Edgartown, Massachusetts Edgartown, Massachusetts Official seal of Edgartown, Massachusetts Edgartown is a town positioned on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States.
It is the governmental center of county of Dukes County. Edgartown has the biggest area in the entirety of Dukes County and Martha's Vineyard.
The "Chappy Ferry", the landing near Edgartown village for the ferry that crosses to Chappaquiddick Island Originally called Great Harbor, it was incorporated in 1671 as Edgar Towne, and is the first of the two initial towns on Martha's Vineyard, along with Tisbury.
Edgartown is well known as having been one of the major ports for the whaling trade during the 1800s.
View of Edgartown Lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard at dawn.
It is positioned at the opening of Edgartown harbor.
Photo of the Whale Tail Sculpture in downtown Edgartown Edgartown was an old whaling port and is now a summer and tourist destination with a multitude of homes assembled by whaling captains and other prominent citizens of before centuries.
In addition to the architecture of the town, Edgartown is easily traversed on foot or bicycle, making it attractive to tourists.
Edgartown was used as the chief shooting locale for the town of Amity in Steven Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster Jaws.
The Edgartown Harbor Light at the end of north Water Street defines the entrance to the Harbor.
The harbor is large and entered through a modest sized channel on the North side of Edgartown.
It opens into Katama Bay, created by a barrier beach that sometimes joins the south end of Chappaquiddick to the remainder of Edgartown, The barrier beach opened amid a spring storm in 2007.
This has led to a 3 knot current through Katama Bay and Edgartown Harbor.
Another feature is South Beach, a small part of the ocean beach that runs the entire southern length of the island from Edgartown to Aquinnah.
It can be reached by driving or riding the bus south from Edgartown center for approximately 2.5 miles.
Much of the beach in Edgartown is open to the enhance with sizeable parking available.
The section of the beach near Katama is often crowded, while the sections further to the west (near Edgartown Great Pond and Oyster Pond) are often less so.
According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town has a total region of 122.7 square miles (318 km2), of which 27.0 square miles (70 km2) is territory and 95.8 square miles (248 km2) (78.01%) is water.
Edgartown is ranked 103rd out of 351 communities in the Commonwealth by territory area, and is the biggest town by territory area in Dukes County.
Edgartown is bordered by Nantucket Sound to the northeast and east, the Atlantic Ocean to the south, West Tisbury to the west, and Oak Bluffs to the north.
Cannonball Park, Edgartown, Massachusetts Felix Neck, Edgartown, Massachusetts Edgartown is positioned at the easterly end of Martha's Vineyard (referred to as "down-island", a vestige of the island's traditional maritime manner of speaking in that as a ship travels east, it is said to be traveling "down east" as longitude decreases towards the Prime Meridian).
The town of Edgartown includes the lesser island of Chappaquiddick, sometimes connected to the rest of Martha'a Vineyard only by a barrier beach which can be breached amid storms.
Chappaquiddick is separated from the town center by Edgartown Harbor and Katama Bay.
The town is close to Nantucket's Muskeget Island, which is seven miles east of Wasque Point, the southeasternmost point of Chappaquiddick.
Katama is the south-central portion of Edgartown.
There are nine beaches, a yacht club, and a several preserves and reservations in the town, including the Wasque Reservation along the south shore of Chappaquiddick and the Cape Pogue Wildlife Refuge along the east shore of the island.
There are two lighthouses in the town, the Cape Pogue Light on Chappaquiddick and the Edgartown Harbor Light in Edgartown Harbor.
Edgartown has an oceanic climate (Koppen Cfb).
Climate data for Edgartown (1946-2012) View of the ferries "On Time II" and "On Time III" crossing between Edgartown and Chappaquiddick Island; the Edgartown Harbor Light can be seen in the far distance on the left.
Norton and master boatbuilder Manuel Swartz Roberts, both of Edgartown assembled and launched the new ferry "on time." In addition to the On Time Ferry, Edgartown is home to another ferry, the Pied Piper, which runs cyclicly between the town and Falmouth, on Cape Cod.
Katama Airpark is a grass field and positioned between Katama Bay and Edgartown Great Pond in the southern part of town; it serves lesser private airplane .
Along the border of the state forest lies Martha's Vineyard Airport, which Edgartown shares with West Tisbury.
In the town, the populace was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older.
On the nationwide level, Edgartown is a part of Massachusetts's 9th congressional district, and is presently represented by William R.
On the state level, Edgartown is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket district, which includes all of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, as well as a portion of Falmouth.
The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a portion of the Cape and Islands district, which includes all of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and most of Barnstable County (with the exception of Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth and a portion of Barnstable). All of Dukes County is patrolled by the Fifth (Oak Bluffs) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police. Edgartown is governed on the small-town level by the open town meeting form of government, and is led by an executive secretary and a board of selectmen.
The town has its own police and fire departments, both positioned just west of the historic center of town.
The town has one postal service, positioned further west and south of the wildlife preserve at Sengekontacket Pond.
The town's Free Public Library is positioned in the center of town.
Edgartown is also the site of the Dukes County Courthouse, the only courthouse on the island.
Edgartown has its own elementary school, which is positioned on the edge of the town center and serves approximately 330 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.
Students from Edgartown Elementary School normally graduate to the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, positioned in Oak Bluffs.
Edgartown Yacht Club Martha's Vineyard Villages & Towns - Martha's Vineyard Online "EDGARTOWN, MA (192501)".
Edgartown, MA: Vineyard Stories.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edgartown, Massachusetts.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Edgartown.
Official Web Site of Edgartown Edgartown Police Department Edgartown School Municipalities and communities of Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States
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