Home
Plan Your Visit
Discover, explore, and strengthen your connection to Martha’s Vineyard and its diverse heritage.
What’s On
Explore our ongoing, upcoming, and online exhibitions
Become a member
Join our community of supporters and enjoy special benefits
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Saltzman Cabinet of Curiosities
Vanity: The Last Working Catboat
Built over the winter of 1928-29 by Edgartown boatbuilder Manuel Swartz Roberts for commercial fisherman Thomas Pease and his son Oscar, the catboat Vanity worked the waters of Martha’s Vineyard for over half a century. In this exhibit, explore the life of the last working catboat of Martha’s Vineyard through artifacts, photographs, archival materials, and film footage.
READ MORE
Beim Gallery
Jaws at 50: An Island Story
Our 2025 exhibition Jaws at 50 was one of the Museum’s most popular shows ever, celebrating the Vineyard’s starring role in Steven Spielberg’s classic. Because of that excitement, we’re keeping the story alive with Jaws at 50: An Island Story. This smaller follow-up highlights the Islanders who built sets, piloted boats, and stepped in front of the camera, showing how their creativity and spirit helped bring Amity Island to life.
READ MORE
Hollinshead, Cox, and Fleischner Galleries
Let’s Go to Circuit Avenue!
One of the Island’s most beloved streets, Circuit Avenue is a vibrant feast for all senses, and a summer destination for children and adults alike. This kid and family-centered exhibit explores the sights, sounds, and smells of Circuit Avenue through the years, offering a tactile adventure for our youngest visitors and a nostalgic look back for those who grew up walking up and down this iconic street.
READ MORE
COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS
Woven Bag
Contemporary Wampanoag artists and artisans help us picture the world of their ancestors, the first inhabitants of this Island, by making objects using old and new materials while drawing on old and new techniques.
Mary Norton Sampler
Mary H. Norton made this sampler in Holmes Hole (now Vineyard Haven) when she was around 12 years old.
Jagging Wheel
Though most familiar in the form of whales’ teeth carved with pictures of ships, scrimshaw was an extremely varied art.
Chappy
Mary Drake Coles learned to paint during childhood summers on Martha’s Vineyard, in her teens in Provincetown, and later at Smith College, in Paris, Majorca, Haiti, and New York.
Zeb Tilton Portrait
Benton found inspiration on Martha’s Vineyard from his first visits to the Island in the 1920s until his death in 1975.
Dancing Dolls (Brinquinho)
Mary Paiva Drouin, the daughter of a first-generation Portuguese immigrant family, recalls how her family’s cherished “dancing dolls” in traditional Portuguese dress were paraded through the streets of Oak Bluffs during the Holy Ghost Festival.
Brickman’s Shirt
One of the earliest Jewish families to settle here, the Brickmans operated a shoe business on Main Street in Vineyard Haven that became Brickman’s department store.
Dial Telephone Service Comes to Aquinnah
This photograph, staged in May 1955 to celebrate the introduction of dial telephone service in Chilmark and Gay Head, captures the tension between tradition and modernity.
Gislaine Portrait
In 2017, the Museum exhibited photographer Mila Lowe’s “Local Immigrants Project.” Lowe undertook the project to document the wide diversity of recent immigrants to the Island.
Luce Dressing Box
Captain Richard G. Luce presented this box to his daughter, Abbie Bradford Luce, upon returning from one of his many long voyages.
Life Preserver
Life preserver from the City of Columbus, which crashed on the underwater rocks of Devil’s Bridge in January 1884 when a gash was torn in the hull and seawater rushed into the steamer.
Priscilla Pearl Necklaces
Manufactured in Hyannis at the Priscilla Laboratory, these glass and herring scale “pearls” were named “Priscilla Pearls” and sold around the country through mail order and at Lina Call’s Priscilla Pearl Shop in Edgartown.
Violin
Owned by E. Gale Huntington, this violin was possibly carried around Cape Horn on a voyage by Menemsha fisherman Lyman Cottle.
Monohansett
Monohansett (1862), depicted in this painting by J. P. Winegar, was the first reliable steam ferry to serve Martha’s Vineyard.
Fall River Line Advertisement
Palatial “night boats” like Plymouth connected New York and Martha’s Vineyard.
“Enchanted Isle” Poster
This 1934 travel poster promoted the Vineyard as a playground of the rich and stylish.
Islander
Islander, which operated from 1950-2007, revolutionized ferry service to the Vineyard.
Island Queen Advertisement
Summer “excursion boats” like the Island Queen carried day tourists to Oak Bluffs.
Provincetown-Boston Airlines Timetable
Provincetown-Boston Airline was the Island’s leading air carrier for 40 years.
Islander and Island Home
Islander (1950) passes her successor Island Home (2007) in Vineyard Haven Harbor.
Satinet Sample
Hard-wearing satinet cloth: the West Tisbury woolen mill’s signature product.
Vanderhoops at Aquinnah Circle
Harrison and Selina Vanderhoop selling Wampanoag crafts at Aquinnah Circle.
King’s Paint Mill
Clay pigments from King’s Paint Mill in Chilmark tinted the houses of southern New England.
Bricks on Pier
The signature product of the Roaring Brook brickyard awaits shipment to the mainland.
Erford Burt Bass Boat
One of Erford Burt’s signature “bass boats” in the basin at Burt’s Boatyard on the Lagoon.
Model of the SS Drottingholm
Van Ryper offered its customers affordable “models of ships on which you’ve sailed.”
Dairy Cooperative Bottle
Martha’s Vineyard Cooperative Dairy helped the Island’s small farmers, but could not compete with mainland producers.
Chilmark Chocolates Sign
Chilmark Chocolates was known for its delicious product, and its community spirit.
Black Dog Catalog
The Black Dog began as a year-round restaurant, but became a lifestyle brand.
Harpoon
The ancestors of the Wampanoag people who live here now fished using harpoons such as this one, which was found along the shore in Aquinnah.
Joseph Belain Portrait
Over the course of 20 whaling voyages, Aquinnah-born Joseph Belain (1848-1926), served as harpooner, second mate, first mate, and twice as a replacement master.
Whale and Porpoise Oil Samples
Beginning in the mid-19th century and ending in the 1940s, William F. Nye Company of New Bedford refined and processed whale and porpoise oil for various purposes.
Nomansland Codfish Box
Salted and dried cod was sold to Fischer Brothers of Vineyard Haven, who packaged it in wooden boxes like this one and sold it locally as well as shipping it to New Bedford and Providence.
Eel Pot
Before the 20th century, eels were caught and eaten in great numbers by islanders, who captured them in the fall and winter using pots like this one.
Menemsha Swordfishing Fleet
Equipped by a tall mast for lookouts and a long narrow platform for the harpooner jutting out from the bow, “Sword boats” supplied a market in which swordfish was seen as a delicacy.
“Dorothy and Everett” Weathervane
Using the vessels he knew as inspiration, local fisherman Jimmy Morgan made weathervanes and sold them in his small shop in Menemsha to supplement his income.
Photograph of Fishermen
Fishermen could once make a good living selling the fish they caught in net traps along the northwest shore of the Vineyard.
Chart of Holmes Hole
This view of Holmes Hole (now Vineyard Haven) harbor in 1781 looks familiar at first glance, but a closer look reveals unfamiliar features.
The Harbor of Holmes Hole
Twelve years before this chart was drawn in 1847, the citizens of Holmes Hole blocked Bass Creek with a worn-out schooner filled with rocks, making way for Water Street and Union Wharf.
Martha’s Vineyard Railroad Train on the Beach
The Martha’s Vineyard Railroad operated from 1872 to 1896, carrying passengers from the Oak Bluffs steamer wharf to the outskirts of Edgartown, then to Katama.
1938 Beach Road Flooding
This photograph, looking down Beach Road toward Five Corners, was taken during the 1938 Hurricane.
Bathhouse Debris on Oak Bluffs Steamer Wharf
Bathhouses were a fixture of Oak Bluffs — a monument to the social customs of a bygone era — until September 1944, when the Great Atlantic Hurricane struck the Island.
Bunker on South Beach
This concrete structure, used to train World War II naval aviators, originally stood in the dunes behind the beach; by the late 1960s or early 1970s, it stood at the water’s edge.
Moving the Gay Head Light
The brick tower of the current Gay Head Light was built in 1856, and by the early twenty-first century, erosion had left it dangerously close to the edge of the cliffs.
EVENTS
Introduction to Martha’s Vineyard History Lecture Series, Week 3
If you’ve ever wanted to dig deep into the story of this Island with the help of an expert guide, this six-week lecture series, taught by MVM Research Librarian Bow Van Riper, is the perfect place to begin. From the seismic shifts of European arrival in the 1600s to the modern challenges of the 2020s, each week offers a unique lens on the Island’s evolution. Engage with stories of revolution, prosperity, and transformation as you navigate through centuries of history.
Inside 19th-Century Whaling Logbooks
Step aboard a 19th-century whaleship through the pages of a whaling logbook. In conversation, MVM Curator of Exhibitions Anna Barber and historian Matthew Stackpole explore the personal stories, creative marks, and lasting legacy of the Charles W. Morgan, drawing from the Museum’s remarkable collection and the Hidden Worlds exhibition.
Exhibition Opening Reception for The Crunch
Celebrate the opening of The Crunch on Saturday, January 24 from 4–6 pm.
This exhibition explores Aquinnah’s demolition derby of the early 1980s, a short-lived but legendary Island tradition. Through photographs and stories, The Crunch captures the mayhem and community spirit behind this unforgettable chapter in Vineyard history. Free and open to all.
Alpha-gal Syndrome on Martha’s Vineyard
A clear, compassionate talk on Alpha-gal Syndrome with clinician Aubrey Stimola Ryan, offering science-based guidance and local perspective.
Introduction to Martha’s Vineyard History Lecture Series, Week 4
If you’ve ever wanted to dig deep into the story of this Island with the help of an expert guide, this six-week lecture series, taught by MVM Research Librarian Bow Van Riper, is the perfect place to begin. From the seismic shifts of European arrival in the 1600s to the modern challenges of the 2020s, each week offers a unique lens on the Island’s evolution. Engage with stories of revolution, prosperity, and transformation as you navigate through centuries of history.
Introduction to Clay: Creating Small Animals with Washington Ledesma
A hands-on clay workshop with artist Washington Ledesma, inviting participants to create a small clay animal in a relaxed, welcoming setting—no experience required.
Ticked Off: An Epidemiologist’s Take on Our Tick Problem
Epidemiologist Lea Hamner examines local tick-borne disease trends, risks, and prevention strategies on Martha’s Vineyard.
Introduction to Martha’s Vineyard History Lecture Series, Week 5
If you’ve ever wanted to dig deep into the story of this Island with the help of an expert guide, this six-week lecture series, taught by MVM Research Librarian Bow Van Riper, is the perfect place to begin. From the seismic shifts of European arrival in the 1600s to the modern challenges of the 2020s, each week offers a unique lens on the Island’s evolution. Engage with stories of revolution, prosperity, and transformation as you navigate through centuries of history.
Mid-Winter’s Glow: A Talk & Tasting
Join Island neighbors for a midwinter evening of shared stories and tastings exploring how food, ritual, and togetherness have brought warmth and light to the darkest days of the year.
The Farmer and The Shark
A final exclusive screening of The Farmer & the Shark, followed by a post-film conversation with filmmaker John Campopiano, producer Rick DiGregorio, and members of Craig Kingsbury’s family, exploring his lasting influence on Jaws.
Tick Free Martha’s Vineyard: Building an Island-Wide Strategy
An introduction to TICK FREE MV and its community-driven approach to tick safety, prevention, and Island-wide collaboration.
Introduction to Martha’s Vineyard History Lecture Series, Week 6
If you’ve ever wanted to dig deep into the story of this Island with the help of an expert guide, this six-week lecture series, taught by MVM Research Librarian Bow Van Riper, is the perfect place to begin. From the seismic shifts of European arrival in the 1600s to the modern challenges of the 2020s, each week offers a unique lens on the Island’s evolution. Engage with stories of revolution, prosperity, and transformation as you navigate through centuries of history.
Valentine’s Eve Soirée
Celebrate connection in all its forms at this lively Valentine’s Eve Soirée at the Museum. Enjoy wine, catered light appetizers, and live music by Jeremy Berlin in a warm, welcoming setting. Mingle with friends or meet new people through nostalgic, lighthearted games designed to spark conversation and laughter. A relaxed, social evening focused on music, play, and good company. A take-home gift is included.
Rails Across the Vineyard
Steam trains along State Beach, Island trolleys, and a never-built electric railway once defined a golden age of Vineyard transportation. MVM Research Librarian Bow Van Riper explores this forgotten history—and its connection to today’s VTA.
Tales from the Tackle Box: Cooper Gilkes and Nelson Seiglman
After a sold-out September talk, fishing partners Cooper “Coop” Gilkes and Nelson Sigelman return to share stories from decades on Vineyard waters. From Derby traditions to legendary catches, this lively conversation explores fishing, friendship, and the Island spirit that keeps anglers coming back year after year.
Hearing the Movies: The Life of John Williams
A virtual talk with biographer Tim Greiving exploring the life and work of legendary film composer John Williams, from Jaws and Star Wars to E.T. and Schindler’s List.
Conversation With An Island Jazz Man
Join Island jazz legend Dave Kish for an evening of conversation with longtime friend and Museum Director of Programming Laurel Redington. Together, they’ll explore Dave’s Island history, his decades on the air at MVYRADIO, and the jazz legacy he’s helped shape on Martha’s Vineyard—through stories, reflections, and shared memories.
Club Women: Sociability and Social Change on the Vineyard, 1880-1920
Explore how Vineyard women helped shape social and civic life between 1880 and 1920 through clubs and organizations that offered both community and influence. Led by MVM Research Librarian Bow Van Riper, this talk examines how women—excluded from formal political power—used social networks and advocacy to advance causes such as education, health care, and civic reform.
VISIT OUR CAMPUS
With an exciting slate of exhibits, guest speakers, and community events, there’s always something new to discover at MVM.
OPEN 10 – 4
TUESDAY – SUNDAY
YEAR-ROUND
100,000+
ITEMS IN
OUR COLLECTION
Explore maps, manuscripts, objects, photos, oral histories, and much more.
2,500
FEET FROM THE
FERRY DOCK
Our Vineyard Haven campus is just a 10-minute walk from the Steamship Authority terminal.
100
YEARS OF SERVING THE ISLAND COMMUNITY
We are committed to collecting, preserving, and sharing all facets of the Island’s story, from the familiar to the untold.
LEARN
We provide thought-provoking and engaging learning experiences for students of all ages.
RESEARCH
We bring the Island’s history and culture to life through research and resources that encourage curiosity and compassion.
SUPPORT & DONATE
Your support empowers us to continue inspiring, educating, and strengthening our community.
“We believe in the mission and vision of the MV Museum. We want our grandchildren to love and appreciate this Island’s history, art, and culture as much as we do, so it is very important to us that the Museum continues to grow and thrive!”
BARBARA COUCH
