Founded and named after Lord Jacob Winthrop, who was the leader of the settlers that came to Graves Island, this small town began as just a way for a group of refuges from persecution to find a peaceful place to live. Unlike many of the Night World species at the time, the vampires, werewolves and witches that crossed the Atlantic together came with one purpose in mind and that unity brought them closer together. They had tolerance over each other and even respect, the vampires taking care of everyone financially, the shifters providing security from outsiders who were too curious and the witches who protected them using their magic. Though the witch hunts would cross over, Graves Island and their love of isloation kept all of that away.

     Among the settlers were members of the Harman family and cousins of the Redfern line of vampires. These groups were willing to put aside their differences to work together and that unity and loyalty to each other has kept Winthrop successful in hiding its "big secret" for years. When humans started to move in they continued to keep everything under wraps, learning how to work around their own race related quirks (the shifters need for organs and entrails and the vampires need for blood).

     In the early 1900's six members from each of the two covens that inhabited the island were found murdered by the side of the road on the way to Ashwood. They were all students there, aging from 16 to 18 years old. Though it may have looked like a horrible tragedy to the humans, to the witches they knew something must be hunting them. However, despite the efforts of all the groups, no one could be found responsible for the crime. It was also around then that the Bellmont and Grimm hunters started to peek their heads in.

     The Bellmont Hunters came looking for a serial killer who apparently had done the committed the same crime in Salem as well. They slowly began to work with the races of the island, but it was only a business matter, no personal friendship ever came from it. The Grimm hunters would be driven out by the others and one would pop up again later to murder two key members of a witch clan, claming them to have commited dark magic. He was in turn executed, no goverment involved, by the vampires, and the Bellmonts chose not to look into it.

     In the 1950's a land developer falsified information stating that a local shapeshifter had sold him a large chunk of property and began building a suburban community there. With the environmentalists that the Witches knew and the expensive lawyers of the vampires, it was proven the man had indeed forged the poor shapeshifters signature and all building has ceased.

     Within the past few years there have been slight growth in the population but much of it has been halted. Most of the island is owned by members of the community who refuse to sell.

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