Nomans Land (Massachusetts)

For other uses, see No Man's Land (disambiguation).
1971 Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection photograph of Nomans Land

41°15′18.00″N 70°48′54.00″W / 41.2550000°N 70.8150000°W / 41.2550000; -70.8150000

Nomans Land (Wampanoag: Cappoaquit;[1] also mapped "No Man's Land,"[2] "No Mans Land,"[3] or "No Man's island"),[4] is an uninhabited island 612 acres (248 ha) in size, located in the town of Chilmark, Dukes County, Massachusetts.[5] It is situated about 3 miles (4.8 km) off the southwest corner of the island of Martha's Vineyard.

The island was used by the United States Navy as a practice bombing range from 1943 to 1996. In 1998, the Navy transferred the island to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for use as an unstaffed wildlife refuge, which now forms Nomans Land Island National Wildlife Refuge.[4] Due to safety risks from unexploded ordnance and its value as a wildlife habitat, the island is closed to all public use.[6]

  1. ^ ;Banks, Charles. "NOMANS LAND: The History of Martha's Vineyard". history.vineyard.net/. Dukes County History.
  2. ^ The label "No Man's Land" appeared on Google Maps in November 2006.
  3. ^ The label "No Mans Land" appeared on New England-area maps compiled by the National Geographic Society in 1955.
  4. ^ a b Freeman, Paul. "No Man's Land Navy Airfield, No Man's Land Island, MA". Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  5. ^ The town of Chilmark petitioned the Massachusetts General Court to have Nomans Land added to its corporate boundaries in 1716. This petition was granted, although the island had already been included in the original incorporation in 1714 (Banks, 1911).
  6. ^ "Nomans Land Island National Wildlife Refuge". U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved October 8, 2024.