Chappaquiddick Island (Massachusett language: tchepi-aquidenet; colloquially known as "Chappy"), a part of the town of Edgartown, Massachusetts, is a small island off the eastern end of Martha's Vineyard. Norton Point, a narrow barrier beach, sometimes connects Martha's Vineyard and Chappaquiddick between Katama and Wasque (pronounced way-sqwee). Breaches occur due to hurricanes and strong storms separating the islands for periods of time, most recently on December 22, 2022. While both land forms have mostly been connected to one another in modern history, Chappaquiddick is nevertheless referred to as an island. Visitors come to the isolated island for beaches, cycling, hiking, nature tours and birding, and the MyToi Gardens, a small Japanese garden created amidst the native brush. Two fire trucks are stationed on the island from Edgartown. Chappaquiddick Road and Poucha Road, both paved, provide access to sandy, woodland roads, trails, and shorelines. Chappaquiddick became internationally known following an incident of the same name in 1969, when U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy accidentally drove his car off the island's Dike Bridge into Poucha Pond. Kennedy's 28-year-old passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned inside the car. Name and early settlement The name Chappaquiddick comes from a Native American word "cheppiaquidne" meaning "separated island", so named because this island is separated from Martha's Vineyard by a narrow strait or gut. The island has been historically spelled "Chaubaqueduck" or, alternatively, "Chappaquidgick". The island was once mainly the home territory of the Chappaquiddick band of Wampanoag Indians, and remained exclusively theirs well into the nineteenth century. They still have a reservation of about (40 hectares) of brush land in the interior. Early colonists settled Edgartown in 1642, and quickly proclaimed Chappaquiddick as village property. The first homes owned by people of exclusively European descent were built around 1750; these residents raised livestock and farmed the land. Geography The Trustees of Reservations, a non-profit conservation organization, owns and manages nearly of land from the southeastern point, Wasque, to Cape Poge, at the northeast. Wasque is a popular fishing spot for catching bluefish, striped bass, and other species. The Cape Poge Lighthouse, first erected in 1801, has served ships navigating the shoalwaters and shallows of Muskeget Channel. Chappaquiddick is mainly defined by its diverse land and water ecologies with expansive salt marshes, ponds, red cedar woods, grassy meadows, and coastal wildlife including sandpipers, piping plovers, blue heron, osprey, and oysters. The main interior bodies of water include Cape Poge