Edwin DeVries Vanderhoop Homestead

The Edwin DeVries Vanderhoop Homestead, is an historic house at 35 South Road, Aquinnah, Massachusetts, United States. The c. 1890s house is the first built by a member of the Vanderhoop family, which is prominent in the town politics of Aquinnah and in the tribal organization of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.It is now operated as a museum called the Aquinnah Cultural Center and features exhibits on tribal history and culture.HistoryWilliam Adriann Vanderhoop was the first member of the Vanderhoop family to move to what is now Aquinnah, Massachusetts on the island of Martha's Vineyard, but was then a reservation of the Wampanoags of Gay Head. In 1837 he married a Wampanoag woman and raised a large family, whose descendants continue to be prominent in the affairs of the town and tribe. In 1869 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts began the process of incorporating the town of Gay Head by dividing the tribal lands among its members. Vanderhoop purchased one of the tracts defined by the state from a tribal member in 1890 for $40, and immediately signed it over to his son, Edwin DeVries Vanderhoop. He was a whaling captain, and the first Wampanoag to sit in the state legislature.Sometime between 1890 and 1897 the younger Vanderhoop constructed a house on the property. With only modest changes to its structure, and the addition and loss of outbuildings on the property, it has retained its original character. The house was acquired by the non-profit Aquinnah Cultural Center, and has been converted into a cultural center and museum. Most of the land owned by Vanderhoops was acquired by the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank at the same time.