Edgartown dates to 1642, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #109 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 423 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1794.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Edgartown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Edgartown is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #109 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Edgartown’s overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Edgartown’s 854 sits above most of its state (95% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 451 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1642.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Edgartown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1642, Rev. Thomas Mayhew, Jr. led a group of families to start a colony on the island after its purchase by his father Thomas Mayhew. Originally called Great Harbor, it was incorporated on July 8, 1671, as Edgar Towne, named for Edgar, whose father James II of England, was heir presumptive to the English throne. Those who chose the name to honor the monarchy did not know Edgar had died at the age of three on June 8, 1671. It was one of the two original towns on Martha's Vineyard, along with Tisbury, incorporated at the same time.
Passages that mention Edgartown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts1911 · page 197Read the page →
Read the text
^Dukes Deeds, IX, 758. Dated Feb. 8, 1768. See also deeds from estate of Rodolphus W. Coffin, April 29, 1842 (XXVII, 352) and Elijah Norton, Jan. 25, 1847 (XXXII, 150) to the town of Edgartown. In 1765 the town had voted to enlarge the old burial ground by the purchase of an additional acre. *This wreck was the subject of a contemporaneous poem, of little merit except as an historical narrative. The eighteenth stanza reads as follows: — " Six men belonged to Edgartown, They left four widows in distress;
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts1911 · page 128Read the page →
Read the text
On April 28, 1687, the town of Edgartown agreed with George Martin as to the keeping of "Widow" Jones, the widow of Thomas Jones. This transaction may have been without significance of relationship, a "farming out" of the town's poor.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Edgartown, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1780s to the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Edgartown. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1889Marthas Vineyard 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 Edgartown.
Every building
Edgartown, building by building, 1884–1914
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewOldest house in Edgartown, c. 1865
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Edgartown’s page.
In 1642, according to Wikidata. Edgartown’s post office opened in 1794, and the first U.S. census counted 1,332 people here in 1790.
How does Edgartown rank for history?
Edgartown is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #109 of 283 in Massachusetts. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Edgartown?
Three places: the Edgartown Village Historic District (listed 1983), the Edgartown Harbor Light (1987) and the Cape Poge Light (1987).
How old are the homes in Edgartown?
12% of Edgartown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1984.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
c. 1865
