On Wednesday, August 7, the 18th Camp Ground Cottage tour takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The tour this year consists of six cottages, two just 500-square-feet, and one in the initial stages of renovation. Four cottages are owned by second or third generation Camp Ground residents.

Five of the cottages are located around Victorian Park — 6, 19, 24, 27, 30. The sixth home is at 3 Butler avenue.

The cost for the tour is $25 per person and proceeds benefit the Tabernacle Restoration Fund. Tickets can be purchased at the Tabernacle on the day of the tour, or are available in advance at the Cottage Museum or via PayPal at mvcma.org. The last tickets will be sold at 2 p.m.

The following are cottages included in the tour.

 

6 Victorian Park, owned by Roberta and Jack Lesperance

Roberta and Jack Lesperance now own the cottage purchased by her parents in 1969 and built in 1871. The original Gothic front door and windows (with eyebrows) are somewhat hidden by the covered post and bracket porch. The living room walls are covered with knotty pine panelling and the indoor shutters are original to the cottage. Part of the wraparound porch was enclosed to make a “stateroom” with two bunk beds — a terrific way to create additional private sleeping space. There is also a tiny private garden with a table for two hidden behind the kitchen.

 

 

 

19 Victorian Park, owned by Nancy J. Goldthwait

The Goldthwait cottage is one of the few cottages that appears, at first glance, not much different than it was when it was built in 1869. It has an open front porch and a small upper balcony. The Gothic doors and windows are original and the color of the vertical boards on the front and sides of the cottage was discovered when the shingles were removed about five years ago. The stained glass window in the living room is original to the cottage. Although the kitchen was modernized a few years ago, this cottage has more original features both inside and out than many of the other cottages in the Camp Ground. Nancy Goldthwait’s family has owned several Camp Ground cottages in the immediate area, including the one on the tour that is currently occupied by her daughter and family.

 

 

 

24 Victorian Park, owned by Jeannine and Scott Zeller

The Zeller cottage, built in 1870, has many original features that are covered by a fresh coat of paint and new shingles. The Romanesque windows are original, as are the double front doors, which are adorned with interesting medallions and inset with cobalt blue glass. The downstairs includes two bedrooms in addition to a spacious living room, dining room and kitchen. Scott Zeller’s grandfather purchased another Camp Ground cottage in the 1940s; a Mason and Heller organ from that house resides in the younger Zeller’s large, attractive dining room. It has the original indoor Gothic shutters for the living room windows and knotty pine panelling throughout the first floor.

 

 

 

27 Victorian Park, owned by Margo and Chap Cory

The Cory cottage, built in 1865, is the largest home on the 2013 tour, partially because of an addition built about 10 years ago. However, the front of the house includes a large covered porch and the original door and windows. The unusual circular gingerbread on their front porch railing is the same as that of the Zeller cottage two doors south. The original vertical tongue-and-groove walls are visible in the living and dining rooms as well as the upstairs front bedroom with its double doors to the balcony. The new eat-in kitchen and study and a large master bedroom with its interesting gabled ceiling maintain the cottage look. The fenced-in side yard houses a patio and a beautiful garden. The Corys call their home Nevadun, a name which most leaseholders would agree is appropriate for their own cottages! Chap Cory’s mother came here as a small child and he rented cottages until he and his wife Margo purchased their cottage in 1980.

 

 

30 Victorian Park, owned by Andrew Bowley

Andy Bowley purchased his one-story Camp Ground cottage in 2010 and has been working on it whenever his job allows him to be on the Island. A photo enlarged from a stereoview shows that the double front doors and round window of his 1876 cottage are original. Most of his work so far has been from the bottom up and not visible, though the living room has been painted and the windows are repaired. Andy’s home is a true construction zone. It is both unfinished and unfurnished, its 140-year-old bones exposed for all to see. He stays there whenever he is on the Vineyard, happily and comfortably, and enjoys his yard and garden.

 

 

 

3 Butler Avenue, owned by Sue and Stephen Parchesco

Sue and Steve Parchesco own one of the five remaining one-story campground cottages. Their 500-square-foot cottage was built around 1880 and still has all of the original windows and floors. Every inch of space is creatively used, due to the talents of both Parchescos, and the rooms are tied together by either paint or accessories in the same shade of seafoam green. The kitchen is especially interesting, with an old gas stove retrofitted to induction cooking; laundry is done in a machine under the sink that both washes and dries the clothes.