Wesleyan Grove

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

Wesleyan Grove is a historic district in Oak Bluffs, on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, the 34-acre grounds of a camp meeting. It centers on a wrought-iron Tabernacle amid cottages in the stick and Queen Anne styles, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2005.

Why it's listed

It was listed in the National Register in 2005, with national-level significance in community planning, architecture and religion. The nomination gives its period of significance as 1901, the year a tower was added to the Tabernacle's east side, and names John W. Hoyt as architect and builder.

Physical character

The Tabernacle has a wrought-iron frame and iron walls, is nearly circular at its base, and is topped by a wooden cupola 100 feet above grade. Its original corrugated iron roof was replaced with wood in the 1890s and with asbestos-cement in the 1930s; a tower with ornamental metal shingles was added on the east side in 1901. The grounds are laid out in concentric circles around the Tabernacle.

Historical context

Jeremiah Pease selected the camp meeting's site in 1835, and in 1860 ministers and laymen formed the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association. The Association bought twenty-six acres in 1864 and ten more in 1866, then completed the Tabernacle in 1879 in under four months. Trinity Methodist Church was built in 1878 and Grace Chapel in 1885, and the district was listed in the National Register in 1978.