Onset, Massachusetts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Onset is a census-designated place and village located in the town of Wareham in Plymouth County in the US state of Massachusetts. The population was 1,292 at the 2000 census.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Onset was developed in the 1880s as a summer camp meeting for Spiritualists. Many of the cottages still standing in Onset were built as second homes for individuals from Boston and other northeastern cities who gathered to hear mediums communicate with the dead. While it was run by the Spiritualists, the village was known as Onset Bay Grove.

Whether you call it Pine Point, Old Pine, Onkowam, Pine Neck, or Onset, Onset Village is rich in history. You can pick up a brochure at the Onset Bay Association office at 4 Union Avenue or the Wareham Public Library entitled "Tour the historic Victorian Village of Onset." A detailed map and description of historic sites will lead you on your own walking tour and provide you with even more history.

Onset really started to flourish in 1848 when trains arrived from Boston to carry industrial goods to market, thus introducing Bostonians to Onset. Cottages were built, hotels constructed; and as the tourist population grew, the tourists arrived daily by train, sailboat, and steamers. Onset was once a major terminus for the old side wheeler steamboat ferries. The route included New Bedford, Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

Tourists enjoyed hotels (the Oak Crest and Anchor Inn on Onset Avenue were the filming sites for the movie, "Kennedys of Massachusetts"), restaurants, theaters, stores, shops, trolley cars, and a casino where people danced to the likes of Tommy Dorsey, Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington. The bathing pavilion had the capacity to give 1,000 bathers woolen suits (word has it tourists rented the suits), comfortable dressing rooms and large Turkish towels.

To wind up the summer season, a Harvest Festival was held in the fall complete with a clambake and dancing.

Other events through the years included fireworks, illumination of the beach; and in the 1950’s, bonfires on Shell Point became a July 4 tradition. Some were 50 feet high and, once ignited after the fireworks were over, burned all night.

Around 1930, with the advent of the automobile and highways opening up the Cape Cod areas, tourists began bypassing Onset. An urban revitalization coupled with the crowded Cape Cod areas and traffic congestion are causing people to rediscover Onset.

[edit] Geography

Onset is located at 41°44′47″N, 70°39′48″W (41.746424, -70.663251)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.4 km² (1.3 mi²). 2.8 km² (1.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (16.92%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,292 people, 568 households, and 323 families residing in the village. The population density was 461.9/km² (1,192.7/mi²). There were 910 housing units at an average density of 325.3/km² (840.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 74.46% White, 7.74% African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.24% Asian, 13.08% from other races, and 3.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.78% of the population.

There were 568 households out of which 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.2% were married couples living together, 17.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the village the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $31,250, and the median income for a family was $36,739. Males had a median income of $37,629 versus $26,903 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,088. About 13.0% of families and 23.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.8% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] References

Moore, William D., 1997. "'To Hold Communion with Nature and the Spirit-World:' New England's Spiritualist Camp Meetings, 1865-1910." In Annmarie Adams and Sally MacMurray, eds. Exploring Everyday Landscapes: Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, VII. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 0-8704-9983-1.