Professor Ellen Weiss’s iconic and evocative book City in the Woods points out that in February 1879, just before our incorporation as Cottage City in 1880, there were 769 cottages and 1,058 taxable buildings. There were also two steam mills, 15 hotels, two markets, two blacksmiths, seven grocery stores and three churches. We were a town of 150 families that included 132 voters. Farm Neck, Eastville, Wesleyan Grove and of course the brand new Oak Bluffs had grown to a township that continued to amaze visitors.
