The charming doors of gingerbread cottages will open wide to visitors next Wednesday, August 9 for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association 22nd annual Gingerbread Cottage Tour.

All five privately-owned cottages on the tour were built between 1865 and 1890. And contrary to the Camp Ground’s reputation for having dainty dollhouse-sized homes, the houses are all large with open floor plans and second floor balconies. The self-guided tour is $30 per person and includes refreshments. Tickets can purchased at the Tabernacle on the day of the tour, and are available in advance at the Cottage Museum or at mvcma.org/annual-cottage-tour.html. Proceeds benefit the Tabernacle Restoration Fund.

Here’s a look at some of the homes featured on this year’s tour.

1 Trinity Park, The Cottage Museum

The Cottage Museum was originally a privately owned cottage. It was purchased by the MVCMA for use as a museum using donated funds obtained from the sale of a different cottage.

It was built in 1868 and is the only MVCMA cottage open to the public; the rest are all privately owned. The front room and the upstairs bedrooms contain period furniture from the early 20th century. The middle room exhibits artifacts relating to the history of the MVCMA and the back room houses the Museum Shop. The outside of the building was restored beginning in 2006 and heating and cooling were later added. Noises are heard from an empty upstairs; objects have been known to move from place to place when the building is closed and locked, perhaps indicating that a ghost is in residence?

6 Trinity Park Owner: Jan daSilva

A beach stone planter stands in front of 6 Trinity Park. A beach stone step and two small pillars of the same material welcome visitors to the cottage owned by MVCMA newcomer Jan daSilva. The cottage was built in 1866 by George W. Edwards, a ship’s carpenter from New Bedford, and is the oldest on this year’s tour. It was insulated and winterized by a previous owner, but the original tongue and groove vertical boards are still visible in many parts of the house. There is a large roofed balcony with original Romanesque doors behind the rectangular screen doors. At one time, there was another cottage between the daSilva home and #8 Trinity Park, currently next door. Past owners of #6 and #8 added porch rooms extending toward each other, effectively erasing any evidence that another cottage was once between them.

20 Trinity Park, Bannon’s Heaven Owners: Peter and Amy Bannon

The Bannon home is one of the largest cottages in the Camp Ground. It was built in 1868 by Moses H. Bliss, a New Bedford carpenter. He probably both designed and built the cottage because it differs in some respects from other Camp Ground cottages. It has unusual “Swiss cheese” balusters on the large front and side porches as well as on the covered balcony. There are Gothic windows and doors throughout. The front door has frosted diamond-cut glass. The single door on the front porch opens to an extra bedroom (one of six) that was used for storage when the home was purchased. The cottage is on a corner lot and has a relatively large back yard.

23 Trinity Park, Seas the Day Owners: Barry and Wendy Haskell

Most of the cottages on Trinity Park were constructed in the 1870s. The Haskell family has done extensive research on their cottage and believes it was the last one constructed on Trinity Park in 1890. Remnants of piping for gas lights from that era are still visible in the front two bedrooms and hallway. The decorative pierced board balustrades on both the lower porch and the upper balcony are unusual in that they have an acorn pattern. The double doors on the upper balcony are necessary for moving most all furniture to the second floor because the only access inside is a spiral staircase. The current kitchen was once a sleeping porch. The Haskell cottage is one of several in the Camp Ground with an ornate fireplace in the living room.

1 Pawtucket avenue, Sorrento Owners: Frank and Iris Sobchak

The Sobchak cottage was built in 1877, but had a different early life than other Camp Ground cottages. From 1886-1891, it was the location of a pumping station which supplied water to the MVCMA. It became a private dwelling again in 1891. The narrow end of the cottage with a small second floor balcony faces Pawtucket avenue, which means that the porch along the length of the house faces a spacious front yard, Sunset Lake and its beautiful evening light shows.

9 Commonwealth avenue, Bit O’Heaven Owner: Linda Osborne

The Osborne cottage was built in 1871 and was owned by Linda’s parents for many years. It has a roofed second floor balcony and a covered post and bracket porch. As with most Camp Ground cottages, this one was built as a four room box with tongue and groove vertical boards. Over the years, rooms were added behind the original structure. It is easy to see the two rear additions on the second floor of the Osborne cottage. Most of the front of the house has the original vertical tongue and groove boards. The kitchen has been modernized but the large old porcelain sink is still being used.