Oak Bluffs

Oak Bluffs: the town that displays the statue of a Union soldier dedicated by a Confederate - totally appropriate for a place that thrives on contradiction. Beginning a century and a half ago, Oak Bluffs flourished as a revivalist-movement camp meeting site. Over the years, the tents were replaced by small cottages in the distinctive "campground gothic" style, which makes you feel like you're walking through a neighborhood of pastel gingerbread houses. But Oak Bluffs is also one of only two towns on the Island that can serve liquor (Edgartown is the other) so dance clubs, bars, restaurants, and ice cream parlors give the town a lively honky-tonk feeling.

Public Restrooms:
(open summers only)
Kennebec Avenue, one-half block north of Post Office Square; at the Steamship Authority terminal; and on Lake Avenue at the bathhouse near Our Market (not shown on map).

Postal Services:
Post Office Square (David Healy Way, between Circuit and Kennebec Aves.), 508-693-1049

Internet Access:
Library, School Street and Pacific
Avenue, 508-693-9433;

Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, 508-693-1033, ext. 124.

Wi-Fi Access:
Seasons, Circuit Avenue
Offshore Ale, Kennebec Avenue
Portuguese American Club,
Vineyard Avenue
Hospital:
Martha's Vineyard Hospital,
Beach Road at Eastville Avenue,
508-693-0410

Police Dept:
508-693-0750

Points of Interest

East Chop Lighthouse
Originally built in 1802 on Telegraph Hill, the lighthouse is on the site of the signal station that received semaphore messages from Woods Hole to indicate the arrival of homebound whaling ships. The current lighthouse was built in 1877.

Flying Horses Carousel
Owned by the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust, and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the oldest continuously operated carousel in the country is across from the foot of Circuit Avenue on Oak Bluffs Avenue. The hand-crafted carousel has been a feature on the Vineyard since 1884.

Memorial Statue
In a rare tribute, the 1891 fountain-monument at the edge of Ocean Park was dedicated to Union soldiers by Confederate soldier Charles T. Strahan of the First Virginia Regiment, who settled on the Island and became the editor of the Martha's Vineyard Herald. In 1925 a plaque was added to commemorate Confederate soldiers.

Ocean Park
Across from the Steamship Authority pier and partially surrounded by Victorian gingerbread cottages, the recently restored park is the site of the annual Oak Bluffs fireworks and summer band concerts.

Union Chapel
Built in 1870, this octagonal, non-denominational chapel off Circuit Avenue at the juncture of Kennebec and Narragansett avenues, was intended for use by non-Campground residents who did not attend the Methodist church with its prohibition on alcohol.

The Campground
Tucked behind Circuit Avenue this Methodist-founded campground began as a retreat in 1835. More than 300 brightly-decorated gingerbread cottages have replaced the tents around the wrought-iron Tabernacle, currently the site of events and high school graduations. Also on the grounds are Trinity United Methodist Church, a small museum, and a gift shop.