Chilmark, Massachusetts
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| Chilmark, Massachusetts | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | Massachusetts | ||
| County | Dukes County | ||
| Settled | 1671 | ||
| Incorporated | 1694 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Open town meeting | ||
| Area | |||
| - Town | 100.4 sq mi (260.1 km²) | ||
| - Land | 19.1 sq mi (49.6 km²) | ||
| - Water | 81.3 sq mi (210.5 km²) | ||
| Elevation | 91 ft (28 m) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| - Town | 843 | ||
| - Density | 44.0/sq mi (17.0/km²) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP code | 02535 | ||
| Area code(s) | 508 / 774 | ||
| Website: http://www.ci.chilmark.ma.us/ | |||
Chilmark is a town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 843 at the 2000 census. The fishing village of Menemsha is located on the northern end of town along its border with the neighboring town of Aquinnah. In 2004 it was reported to have the highest average property value of any city or town in Massachusetts.
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[edit] History
Chilmark was first settled in 1671 as the southern portion of Tisbury. The town officially incorporated on September 14, 1694, the first town to separate from the two original towns of Tisbury and Edgartown. Chilmark was named for the ancestral home of the family of Governor Thomas Mayhew in Tisbury, Wiltshire, England.
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 5728. (See Martha's Vineyard Sign Language.) Today the town is mostly residential, with a small working harbor along the Vineyard Sound side of the town.
On the television show The X-Files, Fox Mulder was raised in Chilmark.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 260.1 km² (100.4 mi²). 49.6 km² (19.1 mi²) of it is land and 210.5 km² (81.3 mi²) of it (80.94%) is water. Chilmark ranks 192nd of the 351 communities in the Commonwealth in terms of land area. Chilmark is bordered by Vineyard Sound to the northeast, West Tisbury to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the south and Aquinnah to the southeast.
The town includes the island of Noman's Land, which lies southwest of Martha's Vineyard. Because of the island, the town is officially the second most southerly point in Massachusetts (the south shore of Nantucket is approximately a kilometer south of the southernmost point on Noman's Land). Chilmark has a series of small ponds along the Atlantic side of the town, and is shares Tisbury Great Pond to the east and Menemsha Pond and Squibnocket Pond to the southeast, along the Aquinnah town line. It is between these two ponds, which are 1,100 feet apart at their closest point, that the only road to Aquinnah passes. (There is a beach along the southern side of Squibnecket Pond which also connects the towns; however, the strip of land is frequently washed out.) Chilmark also has the highest point on Martha's Vineyard, at 311-foot tall Peaked Hill.
The town has several sanctuaries and preserves, the largest of which being the Menemsha Hills Reservation just north 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 (although two, Lucy Vincent and Quansoo, are restricted to town residents only.) There is also a boat launch in Menemsha, as well as a Coast Guard Station.
The town has no direct access to the mainland via ferry or by air; Martha's Vineyard Airport is in neighboring West Tisbury, and the Wood's Hole Ferry is in Vineyard Haven, which is almost twelve miles removed from the town center.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 843 people, 382 households, and 237 families residing in the town. The population density was 17.0/km² (44.0/mi²). There were 1,409 housing units at an average density of 28.4/km² (73.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.75% White, 0.36% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.71% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino 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% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 29.6% of all households 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 population was spread out with 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. The per capita income for the town was $30,029. About 5.7% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty 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.
[edit] Government
On the national level, Chilmark is a part of Massachusetts's 10th congressional district, and is currently represented by Bill Delahunt. The state's senior (Class I) member of the United States Senate, re-elected in 2006, is Ted Kennedy. The junior (Class II) Senator, up for re-election in 2008, is John Kerry.
On the state level, Chilmark is represented in the Massachusetts 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 of Falmouth. The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a portion of the Cape and Islands district, which includes all of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and most of Barnstable County (with the exception of Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth and a portion of Barnstable.[1]. All of Dukes County is patrolled by the Fifth (Oak Bluffs) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.[2]
Chilmark is governed on the local level by the open town meeting form of government, and is led by a board of selectmen. All of the town's facilities are centered at a location known as Beetleburg Corner. The Town Hall, Police Department and Fire Department share a building in the northern quadrant of the crossroads, 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.[3]
[edit] Education
Chilmark is served by Chilmark Elementary School, which serves approximately fifty students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The rest of the town's pre-kindergarten through eighth grade population attends Up-Island Regional School in West Tisbury. Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, located in Oak Bluffs, serves the entire island's high school population. 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.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
