Edgartown Historic District

Edgartown's historic district holds about 250 homes in the heart of the village, the architectural record of a community that grew rich on whaling in the 1800s. Planning for the district began in 1972; voters finally approved it in 1987, after three failed attempts at town meeting. The village itself dates to 1654, expanding northward from the harbor in a rough crescent. The whole area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.