Manaquayak Preserve

From 1908 to 1953 the Vineyard Ice Company operated an ice-harvesting business in this freshwater pond, complete with gantries and conveyor belts and storehouses. Its industrial era now behind it, this kettle pond and its surrounding woodlands are today quiet and scenic. Unlike most Vineyard swimming spots, this property lacks a beach; it is therefore a place less suited to families with children and more suited to experienced swimmers who wish to exercise — families will find Seth’s Pond and other nearby beaches to be more attractive. Because wading and jumping aren’t appropriate here — swimmers enter the pond by slipping off a designated perch directly into five feet of water — visitors will find this preserve, supervised as it is by summer rangers, to be rather sedate.

The pond at the preserve was referred to as Manaquayak by the Wampanoags, derived from Nan-nau-wiy-ack that translates to “safe or secure place." Later it was called Ice House Pond and was the site of the Vineyard Ice Company; the ice cut from the pond was considered some of the best ice on the island due to its clarity and lack of debris, as the depth of the pond allowed ice to form well above the vegetation and sediment in the water.