Martha's Vineyard
Gingerbread Cottages
are all located in
Oak Bluffs, MA

Information & history on rear of plaque:
A Methodist Minister selected Martha's Vineyard in 1835 to be a meeting ground.   Thousands of people came here and lived in tents in order to attend religious services.   The visitors began building cottages, with carved decoration and a charming victorian village had been created.

Information & history on rear of plaque:
This famous "Pink House" is a fine example of American Carpenter Gothic architecture.   Built circa 1869 on the island of Martha's Vineyard.   These fanciful cottages display the intricate woodwork made possible by the invention of the jigsaw.

Information & history on rear of plaque:
Martha's Vineyard is believed to have been named by Bartholomew Gosnold.   Under the patronage of Sir Walter Raleigh.   Gosnold sailed to find and gather the wealth from the New World and arrived at the island in 1602.   The island is said to have been named for his daughter and the wild grapes that grew there in great profusion.

Information & history on rear of plaque:
Important Dates of the MVCMA Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association.
1835-The first camp meeting opening on August 24.
1860-The first cottage was built
1867-The picket fence surrounding the campgrounds was built
1869-The first wedding took place on the campgrounds.
The first Illumination took place.
1871-The first child was born on the campgrounds
1874-President Grant visited the campgrounds.
1878-The Trinity Methodist Church was built.
1880-The new town of Cottage City was incorporated.
1885-Grace Chapel was built
1907-The name of the town (Cottage City) was changed to Oaks Bluffs.
1935-The MVCMA's Centenial
1985-The MVCMA celebrates its Sesquicentennial.

Information & history on rear of plaque:
The first Illumination Night, held in 1869, was also called Governor's Day in honor of the Governor who was on hand for the fete.   The different parks, avenues, and cottages tried to outdo one another in the display of Oriental lanterns and other forms of illumination.   Fireworks were used for the grand climax.   Also referred to as the Grand Illumination, this event marks the climax of the season and attracts visitors from the island as well as the mainland.

Information on rear of plaque:
Map of Martha's Vineyard Island

Information & history on rear of plaque:
A thrifty merchant named Thomas Mayhew purchased Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands from the Earl of Stirling sometime around 1641.  Some questions surrounded the Earl's title to the land and a better one was asserted by Sir Fernando Gorges who was know as Lord Palatine of the Province of Maine.  Gorges immediately contacted the cautious Mayhew who dug deep in his pocket once again and paid another "some" for Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket a second time.  Mayhew settled his family in Great Harbor, which is now known as Edgartown.  The spiritual needs of the community were met by Mathew's son, Thomas Mayhew, Jr., who is considered to be a founder of the Congregational Church of America.

Information & history on rear of plaque:
Most cottages on Marhta's Vineyard were originally owned by people of moderate means who tried to outdo one another by applying decorative additions to their small houses. Most of the bungalows cost about $200 to build with household furnishings being purchased from the local home supply. Furniture for the upstairs was brought in through the second floor double doors which usually resembled those of a chapel. The houses' filigree of "gingerbread", named after elaborately frosted cookies made popular by London sweet shops, were produced by local carpenters.

Information & history on rear of plaque:
MAR20 Tabernacle   The tabernacle is at the heart of the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts.  Presidents Ulysses S.Grant and William J.Clinton have attended services here.  Now on the National Register of Historic Places, this wrought iron structure was completed in 1879 and seats over 2,000.  During "Grand Illumination" the entire "campground" is lit by the glow of beautiful and exotic oriental lanterns, hung on the roofs and porches.

Information & history on rear of plaque:
The houses in the Oak Bluffs Campground are laid out in a circular pattern around open park areas.  Some three hundred of these Victorian cottages remain out of approximately five hundred that were built.  Each one is distinct in its style of Carpenter's Gothic and in its subsequent restorations and renovations.