Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts

Oak Bluffs is a town located on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,713 at the 2000 census. It is one of two Steamship Authority ferry ports on the island, although the Oak Bluffs steamships only operate in the summer.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Government
5 Education
6 Gallery
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] History

Oak Bluffs was first settled in 1642 and was officially incorporated in 1880 as Cottage City. Before its incorporation, it was part of Edgartown. The town re-incorporated in 1907 as Oak Bluffs, so named because the town was the site of an oak grove along the bluffs.

Oak Bluffs originally began as the center for tourism on the Vineyard. While the other towns were more focused on industry, Oak Bluffs became a mecca for travelers from around the world as early as the beginning of the 1800‘s. It also became a center of the thriving 19th century Methodist movement.

In the area known now as the Martha's Vineyard Campground Meeting Association (MVCMA) or “The Campground“, members of the Methodist church would come each summer to pitch tents and have open air meetings. As these meetings became more and more popular, returning visitors began replacing the tents with small wooden buildings generally known now as Gingerbread Cottages. This name originated from the ornate molding and bright colors that these summer homes were painted and because of their quaint, almost storybook look. With the Methodist camp meetings taking place in the center, the campground expanded in a circular pattern around the meeting area until hundreds of the small cottages sprang up. Later a more permanent structure was built, called the Tabernacle. This covered open sided structure allowed speakers and meeting attendees to weather the elements and gave rise to a community center which is still in use today.

The campground Gingerbread cottages are cherished historic landmarks as well as very expensive real estate. Many are still family owned and passed on generation to generation.

In 1873 the neighbouring community of Harthaven was established by William H. Hart when he purchased a lot from the Oak Bluffs Land and Wharf Company. The community later moved in 1911 to its present location between Oak Bluffs town and Edgartown.

In 1884, the Flying Horses Carousel was brought to Oak Bluffs, where it remains the oldest platform carousel still in operation.

It is still a yearly event to hold what residents call “The Grand Illumination”. This traditional celebration is held once a year, usually in August, and the date of which is usually not publicly disclosed, despite the thousands of tourists the event attacts. For one special night, residents of the Campground place ornate Chinese lanterns (some electric, some still lit with just a candle), around each Gingerbread Cottage. The lanterns remain dark until after dusk. At an appointed hour, people gather in the Tabernacle for a sing-along and community gathering. At the end all the lights go out and thousands of Chinese lanterns spring to life in a brilliant cascade of light throughout the campground. The celebration ends after visitors walk through the Campground enjoying the sights and sounds of an event taken straight from the turn of the century and brought to life yearly in the small town of Oak Bluffs.

On April 5, 2005, the grounds and buildings in the Campground were designated a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior.

On November 16, 2006 MTV announced that they were going to make a new TV show called "The Bluffs," about African-Americans going to Oak Bluffs for summer.

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 26.0 square miles (67.2 km²), of which, 7.4 square miles (19.1 km²) of it is land and 18.6 square miles (48.1 km²) of it (71.61%) is water. The town is 323rd out of 351 communities in the Commonwealth in terms of land area, and is the third smallest community (behind Aquinnah and Tisbury) in Dukes County. Oak Bluffs is bordered by Nantucket Sound to the north and east, Edgartown to the south, and Vineyard Harbor, Lagoon Pond and Tisbury to the west. It also shares a common corner, along with Tisbury and Edgartown, with West Tisbury.

From the northernmost tip of the town, at East Chop Light, the town is just over five miles from the mainland. The town shares Sengekontacket Pond with Edgartown, with the town's land ending and Sarson's Island, but wrapping around the waters around Felix Neck into Major's Cove. There are four beaches in the town, at Eastville Point (along the lagoon road), the town beach just south of Oak Bluffs Harbor, Harthaven beach and Joseph Sylvia State Beach along the shore opposite Sengekontacket Pond. The highest points in town are between the pond and the lagoon, and west of the lagoon in the irregular triangle of land which juts into Tisbury.

Oak Bluffs is the site of Trade Winds Airport, a private landing strip located just north of the pond, as well as a steamship authority pier for the ferries from Woods Hole, Falmouth Harbor, New Bedford and Hyannis Port. Only the Woods Hole ferry, however, is year round; the others are seasonal only.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 3,713 people, 1,590 households, and 914 families residing in the town. The population density was 504.1 people per square mile (194.5/km²). There were 3,820 housing units at an average density of 518.6/sq mi (200.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 86.72% White, 4.31% African American, 1.51% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 2.50% from other races, and 4.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.19% of the population.

There were 1,590 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.5% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $42,044, and the median income for a family was $53,841. Males had a median income of $39,113 versus $31,797 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,829. About 6.2% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Oak Bluffs ranks 263rd in population in the Commonwealth, and third in Dukes County (behind Edgartown and Tisbury). It is 173rd in the Commonwealth in terms of population density, and second behind Tisbury in Dukes County.

[edit] Government

On the national level, Oak Bluffs is a part of Massachusetts's 10th congressional district, and is currently represented by Bill Delahunt. The state's senior (Class I) member of the United States Senate, re-elected in 2006, is Ted Kennedy. The junior (Class II) Senator, up for re-election in 2008, is John Kerry.

On the state level, Oak Bluffs is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket district, which includes all of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, as well as a portion of Falmouth. The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a portion of the Cape and Islands district, which includes all of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and most of Barnstable County (with the exception of Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth and a portion of Barnstable.^[2]. The town is home to the Fifth Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police, which serves all of Dukes County.^[3]

Oak Bluffs is governed on the local level by the open town meeting form of government, and is led by a board of selectmen. The town has its own police and fire departments, with the police being located near Oak Bluffs Harbor and the fire department being more centrally located in the town. The post office is located just east of the Vineyard Camp Meeting Association lands, as is Oak Bluffs Public Library, which is a member of the Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing (CLAMS) Network. Oak Bluffs is also home to Martha's Vineyard Hospital, just northeast of the Lagoon, which serves all of the island, as does the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles branch near the center of town.

[edit] Education

Oak Bluffs is served by Martha's Vineyard Public School District. The town operates Oak Bluffs Elementary School, which serves approximately 420 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The town is home to Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. located just north of the Corellus State Forest in Edgartown, and not far from the geographic center of the island. MVRHS's teams are nicknamed the Vineyarders, and their colors are violet and white. The school has a longstanding rivalry with Nantucket High School, with both competing for the Island Cup on an annual basis.