Martha's Vineyard Sign Language (M.V.S.L.) is a form of signing unique to the island, and for 200 years everyone there knew at least a few signs. Hearing people even used M.V.S.L. to speak with each other.
In 1885, Alexander Graham Bell visited the Vineyard to research the deaf population there. But he wasn't interested in M.V.S.L. Bell believed deaf people should learn to "speak" using their voices, and he thought sign languages separated deaf people from the hearing world.
Bell was so focused on trying to "solve" deafness that he missed the alternative: that deaf people are connected to each other and the world through signing. Like M.V.S.L. speakers themselves, he didn't think it was remarkable, and the language was nearly lost.
