Chilmark, Massachusetts | |
|---|---|
 Chilmark Town Hall | |
 Seal | |
 Location in Dukes County in Massachusetts | |
| Coordinates:41°20′35″N70°44′43″W / 41.34306°N 70.74528°W /41.34306; -70.74528 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Dukes |
| Settled | 1660 |
| Incorporated | September 14, 1694 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Open town meeting |
| • Town Administrator | Timothy Carroll |
| Area | |
• Total | 100.4 sq mi (260.1 km2) |
| • Land | 19.0 sq mi (49.3 km2) |
| • Water | 81.4 sq mi (210.8 km2) |
| Elevation | 92 ft (28 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 1,212 |
| • Density | 64/sq mi (24.6/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP code | 02535 |
| Area code | 508/774 |
| FIPS code | 25-13800 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0618288 |
| Website | www |
Chilmark is atown onMartha's Vineyard inMassachusetts. The population was 1,212 at the 2020 census.[1] The fishing village ofMenemsha is located on the western side of the town along its border with the town ofAquinnah. Chilmark had the highest median home sale price of any town or city in Massachusetts in 2013.[2]
Governor Thomas Mayhew, the Elder (March 31, 1593 – March 25, 1682) established the first English settlement of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and adjacent islands in 1642. The town was officially incorporated on September 14, 1694, the first town to separate from the two original towns ofTisbury andEdgartown. The new town was named forChilmark, the ancestral home of the family of GovernorThomas Mayhew ofTisbury, in the English county ofWiltshire. In 1714, Chilmark was made a township including the island ofNomans Land.
The town was once known for its unusually high percentage of deaf citizens. In 1854, Chilmark had a deaf population of one in every 25 people, while the national average was one deaf person in 5,728. (SeeMartha's Vineyard Sign Language.) Today the town is mostly residential, with a small working harbor in Menemsha along theVineyard Sound side of the town.
In August 2009, 2010 and 2011, PresidentBarack Obama and his family vacationed in Chilmark, renting theBlue Heron Farm.[3][4]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a land area of 19.0 square miles (49.3 km2).[5] Chilmark ranks 192nd of the 351 communities in the Commonwealth in terms of land area. Chilmark is bordered byVineyard Sound andAquinnah to the west,West Tisbury to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south.
The town includes the island of Nomans Land, which lies southwest of Martha's Vineyard. Because of Nomans Land, the town is officially the second most southerly point in Massachusetts (the south shore ofNantucket is approximately a kilometer south of the southernmost point on Nomans Land). Chilmark has a series of small ponds along the Atlantic side of the town, and it shares Tisbury Great Pond to the east andMenemsha Pond and Squibnocket Pond to the southwest, along the Aquinnah town line. It is between these two ponds, which are 1,100 feet (340 m) apart at their closest point, that the only road to Aquinnah passes. Long Beach, privately owned, runs along the southern side of Squibnocket Pond and technically connects the towns. At one point in the late 17th and early 18th century, Squibnocket Pond was open to the sea. However, thebarrier beach with its sand dunes eventually closed this opening permanently. Occasionally in winter storms, waves will wash across low points in the beach, but the beach itself has not been breached in a hundred years, unlike other barrier beaches on Martha's Vineyard.
Chilmark has the highest point on Martha's Vineyard, at the 311-foot (95 m) summit of Peaked Hill.[6]
The town has several sanctuaries and preserves, the largest of which being the Menemsha Hills Reservation just northeast of the village which shares that name. The town also has six beaches; one is at Menemsha, another on the inner shore of Menemsha Bay, and the others are all along the Atlantic coast. (Note that several of these beaches are restricted to landowners only, and those designated as public require a beach pass.) There is also a boat launch in Menemsha, as well as aCoast Guard station, in Menemsha Creek (Harbor).The Coast Guard Station burned to the ground in July 2010 but was rebuilt and recommissioned in April 2015.
The town has no direct access to the mainland via ferry or by air;Martha's Vineyard Airport is in neighboring West Tisbury, and theSteamship Authority ferries toWoods Hole are in Vineyard Haven, which is 12 miles (19 km) northeast of the town center, and inOak Bluffs, 16 miles (26 km) away.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 747 | — |
| 1860 | 654 | −12.4% |
| 1870 | 476 | −27.2% |
| 1880 | 494 | +3.8% |
| 1890 | 353 | −28.5% |
| 1900 | 324 | −8.2% |
| 1910 | 282 | −13.0% |
| 1920 | 240 | −14.9% |
| 1930 | 252 | +5.0% |
| 1940 | 226 | −10.3% |
| 1950 | 183 | −19.0% |
| 1960 | 238 | +30.1% |
| 1970 | 340 | +42.9% |
| 1980 | 489 | +43.8% |
| 1990 | 650 | +32.9% |
| 2000 | 843 | +29.7% |
| 2010 | 866 | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 1,212 | +40.0% |
| 2023 | 1,232 | +1.7% |
Source:United States census records andPopulation Estimates Program data.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] | ||
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[18] | Pop 2010[19] | Pop 2020[20] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 818 | 830 | 1,111 | 97.03% | 95.84% | 91.67% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 3 | 15 | 12 | 0.36% | 1.73% | 0.99% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.12% | 0.23% | 0.25% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0.36% | 0.23% | 0.66% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 6 | 1 | 12 | 0.71% | 0.12% | 0.99% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 5 | 9 | 46 | 0.59% | 1.04% | 3.80% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 7 | 7 | 20 | 0.83% | 0.81% | 1.65% |
| Total | 843 | 866 | 1,212 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the census[21] of 2000, there were 843 people, 382 households, and 237 families residing in the town. The population density was 44.0 inhabitants per square mile (17.0/km2). There were 1,409 housing units at an average density of 73.6 per square mile (28.4/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.75%White, 0.36%African American, 0.12%Native American, 0.36%Asian, 0.71% fromother races, and 0.71% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 0.83% of the population.
There were 382 households, out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% weremarried couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. Of all households 29.6% were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.71.
In the town, the age distribution of the population shows 20.8% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 32.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $41,917, and the median income for a family was $63,750. Males had a median income of $35,469 versus $33,281 for females. Theper capita income for the town was $30,029. About 5.7% of families and 7.6% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.
Statistically, Chilmark ranks 324th in terms of population, and 311th by population density. It is the second smallest population on Martha's Vineyard (ahead of Aquinnah), but is the least densely populated town on the island.
On the national level, Chilmark is a part ofMassachusetts's 9th congressional district, and is currently represented byBill Keating. The state's senior member of theUnited States Senate isElizabeth Warren. The state's junior Senator isEd Markey.
On the state level, Chilmark is represented in theMassachusetts 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 ofFalmouth. The town is represented in theMassachusetts Senate as a portion of the Cape and Islands district, which includes all of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and most ofBarnstable County (with the exception ofBourne,Sandwich,Falmouth andMashpee).[22] All of Dukes County is patrolled by the Fifth (Oak Bluffs) Barracks of Troop D of theMassachusetts State Police.[23]
Chilmark is governed on the local level by theopen town meeting form of government, and is led by aboard of selectmen. All of the town's facilities are centered at a location known as Beetlebung Corner. The Town Hall, Tri-Town Ambulance, and the Fire Department share a building in the northern quadrant of the crossroads, the police station is located next to the Chilmark Tavern, and the post office and the town's Free Public Library occupy the southern. The current library opened in 2003, having outgrown the previous library just to the east of the current location at the corner.[24]
Chilmark is part of the Martha's Vineyard Regional School District along withAquinnah,Edgartown,Oak Bluffs,Tisbury, andWest Tisbury. Students in Chilmark attend Aquinnah-Chilmark Regional Elementary School along with Aquinnah, from grades K–8. High School students then attendMartha's Vineyard Regional High School. The 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.
• Chilmark and Chilmark Field is mentioned in the memoir Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks about her late husband, Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Horwitz.
But Obama is settling for a Sunday-to-Sunday sojourn. The White House has not released details of the Obamas' plans, but locals say the first family has rented the Blue Heron Farm in Chilmark, a 28-acre estate owned by William and Mollie Van Devender, both donors to Republicans. The property includes a swimming pool, access to a private beach, even a place to whack golf balls.
Municipalities and communities ofDukes County, Massachusetts,United States | ||
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| Towns |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Other villages | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
