The West Chop home of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg recently sold to a 1980 graduate of the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School.

David Grain, a private equity firm manager in the communications sector, purchased the Main street home overlooking Vineyard Haven Harbor for $7.2 million. The home sits on 2.6 acres just past Hatch Road.

The original house was built in 1918 as part of the Thorncroft estate. The property was developed by John Herbert Ware, a Chicago grain merchant, and later sold off in two pieces, divided by Main street, to the Colgate family. Senator Lautenberg, the five-term senator from New Jersey who died at the age of 89 in June, bought the home in 1978. Extensive renovations were done over the years.

The listing agent was Judy Federowicz of Coldwell Banker Landmarks in Vineyard Haven.

Mr. Grain is the founder and managing partner of Grain Management and was previously the senior vice president of AT&T Broadband’s New England region. President Obama appointed him to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council in 2011. He serves on the board of directors for the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation.

He and his family moved to Vineyard Haven full time in 1974. His father, Walter Grain, grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. and first visited the Vineyard in 1954. Mr. Grain’s mother, Dora Grain, was a longtime community activitist and active member of the Vineyard chapter of the NAACP.

Mr Grain and his wife Dr. Lisa Butler were married on the Vineyard. They currently reside in Sarasota, Fla. and have a home in Chilmark.

The Lautenberg property has been on the market since 2004 and at the height of the real estate bubble was listed for $15 million. The house was last listed for $9 million.