Chappaquiddick Island
Encyclopedia
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
and is part of the town
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...
of Edgartown, Massachusetts
Edgartown, Massachusetts
Edgartown is a town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,779 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dukes County. Edgartown has the largest population and area in the entire Dukes County and Martha's Vineyard.- History :In 1642....
. The island's name became internationally recognized following the July 18, 1969 incident, for which U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Edward M. Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
accidentally drove his car off the island's Dyke Bridge, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne
Mary Jo Kopechne
Mary Jo Kopechne was an American teacher, secretary, and political campaign specialist who died in a car accident in Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts on July 18, 1969, while a passenger in a car being driven by U.S. Senator Edward M...
.
Until 2007, the Martha's Vineyard and Chappaquiddick were connected by a narrow two-mile (3 km) strip of beach (Katama Beach), which from time to time would be breached by the weather. In April 2007, a strong storm breached this beach and the two entities are now separated by a 300 yards (274.3 m) channel. The southeastern point of this beach is called Wasque Point—a popular fishing spot for catching bluefish
Bluefish
The bluefish , called tailor in Australia, is a species of popular marine gamefish found in all climates. It is the sole species of the Pomatomidae family....
, striped bass
Striped bass
The striped bass is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire...
, 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 straitStrait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
or gut.
The island has been historically spelled as "Chaubaqueduck" or, alternatively, "Chappaquidgick."
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 (40 hectares) of brush land in the interior.
Geography
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
defines it as Block Group 1, Census Tract
Census tract
A census tract, census area, or census district is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Usually these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exist within a county...
2003 of Dukes County, Massachusetts
Dukes County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 14,987 people, 6,421 households, and 3,788 families residing in the county. The population density was 144 people per square mile . There were 14,836 housing units at an average density of 143 per square mile...
. It has 15.915 km² (6.145 sq mi) of land.
Administratively, it is part of the town of Edgartown and Dukes County
Dukes County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 14,987 people, 6,421 households, and 3,788 families residing in the county. The population density was 144 people per square mile . There were 14,836 housing units at an average density of 143 per square mile...
. Socially, its residents form a tight-knit community and see themselves as distinctly separate from the rest of Edgartown. 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
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
or Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
. 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
Events at Chappaquiddick Island gained international attention on July 18, 1969, when the dead body of Mary Jo KopechneMary Jo Kopechne
Mary Jo Kopechne was an American teacher, secretary, and political campaign specialist who died in a car accident in Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts on July 18, 1969, while a passenger in a car being driven by U.S. Senator Edward M...
was discovered inside an overturned car in a channel on the island. The car belonged to Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
, who did not report the midnight incident to police authorities until the following morning. Kopechne's body was recovered from the submerged car, 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.