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History · Aquinnah

Aquinnah dates to 1669, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 23 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1800.

1669founded
3on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Aquinnah’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Aquinnah began

When was Aquinnah founded?

1669

Aquinnah dates its founding to 1669 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 200 in 18002020 census: 439357 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓

What stands out about Aquinnah’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1820 and 1950, then grew 4-fold.On the map since 18895 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1972. Watch Aquinnah change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1669, 107 years before the Declaration of Independence.A historic districtThe Gay Head-Aquinnah Town Center Historic District takes in 23 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · People over time

Aquinnah, census by census

010020030040018001850190019502000340 in 1820Low: 88

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1820 and 1950, then grew 4-fold.

18 censuses, 1800–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Aquinnah’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Aquinnah on the map, 1889 to 1972

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Aquinnah. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Aquinnah on the 1889 USGS mapAquinnah on the 1893 USGS mapAquinnah on the 1944 USGS mapAquinnah on the 1951 USGS mapAquinnah on the 1972 USGS map1889Gay Head sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Aquinnah.

Timeline

Aquinnah, 1669 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 17th century
  2. 1669
    FoundingAquinnah is established
  3. 18th century
  4. 1782In the archiveMap of the Island of Martha's Vineyard with its Dependencies RMG F0059
  5. 1799BuiltGay Head Light is built
  6. 19th century
  7. 1848Born hereEdwin DeVries Vanderhoop is born here
  8. 1873Post officeThe Gay Head post office opens
  9. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1890BuiltEdwin DeVries Vanderhoop Homestead is built
  11. 1898In the archiveMassachusetts Gay Head Sheet
  12. 20th century
  13. 1917In the archiveHsl-pc-gh-MV at Gay Head Landing
  14. 1930In the archiveMartha's Vineyard and Nantucket Islands (66823)
  15. 1941Post officeThe Gay Head post office closes
  16. 1980In the archiveGay Head Light
  17. 1996In the archiveSeal of Gay Head, Massachusetts
  18. 21st century
  19. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 439
The story

How Aquinnah came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Aquinnah.

Read it all →

Before the arrival of English colonists, Martha's Vineyard and Aquinnah were inhabited by the Wampanoag, a Native American people, related to the larger Algonquin Nation of Southern New England. Historically they spoke an Algonquian language, part of a large language family that extended down the Atlantic Coast. Based on archeological testing, scientists estimate the earliest signs of human occupation in what is now Aquinnah date back 10,000 to 7,500 years.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Aquinnah, decade by decade

6 decades in the archive, from the 1780s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1780s2 items
Map of the Island of Martha's Vineyard with its Dependencies RMG F00591782Map of the Island of Martha's Vineyard with its Depen…MapGay Head Light, 17991789Gay Head Light, 1799Document
1890s–1930s3 items
Massachusetts Gay Head Sheet1898Massachusetts Gay Head SheetMapHsl-pc-gh-MV at Gay Head Landing1917Hsl-pc-gh-MV at Gay Head LandingMartha's Vineyard and Nantucket Islands (66823)c. 1930Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Islands (66823)
1940s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s–1990s2 items
Gay Head Light1980Gay Head LightSeal of Gay Head, Massachusetts1996Seal of Gay Head, Massachusetts
Today3 recent
Westbound on State Road entering2008Westbound on State Road enteringSunset Seduction - fishing Gay Head beach in town of Aquinnah, Martha's Vineyard2006Sunset Seduction - fishing Gay Head beach in town of …Ma towns2006Ma towns
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Hsl-pc-gh-MV at Gay Head Landing
Retake this viewHsl-pc-gh-MV at Gay Head Landing, 1917

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Aquinnah’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 24 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
24
each building in a district counts
first listed
1987
Gay Head Light
Gay Head Light, built 1799Gay Head-Aquinnah Town Center Historic DistrictEdwin DeVries Vanderhoop Homestead, built 1890
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Craftsman1
Gay Head LightBuilt 1799
Gay Head-Aquinnah Town Center Historic DistrictGreek Revival
Edwin DeVries Vanderhoop HomesteadBuilt 1890

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Gay Head, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Gay HeadIndian LandsLobsterville
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Aquinnah
Gay HeadGay Head Indian

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Aquinnah’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHsl-pc-gh-MV at Gay Head Landing: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Chilmark1 historic placeAGosnold1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Aquinnah’s history

What year was Aquinnah founded?

In 1669, according to Wikidata. Aquinnah’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1800 counted 200 people here.

What is on the National Register in Aquinnah?

Three places: the Gay Head Light (listed 1987), the Gay Head-Aquinnah Town Center Historic District (1999) and the Edwin DeVries Vanderhoop Homestead (2006).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.