Hype for the Future 66B: Lower Cape

Introduction

Situated to the south of the Outer Cape and Lower Cape areas is the Middle Cape area, representative of the portion of Barnstable County closest to Nantucket Island and containing Monomoy Point at the southern end. The area is home to the Towns of Orleans, Chatham, Harwich, and Brewster, though the Town of Orleans has been featured in a separate article along with the Towns of Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, and Eastham, from north to south. Though the Monomoy Islands are located off the coast of Cape Cod, each of the two islands remains identified as mainland-adjacent and to be treated separately from nearby Nantucket.

Town of Chatham

The Monomoy Islands, including the area of the Monomoy Point Lighthouse, are included within the general area of the Town of Chatham in Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Elsewhere in the town, the community is home to numerous lighthouses, including on the mainland, as well as the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge.

Within the South Chatham village area, the Town of Chatham is home to the Hopkins Gallery, the Historic Saltworks, and the Barn Hill Road Fishing Village. The Stage Harbor Lighthouse is situated nearby, with the Friends of Monomoy associated with the National Wildlife Refuge within the town. A ship skeleton is located off the Atlantic coast to the east, and the William Henry Mack Memorial and Mayflower Story Marker attractions are each located to the north, on opposite sides of Main Street. Near the Tern Island Sanctuary is a viewing deck on the Chatham Fish Pier.

The village area of North Chatham is home to the seasonal AWSC Shark Center of Chatham with the Marconi-RCA Wireless Museum located nearby. The central village area is home to the Atwood Museum, the 1797 Godfrey Windmill, the Downtown Chatham Rotary, and the Chatham Railroad Museum.

Town of Harwich

Located directly to the west of the Town of Chatham along the Atlantic Ocean is the port town of Harwich, providing access to the Oak Bluffs/Vineyard Haven area of Martha’s Vineyard nearly directly to the south. At the eastern end of the Town of Harwich is the Round Cove area, with the southern end of the town representative of a portion of the Nantucket Sound of the Atlantic Ocean. Along Route 28 through the southern end of the town limits are (from east to west) the South Harwich Meeting House, the 820 Main Street Gallery, the Monomoy Island Excursions on Harwich Port, the Larkin Gallery, the Nines Art Gallery, the Cross Rip Gallery, and the 451 Art Gallery, just to name a few.

Town of Brewster

Located facing the Cape Cod Bay of the Cape Cod Peninsula in the Lower/Middle Cape region of Barnstable County is the Town of Brewster, accessible not necessarily by Route 6, though the highway covers the eastern end of the town, but by numerous smaller roads and highways largely from east to west. At the eastern side of the town are the headquarters of Nickerson State Park and the Crosby Mansion, while at the western end are the Stony Brook Grist Mill and the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. In the central village area are Breakwater Beach, the Parsons Art Gallery, and the Cobb House Museum, all of which are generally more localized attractions compared to neighboring towns throughout the area.

Hype for the Future 65C: Martha’s Vineyard, the Island of Dukes County

Introduction

While the Elizabeth Islands that separate the Buzzards Bay from the Vineyard Sound are located off the coast of the Woods Hole area and contain the Town of Gosnold, the vast majority of the approximately seventy (70) permanent residents are exclusively within the area of the village of Cuttyhunk on Cuttyhunk Island specifically, as the remaining islands are largely identified as privately owned by the Boston Brahmin Forbes family.

The vast majority of Dukes County, Massachusetts, is largely identified by the location on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard, opposite the Vineyard Sound from the Elizabeth Islands, which are in turn opposite the Buzzards Bay from the larger area of the South Coast of Massachusetts, containing Bristol County and such communities as New Bedford and Fall River.

Towns

The seven towns associated with Dukes County are the Towns of Gosnold (on the Elizabeth Islands), Aquinnah, Chilmark, West Tisbury, Tisbury, Oak Bluffs, and Edgartown, from west to east. The Towns of Tisbury, Oak Bluffs, and Edgartown provide ferry services to elsewhere in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including both the Nantucket area and the mainland of the Commonwealth.

Ferries

From the Tisbury village area of Vineyard Haven, ferry services are accessible to Woods Hole (Falmouth) and to New Bedford. The Martha’s Vineyard Fast Ferry provides access from the Oak Bluffs Harbormaster to North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, while the primary ferry dock associated with the town provides services to New Bedford, Woods Hole, Falmouth, Hyannis, and Nantucket. Edgartown provides access to the Falmouth community also, albeit on a separate axis due to beginning further east on the island.

Aquinnah and Chilmark

Located on the western end of Martha’s Vineyard, the Town of Aquinnah is home to the Gay Head Light, the Aquinnah Cliffs Overlook, the Red Gate Farm, and Toad Rock. To the east is the Town of Chilmark, home to the Mememsha Public Beach, the Great Sand Bank Overlook, the Brick Yard, the Former Home of James Cagney, and the Magical Sculpture Trail and Pottery Shop at Island Folk Pottery.

(West) Tisbury

Most of the larger village areas within Martha’s Vineyard are located along the northern shore of the island and relatively east within. Tisbury, Oak Bluffs, and Edgartown are the primary towns containing relatively larger villages within the county. Within the Town of West Tisbury, the primary attractions are the Heath Hen Monument and the Granary, Davis House, and Field Galleries.

Outlying Areas in the East

While the Town of Edgartown serves as the county seat of Dukes County, Massachusetts, the southern portion of the town is actually relatively empty in comparison. At the southern end of the island is the area of the Katama South Beach, with the area just to the north home to the four-star Winnetu Oceanside Resort. While located closer to a central village area, the southern part of the Town of Oak Bluffs is home to the Joseph Sylvia State Beach and the Featherstone Center for the Arts.

Town of Edgartown

Edgartown is the easternmost town and county seat of Dukes County, Massachusetts. Home to the Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse, the community is also highly notable for the Carnegie Heritage Center of the Vineyard Preservation Trust, as well as the Giant Pagoda Tree, the Edgartown Visitor Center, and the Vincent House Museum within the Edgartown Historic District. The following galleries are located within the Town of Edgartown:

• Old Sculpin Gallery
• Eisenhauer Gallery
• The Christina Gallery Incorporated
• North Water Gallery
• The Edgartown Art Gallery Incorporated (located within the Charlotte Inn)

Town of Tisbury

The Town of Tisbury is the location of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum in Dukes County, Massachusetts. The Vineyard Arts and Louisa Gould Galleries are located at the center of the central village area, with the historic Nathan Mayhew Schoolhouse located further to the north.

Town of Oak Bluffs

Though the Town of Edgartown is the county seat of Dukes County, the Town of Oak Bluffs may be identified as a larger community within the county, home to the Moore Family Gallery, the Harthaven Gallery, and the Eastville Point Beach in the outlying area of the village as well as the East Chop Lighthouse at the northernmost point of the inner village.

More centrally located within the village of Oak Bluffs, the Oak Bluffs Harbormaster is the aforementioned marina providing access to the Fast Ferry to North Kingstown in southern Rhode Island. In the southwestern area of the village are the MVCVA ART, Knowhere Art, Alison Shaw, and Crossroads Galleries, the latter of which contains Michael Blanchard Inspirational Photography. Craftworks may also be located within the Vineyard Haven area, though the facility may be seasonal or no longer effective.

Within the Oak Bluffs portion of the Oak Bluffs area are the Corbin Norton Gallery, the Healy Square, Craftworks, the Cousen Rose Gallery, the Center of Knowhere, the site of the Mariposa Museum with And Still We Rise (Oak Bluffs), the Gingerbread Houses, the Flower of the Winds, and the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association with the Cottage Museum.

On the Horizon 25D: The Town of Acushnet, Massachusetts

The Town of Acushnet is located on Martha’s Vineyard on Dukes County, Massachusetts. At the western extreme of the county, Acushnet is largely determined by maritime life and just a few lighthouses and mostly private property located within.

On the Horizon 25C: The Town of Gosnold, Massachusetts

The Town of Gosnold, Massachusetts, is located on the Elizabeth Islands, all of which are claimed by Dukes County, and all but two of which are also claimed by the Boston Brahmins by way of the Forbes family. Cuttyhunk Island is home to the vast majority of the approximately seventy people of the Town of Gosnold, the smallest of the towns of Massachusetts.

Interesting Questions to Ask Martha’s Vineyard

• What are your thoughts on Tisbury, Oak Bluffs, Edgartown, Chilmark, etc.?
• Which ferries have you been on, and where were your destinations? I hear that you have ferries to Woods Hole, Falmouth, New Bedford, and North Kingstown (RI).
• What are your thoughts on the different art scenes in Dukes County?