History of Oak Bluffs

The Pequot Hotel is loctaed in the town of Oak Bluffs, known as "Cottage City" until 1907. OakBluffs celebrates it's seaside Victorian heritage throughout the year. It's busy harbor serves pleasure boaters, serious tournament fishermen, and summer ferries from five ports. Compact and lively, Oak Bluffs has long served as a family vacation mecca. Special events are scheduled from May to October, most within easy walking distance of the Pequot Hotel, the ferries and town center.

Oak Bluffs is one of the three main "down-island" towns that are closest to public beaches and ferries, the others are Vineyard Haven and Edgartown.

Vineyard Haven
Known in earlier days as "Nobnocket" to the Natives and "Holmes Hole" to the Plymouth colonists, Vineyard Haven is actually incorporated as the Town of Tisbury. Her bustling business district lies nestled against the Island's only year-round port of entry, and thus serves as the center of daily island activates.
Tisbury has historically epitomized Yankee independence and resilience: In Colonial times, her residents demanded freedom of worship long before the rest of the colonies and supported the American Independence movement in it's early stages. As a result, a British naval force occupied and pillaged Tisbury in 1778. A century later, the Great Fire of 1883 destroyed 73 buildings on both sides of Main Street, Nevertheless, Tisbury continues to thrive and serve as the Island's hub, and is home to almost one-third of the Island's residents.

Edgartown
In 1642, Thomas Mayhew and other settlers set foot on the shores of "Great Harbour" which, until then, had been called "Nunnepog" (Freshwater Place) by the Native Americans. In 1671 the area was incorporated as Edgar Towne, after Edgar, son of the Duke of York. Today, Edgartown's downtown reflects the elegance of the prosperous 19th Century. In 1816, captain Jethro Daggel's "Apollo," became the first ship from Edgartown to engage in whaling. The Old Whaling Church, brick sidewalks and acres of Federal style homes carefully preserve a sense of the whaling era of old New England.

South of the town center, the Katama Plains, a globally threatened prairie eco-system, has been permanently preserved. The plains extend to South Beach.

Chappaquiddick Island, accessible by a short ferry ride, maintains a purely rural character and is home to a number of nature preserves and miles of barrier beach.