Independence On Foot

Revolution on Foot is a spirited 90-minute journey into Martha’s Vineyard’s Revolutionary past, led by Vineyard Preservation Trust historian Norah Van Riper, in 18th-century costume. This immersive walking tour invites you to step directly into the world of 1776 through the people, places, and stories that shaped the Island’s role in America’s fight for independence.

Beginning at the Trust’s Vincent House Museum at 99 Main Street, Norah brings the era vividly to life as she guides you through Edgartown’s historic core. Along the way, you’ll pass the site where Rev. Joseph Thaxter’s home once stood, the place where the Vineyard’s longest-serving Congregational minister lived after arriving on the Island in 1780. Rev. Thaxter was a celebrated Revolutionary War veteran, a chaplain who saw action at Concord Bridge and at Bunker Hill, and who gave the address at the dedication of the Bunker Hill Monument in 1825. From his doorstep, you’ll see the site of the Fourth Congregational Meetinghouse amidst the graves in Old Westside Cemetery, where Rev. Thaxter and numerous Revolutionary War veterans are laid to rest.

From there, you’ll step inside the Cooke House, an exceptional example of 18th-century domestic life. The tour winds by the Benjamin Smith House, home to one of Edgartown’s early militia leaders and today home of the Vineyard Gazette, the Island’s oldest newspaper. By way of Main Street and the Desire (Coffin) Osborn House, you’ll cross the Village Green and pass the historic John Coffin House.  

The experience concludes at the Carnegie Heritage Center, where Norah ties together the Island’s Revolutionary stories with the Trust’s mission to preserve the places where history lives on.