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Martha's Vineyard Campmeeting Association.
The MVCMA is a non-profit religious organization dating from 1835.
History
Over time, families began leasing small lots on which to pitch their own individual tents. In the 1860s and 1870s, the family tents were rapidly replaced with permanent wooden cottages. At one time there were about 500 cottages; today there are just over 300.
Many eminent members of the clergy from across the country have preached at the campmeetings in Wesleyan Grove. That tradition continues today, although services are no longer held day and night as they were in the early years.
The founders of the MVCMA were Methodists, and the original bylaws of the Association stipulated that all members of the Board of Directors had to be members of a Methodist church. However, the MVCMA has always been an autonomous organization and was never formally affiliated with the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church. Historical records document the participation of many non-Methodists at the early campmeetings, both in the congregation and in the pulpit.
Over time the MVCMA has become increasingly interdenominational, and the current members of the Board of Directors are affiliated with a wide variety of Christian groups. The religious services and special programs of the Association all have a strong ecumenical spirit.
Today the Campground is a community of summer residents and a smaller number of year-round residents who value the intimacy created by the crowding of cottages on small tent lots. Many of the cottages have been owned by the same families for generations. The residents of the Campground have a keen appreciation for the special traditions of which they are a part.
Several books have documented the history of the Campground. These include the following:
| Corsiglia, Betsy, and Mary-Jean Miner. Unbroken Circles: The Campground of Martha's Vineyard. Boston: David R. Godine, 2000. Dagnall, Sally W. Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, 1835-1985. Oak Bluffs, MA: Martha's Vineyard Campmeeting Association, 1984. Hough, Henry Beetle. Martha's Vineyard, Summer Resort, 1835-1935. Rutland, VT: The Tuttle Publishing Company, 1936. Jones, Peter A. Oak Bluffs: The Cottage City Years on Martha's Vineyard. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2007. Stoddard, Chris. A Centennial History of Cottage City. Oak Bluffs, MA: Oak Bluffs Historical Commission, 1980. Weiss, Ellen. City in the Woods -- The Life and Design of an American Camp Meeting on Martha's Vineyard. Second Edition. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1998. |
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The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.
