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1893 Map of Gay Head

Name: 1893 Topographic Map of Gay Head
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1905
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1905

About this map

Elizabeth Islands form a distinctive chain across the northwest, shielding Vineyard Sound from the open waters of Buzzards Bay. This 1887 topography, published in the 1890s, reveals a maritime landscape defined by isolated lights and protected coves. Navigation is critical throughout the archipelago, with Tarpaulin Cove Light and Cuttyhunk Light marking the approaches to the islands, while the Gay Head Light stands watch over the western extremity of Marthas Vineyard.

On the main island, the settlement of Chilmark sits among several coastal ponds like Nashaquitsa Pond and Squibnocket Pond. The presence of the French Watering Place on Naushon Island alludes to the long naval and seafaring history of the sound. Further south, the isolated island of No Mans Land appears as a solitary outpost in the Atlantic Ocean, completing this nineteenth-century portrait of the Dukes County coastline.