George Chadwick [ [http://history.vineyard.net/fmmvnb.htm From Martha's Vineyard National Bank to Around West Chop ] ] , and New Jersey senatorFrank Lautenberg [ [http://www.thorncroft.com/thorncroft-history.shtml Martha's Vineyard Hotel, Martha's Vineyard Inn, Martha's Vineyard Bed and Breakfast, Thorncroft Inn, Marthas Vineyard Island, (800)-332-1236 ] ] .In the 1890s, a steamboat wharf with regular steamship landings from the mainland, two hotels, a bowling alley, a billiard hall, and tennis courts existed at the West Chop summer colony [Hough, Henry Beetle. "Martha's Vineyard, Summer Resort 1835-1935". (Tuttle Publishing Co., 1936)] , but today only the club's tennis courts and small private docks remain.
Notes
References
* Hough, Henry Beetle. "Martha's Vineyard, Summer Resort 1835-1935". (Tuttle Publishing Co., 1936)
* [http://lighthouse.cc/westchop/index.html] West Chop Lighthouse
* [http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/maritime/wes.htm] Maritime History of Massachusetts
* [http://www.mvy.com/islandinfo/lighthouses.php] The Lighthouses of Martha's Vineyard
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