Edgartown is a town on Martha's Vineyard that you can visit with your Cape Cod car rental.

Step back in time

When you visit Edgartown with your Cape Cod car rental, you may learn that it was first settled in 1642 by Reverend Thomas Mayhew Jr., who led a group of families to start a colony on the island after its purchase. It was originally called Great Harbor and was incorporated in 1671. It was one of the two original towns on the island, along with Tisbury. The current name came from Edgar, the young son of James II of England, who died at the age of four in 1671. Mayhew led the church in the town, and an Indian woman named Hiacoomes became his partner in the founding churches in the Indian community. This town was known as being one of the primary ports of the whaling industry in the 1800s. When you visit with your Cape Cod car rental you can still see evidence of this in the widow's walks. These were rooms that overlooked the harbor where wives would wait and watch for months for their husbands to return from sea. As more economical alternatives were becoming available, the whaling industry died out. Today, the town is known for its tourism, as well as the site of Chappaquiddick, where Ted Kennedy had a famous accident in 1969.

Explore the town

Edgartown was a whaling port, and as a tourist destination that you can visit with your Cape Cod car rental, there has been a renewal of the old houses from that era. Water Street along the harbor is where you will find many of the "Captain's Homes". There has been a renovation of historical structures, which includes the Whaling Church, a large 18th century church which has been converted into a performing arts centre. When you visit with your Cape Cod car rental, you can park and leave the car behind. This is a great town to explore by foot or bike, so get out in the sun!

Spend the day in sea and sand

At the north end of Water Street is the Edgartown Light, which marks the entrance to the harbor. The harbor opens into Katama Bay, which has a beach barrier that sometimes connects to the south end of Chappaquiddick. South Beach can be found along the length of the island from Edgartown to Aquinnah along the ocean. This is a crashing ocean beach that can be reached by bus or driving about 2.5 miles from the centre of the town. Most of the beach is open to the public and you can visit it with your Cape Cod car rental.

Plan your visit

When you visit with your Cape Cod car rental, you will need to take a ferry across. The island is only about three and a half miles off the southern coast of Cape Cod and there is a ferry that departs from Woods Hole. There is also regularly scheduled air travel from June to October from Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.