Louis Pease’s Fish Market, North Water Street, Edgartown, c. 1915. spite the Island’s declared neutrality, the people rallied to the Patriot cause and formed companies to defend their homeland. With their long heritage of following the sea, Vineyarders served effectively in various maritime operations. Vineyarders, of course, knew that they could do little to resist a British invasion of the Island, and their worst fears were confirmed on September 10, 1778, when a British fleet of 40 ships sailed into Vineyard Haven harbor. Within a few days, the British raiders had burned many Island vessels and removed more than 10,000 sheep and 300 cattle from the Vineyard. The raid was an economic blow that affected Island life for more than a generation. The whaling industry did not make a real recovery until the early 1820s, when many of the mariners built their beautiful homes in Edgartown. The Civil War brought the end to the Golden Age of Whaling. Ships on the high seas were captured by the Confederate navy, while others were bottled up in the harbors. Either way, it meant financial ruin for the ship owners and the Island. A new industry was “God-sent” in a very literal way. In 1835, the Edgartown Methodists held a camp meeting in an oak grove high on the bluffs at the northern end of the town. The worshippers and their preachers lived in nine improvised tents and the speaker’s platform was made of driftwood. The camp meeting became a yearly affair and one of rapidly growing popularity. Many found the sea bathing and the lovely surroundings as uplifting as the call to repent. The Methodist Campground meetings were the catalysts that transformed the Island from a simple farming community into an internationally known seaside resort. Many who came for A group of African-Americans attending a Summer revival meeting in the MVCMA. c. 1870. a week or two eventually rented houses and later became property owners – a pattern that still occurs today. Summer visitors become seasonal or, as in the case of many writers and artists, yearround residents. These people, along with the many who retire to the Vineyard, bring the world to the Island much as the far-traveled captains did in the great days of whaling. 2022 -23 Travel Guide 121 HISTORY
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