Aquinnah is a New England town located on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. Prior to 1998 the town was known as Gay Head. The population was 344 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is known for its beautiful clay cliffs and quiet natural serenity, which has become less common in the heavily populated Northeastern United States. The clay cliffs/beach are one of the few nude beaches left in the U.S. More recently, it has become celebrated as a center of Wampanoag culture and a center of pride and tradition among members of the tribe, who make up about one-third of the town's voters.

History
Before the arrival of English colonists,...

Aquinnah is a New England town located on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. Prior to 1998 the town was known as Gay Head. The population was 344 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is known for its beautiful clay cliffs and quiet natural serenity, which has become less common in the heavily populated Northeastern United States. The clay cliffs/beach are one of the few nude beaches left in the U.S. More recently, it has become celebrated as a center of Wampanoag culture and a center of pride and tradition among members of the tribe, who make up about one-third of the town's voters.

History
Before the arrival of English colonists, Aquinnah was inhabited by the Wampanoag, a Native Americans in the United States people. First settled by English colonists in 1669, it was officially separated from Chilmark and incorporated in 1870 as Gay Head, Massachusetts. In 1997, by popular vote of 39 to 36, the town changed its name to Aquinnah, which is Wampanoag for'land under the hill. '

Throughout its history, the town has been home to a Wampanoag community, which gained federal recognition in 1987 and controls tribal lands in the town.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 40.8 square miles (105.6 km²), of which 5.4 square miles (13.9 km²) is land and 35.4 square miles (91.7 km²) (86.85%) is water. Aquinnah ranks 334th in area out of 351 communities in the Commonwealth, and is the smallest town by land area on the Vineyard. Aquinnah is bordered by Vineyard Sound to the north and northwest, Chilmark, Massachusetts to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west.

Aquinnah is separated from the town of Chilmark by Menemsha Bight, Menemsha Pond, and Squibnocket Pond, and the only road into town lies between the ponds. (Squibnocket Beach, which lies between the ocean and Squibnocket Pond, also connects to the town, but is often washed out during storms, and there is no road crossing it.) Squibnocket Point, just east of this beach, is the southernmost point on Martha's Vineyard. Aquinnah has four beaches: Philbin Beach (residents only) and Moshup Beach to the southwest, Long Beach (adjacent to Squibnocket Beach but privately owned), and Lobsterville Beach along the Sound side of town. The Gay Head Cliffs are in a protected area at the western end of town, where the Gay Head lighthouse stands.