Martha’s Vineyard has been a popular home and summer destination for presidents and celebrities for many years. Ulysses S. Grant visited in the 1870s and President Clinton was here almost every year when he was president. Joseph Kennedy rented a summer cottage in 1926 that he later purchased and expanded into the family compound. Ted Danson, Judy Blume and Mike Wallace live on the island. Mary Jo Kopechne died at Chappaquiddick and Chicago-native John Belushi is buried on “the Vineyard.”
The Obama family has spent their summer vacations at Blue Heron Farm in Chilmark on Martha’s Vineyard every year since he became president in 2009. The area has been a destination for wealthy African-American families for over 150 years dating back to William A. Martin, a black whaling captain who had a home on Chappaquiddick Island. Vernon Jordan, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Spike Lee have homes on the island.