USA > Massachusetts > Dukes County > Marthas Vineyard > The history of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts, Volume II > Part 49
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These meetings grew in attendance both of the campers and spectators in this period. The greatest number of tents was forty, accommodating 1,189 persons, and the greatest
'This ceremony was abandoned in 1848 for a more formal meeting at the stand.
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Annals of Oak Bluffs
attendance of visitors at one service was estimated at three thousand. The management of these immense crowds called for a firm executive hand and an organization to carry out the orders. Rules for the camp were rigorously enforced, and to aid in the protection of the worshippers a state law, approved April 17, 1838, making it a misdemeanor to carry on peddling, gaming or horse racing within a mile limit, punishable by fine or imprisonment, was secured by its friends. In 1838 a lease for five years, beginning Nov. 16th, was signed which secured additional ground embracing the "Great Pasture" on the Butler estate. A name for the camp ground was also selected in 1840, when the campers voted "that the grove be called Wesleyan Grove" and the secretary was author- ized to procure and keep a record book for the permanent minutes of this camp meeting. The presiding elder of the district was the superintendent of each meeting each year.
SUCCEEDING ANNALS, 1848-1858
The meeting for 1845 was held near Westport, Mass., because many thought this island grove had become "an old story" and that amid new scenes the interest and enthusiasm might be increased among the campers. It was felt that the experiment of a change would test this idea and that if it proved a false notion the return could easily be made the following summer. This change of location was also con- sequent upon the expiration of the lease of the ground in this year. In 1846 the meeting was to be held in East Greenwich, R. I., by vote passed, but enough were wedded to the original location at Wesleyan grove to determine upon a return hither, despite the decision of those assembled at Westport. A new lease was obtained from Stephen H. and Harriet Bradley, the successors of William Butler as proprietors of the land, and the annual pilgrimage hither was resumed.
The annals of this decade are a repetition of the preceding years, with some additional developments and changes. The times of meeting varied from between Sabbaths to a period including that day, and during such times the steamboats would bring large parties for a Sunday "excursion" from New Bedford and the surrounding towns. At first this was objected to by the promoters of the meetings (1847) and the transportation company was requested not to run their boats to the island during the time of the encampment, but this
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History of Martha's Vineyard
came to be ignored as time went on, and the Sunday services grew to be a feature of the affair. The crowds of specta- tors increased yearly from about three to twelve thousand on that day, and as a rule excellent order and respectful attention was observed.1 In this period the number of tents in the encampment gradually increased from fifty in 1848 to 320 in 1858,2 the number of occupants correspondingly multiplied and an increase from fifty to a hundred ministers of the gospel. Distinguished visitors also came to see this unique spectacle. In 1858 Governor Banks of this state and Gov- ernor Harris of Rhode Island honored the meeting with their presence at different times accompanied by many prominent officials of both states. This same year the famous negro Henson, said to be the original "Uncle Tom" of Harriet Beecher Stowe's well known romance, visited the meeting and "exhorted." It was estimated that there had been up to 1859 over eleven hundred "conversions."3
This settlement of white canvas, laid out in regular form and policed, came to be spoken of as the White City, Canvas City, and similar appellations, and the communicating streets to have fancy or biblical names, much to the disapproval of the elders who saw in these signs the growth of a social and "picnic" spirit that was to be deplored.4 This spirit increased despite the frowns of the elders, and in the crowds which came here yearly many converts were made not to the religious features of the meeting but to the beauty of the grounds, and the general attractiveness of the island as a resort for rest and recreation. The temporary tents began to be replaced by small board structures, a combination of wood and cloth on the sides or top, and permanent locations were asked for in the camp ground each recurring year, until the campers finally felt a degree of proprietorship in the spot which they had occupied continuously for a number of seasons.5
In 1850 a new lease was executed for eleven years at a rental of $30 per annum, with some adjoining land owned
1Vincent, History of Wesleyan Grove Camp Meeting, p. 185.
2This great increase was due principally to the segregation of families in smaller tents. These "family" tents gave rise to some trouble for the management, and none was allowed to be set up without a letter from the pastor of the church whence the family came.
3 Among them was a "papist" and a Jew, according to the reports of the Secretary.
4The report for the year in speaking of the great increase of the encampment said "Quite a city, truly, and an exceedingly pleasant one."
5Pardon M. Stone of Providence, R. I., spent sixty consecutive summers at the camp meetings, beginning in 1846, a record which is probably without parallel.
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Annals of Oak Bluffs
by other parties for $6 per annum. This long lease prompted the idea of permanent improvements, and a committee was appointed to arrange a new plan for the encampment, new seating for the worshippers and other necessary fixtures.1 The management varied somewhat, but an "agent" chosen yearly was the executive head, and as the crowds grew, com- mittees on finance, order and similar apportionment of duty were formed to aid him. In 1856 the ownership of the grounds changed hands and the new proprietor began the demand for a higher rental.2 In 1857 this situation became more acute and a committee was appointed to secure another site for the following year, and purchase it for permanent occupancy. This had the effect of bringing about a compromise. The property was reconveyed to the original owners, Stephen H. Bradley and wife, and a new lease for a term of ten years, beginning at the termination of the current lease (1861), with privilege of renewal or purchase at market value, was secured by the committee of campers. Thus protected the meeting in 1858 authorized the borrowing of a thousand dollars for use in permanent improvements on the grounds, and incor- poration was agitated by a considerable number. This was the inception of the settlement which afterwards became Oak Bluffs.
THE BIRTH OF "COTTAGE CITY"
The succeeding decade, 1859-1869, is merely a continued story of the marvellous growth and enduring features of this famous camp ground. The attraction of this beautiful oak grove had left its impress on the memory of all who had ever visited it, and as their number yearly increased the loveliness of the location and the possibilities of the island as a summer home became more generally known to thousands of people from all parts of New England. The original religious purpose of the meeting gradually found a strong competitor in the desire and custom of many of the campers to make a prolonged stay before and after the meeting for social and personal enjoyment. The grove, which seemed a hallowed fane to many, soon began
'This committee consisted of Preston Bennett of Providence, Henry Tobey of Falmouth, Isaiah D. Pease of Edgartown and five clergymen, including the Presiding Elder of the district. This meeting still remained distinctively a Methodist affair.
2In 1855 the officers had begun negotiations looking to the purchase of the camp ground, but "such were the terms named by the proprietors that the committee recom- mended not to purchase." As aptly said in another place, it was "an institution," the like of which was not in all New England.
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History of Martha's Vineyard
to ring with the laughter of happy children and resound to the shouts of exuberant youth spending their vacation days here.
Permanent cottages began to be built about 1859, the first one of which was erected by Perez Mason of Fall River in that year. From that time on these buildings increased with each recurring meeting, and the grove began to take on the semblance of a settlement in the wilderness. About 1865 the noble oaks which had afforded shade for the campers began to succumb to the effect of this kind of occupancy of the soil from whence they derived nourishment, and one by one they slowly died. The crowds became enormous as the years passed, reaching twenty thousand on Sundays, and much injury was inflicted on the trees under those conditions. A number were cut down in a decayed condition at the amphi- theatre, and the seats beneath were shaded by an awning of sail cloth containing over three thousand yards of canvas. In the outskirts of the camp ground boarding houses and restaurants sprang up like weeds, while now and then ped- dlers, hawkers and street fakirs would attempt to ply their trade from tents or booths erected outside the lines of the sacred territory. As time went on the original character of the meeting was lost in the hurly burly of such thronging thousands, most of whom came for a "day off" and were prepared to have it in one way or another. The days of prayer and meditation had passed away and the season of elaboration and bustle had superseded. Nor was this the only change in the character of the "institution." Heretofore it had been exclusively a Methodistic concern, but one by one preachers of other orthodox denominations would be heard from the pulpit. The first of these was a Presbyterian clergy- man in 1858, but the principal faith of these outsiders was Baptist, of whom we shall hear more in later years.
LAND COMPANIES AND REAL ESTATE "BOOMS"
This situation had its logical sequence. The demand for land for building purposes followed, and the organization of promoters of real estate interests came as a necessity. The first of these companies was composed of the leaders of these meetings, the "Martha's Vineyard Methodist Camp Meeting Association," so called, which received its charter from the Massachusetts legislature in 1860. The incorporators were twenty-four in number: Jeremiah Pease, Henry Bradley,
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Annals of Oak Bluffs
Caleb L. Ellis, A. D. Hatch, Joshua Remington, Iram Smith, Pardon M. Stone, William A. Wardwell, John C. Scott, Cyrus Washburn, Elisha Harris, William B. Mitchell, James Davis, William Hutchinson, Lot Phinney, H. Vincent, Sirson P. Coffin, George M. Carpenter, C. H. Titus, - - Philbrook, J. W. Willet, James D. Butler, H. S. White, and William B. Lawton. The property which they controlled was that known as the "Camp Ground" south of Squash Meadow pond, bounded easterly by Circuit avenue and westerly by a line drawn southerly through Sunset lake.
In 1866 a number of gentlemen, with the intent of making a summer home for their families and developing the place as a resort, purchased the territory lying between the land of the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association and the sea. These persons became incorporated in 1868 under the name of the "Oak Bluffs Land and Wharf Co." Their grounds were laid out in lots and avenues, reserving many acres for public parks. Restrictions as to the sale and use of these lots protected the residents from disreputable surroundings. This property began at the present harbor jetty, thence along the beach to a point opposite the head of Farm pond; thence crossing the head of Farm pond to Sea View avenue, and along this thoroughfare to the first named point.
In 1868 the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, finding itself precluded from the extension of its grounds in an easterly direction, and feeling the necessity of securing room for future growth before it should be surrounded by private corporations, over which it could exercise no control, purchased a tract across the pond. There was considerable opposition to this as a financial speculation and a prospective burden for the association, and after consideration this tract was trans- ferred to private parties who had consented to assume the purchase. These gentlemen having been joined by several laymen and clergymen of the Methodist church, perfected an organization called "The Vineyard Grove Company" and in 1870 it was incorporated. Capt. William H. Phillips of Taunton was its first president, and Rev. J. D. King the agent. Additional land was purchased until more than two hundred acres were held by it from the pond to the lighthouse on East Chop, and all east of Kedron avenue. Roads, parks, circles, drives and plank walks were laid out and a wharf constructed for the convenience of landing by large steamboats or smaller craft. It was adopted by the Camp Meeting Association as
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History of Martha's Vineyard
its official landing. A hotel was soon erected and this section of the town began to grow rapidly. The board walk skirting the pond, 3,500 feet in length, fifteen feet wide, containing nearly 200,000 feet of plank, was lined each summer with booths and "bazaars" and became for a while the central promenade for the throngs of visitors every afternoon and evening.
Various other tracts to the northwest of this property were exploited in the following years: Belleview Heights and Sunset Heights and bordering on the Lagoon came Bay View and Lagoon Heights. Other sections felt the stimulating effect of this feverish growth, and plots of land called by the fanciful names of Green Meadow, Forest Hill, Oak Grove, Harbor Heights, Prospect Heights, Sea View Hill, Grove Dale and Ocean View found ready purchasers at equally fancy prices. Up to 1872 the "boom" was continuous and genuine, and upwards of a million dollars must have been expended in improvements made by the various companies and promoters. The panic of 1872-3, however, put a stop to this excitement, and property values fell and real estate lanquished. In time this condition righted itself and since then the growth has been steady and normal.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH
Almost on identical dates with the formation of the Meth- odist Society here the local Baptists organized the Oak Bluffs' Baptist Church, April 13, 1877, at a meeting held in the Worth Building (so called) on Circuit avenue. Irregular meetings had been held in this place for a number of months previous to this date under the spiritual guidance of Rev. George F. Lewis of the Vineyard Haven society. Fourteen members presented letters of recommendation from various churches and became the founders of this society, viz: Zebina E. Berry and wife, Worcester, Mass .; Samuel N. Davis and wife, Rhoda N. Linton and Electa Wadsworth, Vineyard Haven; Job H. Gorham, North Tisbury; Tristram Cleveland and wife, Lucy P. Smith and Thomas H. Norton, Edgartown; and Mrs. Henry T. Luce from a defunct church. Zebina Berry was chosen deacon, and Job H. Gorham, clerk of the new society. Ten additional persons were baptized on the first Sunday following, and the society has been in a prosperous condition ever since, a period of thirty-three years. Services
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Annals of Oak Bluffs
were held in various places during the early days, houses, halls, etc., until July of the following year (1878), when the present house of worship, situated on the corner of Pequot avenue and Grove street, was completed at a cost of about $3,000, exclusive of labor donated by the members. It was dedicated the following month during the sessions of the Baptist camp meeting that year, and through the efforts of the Camp Meeting Association and the summer residents the balance of the debt on the structure was cancelled and the church was made free of incumbrance prior to its consecration. This sup- port has been continued annually in the same generous way to meet the current expenses. Mr. C. B. Erwin, of New Britain, donated the bell, and later, by will, left a legacy to the society to enable it to maintain services. Six deacons have served since the establishment of the organization: Tristram Cleve- land, Samuel N. Davis, Shubael L. Norton, Alonzo Pike, William H. Davis and Job H. Gorham.
Since the formation of the society 151 persons have been enrolled, of whom 4I have died, 29 transferred, and 13 dropped, leaving 68 as the present membership. In 1905 the church building was enlarged and improved at a cost of over $1,000. The present deacon, and clerk (Lucy P. Smith) are the only survivors of the constituent membership gathered in 1877 under the ministrations of Rev. Mr. Lewis. The succession in the pastorate has been as follows: Geo. F. Reid, of Edgar- town, supply, 1879-80; Jesse Coker, of Vineyard Haven, supply, 1880-I; Thomas W. Crudgintor, 1882-4; O. W. Kimball, 1884-9; Alfred Fairbrother, 1889-91; J. E. Dins- more, 1892; E. D. Mason, 1892-4; George W. Fuller, 1895-7; Ernest W. Dow, 1897-9; F. F. Thayer, 1899-1900; George W. Fuller, 1900-02; S. A. Dyke, 1902-07; George F. Newhall, 1908 (present incumbent).
THE METHODIST CHURCH
The local society of this denomination is the outgrowth of the general camp-meeting spirit in which the Methodists have been such a prominent factor. On April 15, 1877, the Rev. J. D. King organized a "class" with about forty members at a meeting held at the residence of Capt. Joseph Dias. This was the beginning of the present society, but as there was no meeting-house available for them, Sunday and other weekly services were held in a small public hall over the offices of the
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History of Martha's Vineyard
Cottage City Star. On June 3, 1877, the members entered into a formal organization, and the Rev. G. M. Hamlen was appointed first pastor and held the office for three years. It was a period of activity and enthusiasm, and during his pastor- ate Trinity M. E. church was erected at a cost of about $10,000, located on Trinity circle. Since that date Grace chapel, adjoining the church, and a parsonage have been added to the facilities for denominational work. The society numbers 73 members at the present time. The succession in the pastorate has been as follows
F. P. Parkin, 1880-1; F. O. Holman, G. G. Switzer, L. B. Codding, 1882; F. P. Parkin, 1883-4; J. F. Cooper, 1885-7; W. E. Kingler, 1888-9; G. W. Elmer, 1890; W. L. Hood, 1891-3; R. E. Schuh, 1894-5; N. C. Alger, W. F. Taylor, 1896; W. F. Taylor, 1897-8; R. M. Wilkins, 1899-1900; R. S. Moore, 1901-4; C. E. Delemater, 1905-6; J. S. Bridgford, 1907-8; G. M. Hamlen, 1909; W. E. Handy, 1910 (present incumbent).
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
Between the years 1872 and 1880 a large number of the Catholic denomination were found in this vicinity during the summer months without any chance of attending service. A few of these persons, seeing the need, and desiring to keep in touch with their church, took steps which led to services being held from time to time at a private residence. Among this number was a Mr. Henry Magetts, a poor man, who lived as a butler in the family of a lady who spent her summers here. Mr. Magetts, seeing the need of a suitable place of worship, decided to purchase a lot of land and give it for the benefit of the Catholics of Martha's Vineyard, and the lot now occupied by the little Church of the Sacred Heart was pur- chased.
At that time the Rev. Fr. McMahon was the parish priest of St. Lawrence Church, New Bedford. It was to him, it is understood, that Henry Magetts gave the deed of land, as well as a sum of money to begin the building of the church. When Fr. McMahon was made bishop of Hartford he was succeeded by the Rev. H. J. Smith, the present pastor of that church, in whose parish this Vineyard mission belongs.
With contributions from summer visitors and resident Catholics, a frame structure was erected. From 1880 until
32
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in
TRINITY (EPISCOPAL) CHURCH
Annals of Oak Bluffs
.. 1896 mass was said here only during the two months, July and August. During the time of Fr. Smith's charge, the interior was plastered, the building was clapboarded, a new gallery erected and a new platform for the altar, as well as carpets and dressing table, were supplied. In 1896 the church came under the direction of the Rev. Fr. Neares of St. John the Baptist parish, and his assistants.
Fr. Martius, one of the assistants, did much to beautify the church. During his administration a tower was erected and a fine bell placed there. Mr. John Murphy of Roxbury at this time presented the church with the stations of the cross, a set of white vestments and an altar lamp, Miss Dolan of New York giving the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Fr. Neares had built a new altar and put in new pews and a furnace.
In 1901 Fr. Rosa gave a new organ duringt he summer. Mrs. H. Llewellyn of New Bedford presented the church a fine collection of books.
It has been customary in the winter to have mass on the third Sunday of each month, and the children have attended a Sunday school under the superintendency of Miss Maria J. Golding and her assistants. Mass is now said each Sunday, which is attended by the church members from all parts of the island. The resident pastor now (1906) is the Rev. Patrick E. McGee, a native of New Bedford and a graduate of Holy Cross, Worcester, and of the American College at Rome. He assumed charge of this parish mission in February, 1903.
TRINITY (EPISCOPAL) CHURCH
In 1882 the leading spirits in the Summer Colony, desirous of maintaining religious services under the ritual of the Prot- estant Episcopal church, organized a society for this purpose and adopted the name of Trinity Episcopal Church. While it was nominally of this sect, yet it had no official relations with the Massachusetts diocese, to which it should belong, and it is, to all intents and purposes, an independent society using the name of Episcopal because the services conform to the ritual of that denomination and its pastoral supply is always taken from the ministry of that church. The Rev. Dr. J. W. Shackleford of New York City and attached to the diocese of New York was its first pastoral supply, and for many years returned to guide its summer services. It has never been anything beyond a vacation church for the summer visitors,
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History of Martha's Vineyard
and is open only about three months of each year. The liberality of summer tourists and the non-resident members enables the management to provide attractive musical artists drafted from metropolitan choirs to render the vocal parts of the church ritual, and the singing has always been one of the features of this anomalous church, which survives without any affiliation in the denomination to which it nominally belongs.
At a meeting held Aug. 25, 1883, the building committee reported that it had completed its duty, and the church building was free from debt. The following named persons were then elected as trustees of the society to attend to its secular affairs: J. J. Crane, M. D., J. C. Carey, John M. Crane, all of New York; H. A. Tucker, M. D., Brooklyn, N. Y .; Col. Nicholas Van Slyck, Providence; Holder M. Brownell, New Bedford, and A. J. Burgess of Cottage City. The value of the church building and lot when ready for occupancy was about $5,000, and it has had considerable interior improvements since then. The last report of its communicants gave the number as twenty.
UNION CHAPEL
Certain of the summer residents, not identified with either of the preceding denominations, organized the Oak Bluffs Christian Union Association, in 1880, for the purpose of providing religious services which should be undenomi- national in character. This body erected a meeting-house which they called Union Chapel, at a cost of about $6,000, and it was opened for service by the late Rev. S. F. Upham, D. D., who for many years after preached the first sermon annually at the beginning of the summer. The musical portion of the services has always been a distinguishing feature, the talent being drawn from the many celebrated singers who make this town their mecca during the vacation period.
SCHOOLS
The earliest reference to educational matters in this section is to be found in 1755, when Peter Norton, Henry Luce and Malatiah Davis were chosen a committee "to determine where the school shall be keept in the farm neck."1 This was then a part of the school system of Edgartown, and these arrangements were made to accommodate the pupils of the
1Edgartown Records, I, 209.
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Annals of Oak Bluffs
Sanchacantacket and Eastville districts. It is not known where the school-house was located, if one existed at that time, as it is doubtful if any were built so early. Owing to the scattered settlements of Farm neck it is probable that a "moving" school was kept in this section and held in private houses. In 1775 it was voted to hire two schoolmasters, and the town was divided into two districts, and school-houses for each were decided upon. Ichabod Wiswall (1704-82) was probably the first teacher in this district, called the North West and later Homes Hole district, and the usual "tradition" verifies this.1 The earliest school-house known was situated
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