Presidential Visits
Presidential Visits
August 18, 1978
Mrs. Onassis Is Purchaser of 375-Acre Gay Head Tract
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis is the purchaser of one of the most important open tracts of land on the Vineyard, specifically 375 acres of strategically placed property in the Squibnocket Pond area of Gay Head.
The Gazette confirmed Mrs. Onassis' ownership after a widespread check of sources in Washington, New York and elsewhere.
Until now the acquisition of this land, variously known as the Hornblower property and the Red Gate Farm, has been clouded in secrecy.
July 17, 1962
Like Bugs to a Bulb Vacationers Rally to the Lure of Caroline, Jackie and the President
For a few minutes on Sunday afternoon, the Vineyard seemed supremely apathetic to a visit by the President of the United States. But that was because his arrival was unheralded, and when word got out that the cabin cruiser which had tied up at Edgartown carried a boatload of Kennedys - starring Caroline toward the bow - pandemonium broke loose around the harbor.
December 29, 1961
President Kennedy Slept in Room L at Ocean View, and This Is How It Happened, Rep. Sylvia Recalls
President Kennedy Slept in Room L at Ocean View, and This Is How It Happened, Rep. Sylvia Recalls.
The Visit of young Jack Kennedy to Martha’s Vineyard as a young yachtsman in the summer of 1941 hasn’t been forgotten. The adventures of the future President and his brother began before they reached the scene of the regatta at Edgartown.
August 29, 1961
How Grover Cleveland Landed on Vineyard in Emphatic Sense
Last week’s Gazette guessed that Grover Cleveland landed on the Vineyard more than once when he was President. Joseph E. Howes of West Tisbury supplies the information that he did - more so than the Island’s other Presidential visitors. Here is the story:
April 13, 1945
Visits of Franklin D. Roosevelt to Vineyard Waters
Twice the thirty-first President of the United States came close to Martha’s Vineyard, into Vineyard waters, once a few weeks after his first inauguration in 1933 when he skippered the yacht Amberjack II into Edgartown harbor and lay overnight, and again in August 1941, when on the yacht Potomac, bound for the meeting with Winston Churchill which resulted in the Atlantic Charter, he kept rendezvous at Tarpaulin Cove.
June 26, 1933
Seagoing President Spends Night Here
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the nation’s first real seagoing chief executive, made port at Edgartown Sunday afternoon in the midst of the nor’west squall, and lay there at anchor until the following morning when he got under way for Nantucket. The visit was entirely impromptu weather conditions making it highly practical that he seek shelter, and the president did not himself land, although invitations to remain overnight ashore were extended to him. But his son James landed and made the acquaintance of the town, exchanging friendly remarks with various persons he met.
January 6, 1933
Islanders Had Close Ties with Coolidge
The death of Calvin Coolidge was the occasion for much sorrow and sympathy on the Vineyard. The former president had visited the Island many times and several Vineyarders had close ties of friendship and association with him over a period of years. Ulysses E. Mayhew of West Tisbury served with Mr. Coolidge in the state house of representatives in 1907 when the future president was beginning his legislative ecperience.
July 15, 1932
Roosevelt Slips in At Cuttyhunk, Only Stop in Dukes County
Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York, Democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States, sailed into the waters of Dukes County late Wednesday, although not into the waters of the Vineyard. The Roosevelt yawl, Myth II, slipped into Cuttyhunk after logging fifty miles from Stonington, Conn., where the previous night was spent, and Mr. Roosevelt stepped ashore, his arms aching from a long day at the wheel.
August 11, 1921
Coolidge Visits Vineyard: Vice-President Guest of Mr. and Mrs. William M. Butler
Vice President and Mrs. Coolidge and their two sons, have been the guests of Mr. and Mrs. William M. Butler at Mohu, their Lambert's Cove estate, for several days. They left Tuesday. Others in the party at Mohu included Mr. and Mrs. Frank Stearns of Boston, and a member of the secret service.
