Chappaquiddick Island

The On Time Ferry shuttling cars to Chappaquiddick.

Chappaquiddick Island is a small island off the eastern end of the larger island of Martha's Vineyard and is part of the town of Edgartown, Massachusetts. The island's name became internationally recognized following the July 18, 1969 incident in which U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy accidentally drove his car off the island's Dyke Bridge, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.

Until the winter of 2007 the two islands were connected by a narrow two-mile (3 km) strip of beach (Katama Beach), which from time to time would become breached due to weather. As of April 2007, the two entities are not connected, separated by a 300-yard (270 m) breach caused by a strong storm.^[1] The southeastern point of this beach is called Wasque Point—a popular fishing spot for catching bluefish, striped bass, etc.

Privately owned barge-like ferries called the On Time II and On Time III shuttle pedestrians, bicycles, and up to three cars at a time between Chappaquiddick and downtown Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard. Two ferries run during the summer months and one during the off-season. The island has just one business, a combination of a general store and an automobile mechanic's garage, which is only open in the summer. Besides the Dyke Bridge, tourists come to the isolated island to visit the MyToi Gardens, a small Japanese garden created amidst the native brush.

Origin

The name Chappaquiddick comes from an Indian word "cheppiaquidne" meaning "separated island", so named because this island is separated from Martha's Vineyard by a narrow strait or gut.^[2][3]

The island has been historically spelled as "Chaubaqueduck" or, alternatively, "Chappaquidgick."^[4]

The island was once mainly the home territory of the Chappaquiddick band of Wampanoag Indians, remaining exclusively theirs well into the nineteenth century. They still have a reservation of about 100 acres (400,000 m²) of brush land in the interior.

Geography

On a map, Chappaquiddick can be located at 41°22′34″N 70°28′33″W / 41.37611°N 70.47583°W / 41.37611; -70.47583. The United States Census Bureau defines it as Block Group 1, Census Tract 2003 of Dukes County, Massachusetts. It has 15.915 km² (6.145 sq mi) of land.^[5]

Administratively, it is part of the town of Edgartown and Dukes County. Socially, its residents form a tight-knit community and see themselves as distinctly separate from the rest of Edgartown.^{[citation needed]} Longtime residents speak of "going to the mainland" when they travel to Edgartown and of "going to America" when (for example) they travel to Boston or Cape Cod. As of the 2000 census, the island had only 172 year-round residents and 475 houses, as well as numerous wildlife preserves and beaches.

Ted Kennedy incident

Main article: Chappaquiddick incident

Events at Chappaquiddick Island gained international attention on July 18, 1969, when the dead body of Mary Jo Kopechne was discovered inside an overturned car in a channel on the island. The car belonged to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who did not report the midnight incident to police authorities until the following morning.^[6] Kopechne's body was recovered from the submerged vehicle, and Kennedy entered a plea of guilty to a charge of "leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury." He received a sentence of two months in jail, which was suspended.

See also

• Cape Poge Lighthouse
• Edgartown Yacht Club Regatta

References

1. ^ Sigelman, Nelson (2007-04-19). "Storm breaches Norton Point Beach". Martha's Vineyard Times. http://www.mvtimes.com/news/2007/04/19/norton_point_beach.php. Retrieved 2007-04-30. 
2. ^ "GNIS Geographic Names Information System Query". USGS. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq. 
3. ^ (Steel; Douglas-Lithgow 1909; MGB 1932).
4. ^ Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Bulletin 30 - Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, edited by Frederick Webb Hodge, part 1 published in 1907, part 2 published in 1910. Use either code US-T142/B30/PT1/1907/p# or US-T142/B30/PT2/1910/p#. B30/pt1/1907/p238
5. ^ Block Group 1, Census Tract 2003, Dukes County United States Census Bureau
6. ^ - 1969 Year in Review: Chappaquiddick - http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1969/Chappaquiddick/12303189849225-7/ -

External links

• Martha's Vineyard Vacation Tips
• Chappy Ferry website
• Chappaquiddick Wampanoag
• Mytoi Gardens
• Wasque Reservation

Coordinates: 41°22′34″N 70°28′33″W / 41.37611°N 70.47583°W / 41.37611; -70.47583