Chilmark
Chilmark is a town of rolling hills and unmatched coastline. Not so long ago uninhabited except for an occasional farm or fishing village, it now provides the setting for many a summer home.
The stone fences of the sheep farms still ribbon the hills, while the old stone animal pound stands on the South Road, a reminder of the days when a gate left open resulted in a roaming flock and a fine for its owner.
The center of Chilmark boasts a lovely church. The unique pointed steeple was added when the building was moved in 1915 from its original site on Middle Road.
All roads from the center at Beetlebung Corner lead to points of beauty. Middle Road, perhaps the least improved of Island main roads, provides a lovely view of a placid farm with the Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop.
The Menemsha Crossroad joins North Road and takes one to the fishing village once known as Menemsha Creek. Here the draggers still come in with their great nets and the lobstermen land their catches. Seafood may be purchased on the spot. Lovely private vessels lie along the docks while yachtsmen take on fresh water and supplies. A safe public bathing beach is another attraction. Menemsha is also the home of a Coast Guard station.
Before the days when the Coast Guard looked out for shipwrecked vessels, Vineyarders took it upon themselves to form volunteer groups that provided assistance to sailors in times of need. Open dories were launched into the stormy seas from Squibnocket Landing, the only beach on the South Shore shallow enough for a boat to be launched or landed in heavy weather. It is now a beach for year-round and summer Chilmark residents.
TOWN GOVERNMENT
Fire – To report a fire: 911
Crossroad Station: 508.645.2550
North Road Station: 508.645.2207
Police – To report an emergency: 911
To report urgency, but no emergency: 311
Alternate Emergency Number: 508.696.5776
Station: 508.645.3310
Chilmark Town Hall
Beetlebung Corner
Chilmark 02535
508.645.2100
Information subject to change after town elections in April. Please see www.chilmarkma.gov for updated information.
ELECTED TOWN OFFICERS
Board of Assessors – Clarissa Allen, chair; Leonard Jason Jr.; Elizabeth Barrett Oliver. 508.645.2102
Board of Health – Janet Buhrman; Katherine Lees Carroll; Michael A. Renahan; 508.645.2105
Board of Selectmen – Frank M.Fenner Jr. chair.; Jonathan E. Mayhew; Warren M. Doty; 508.645.2101
Cemetery Commissioners – Wesley Cottle; Jane N. Slater; John O. Flender
Constable – Vacant; Asst. Constables - Timothy Rich; Marshall E. Carroll III
Fence Viewers – Julianna Flanders Thorpe; Samuel Feldman, Keith Emin
Finance Advisory Committee – Marshall E. Carroll III; Robert Chidsey; Bruce Golden; Richard Williams; John Maloney; Frank Yeomans
Land Bank Commission Member – Pamela Goff
Library Trustees – J. Norman Freed, chair.; Jane N. Slater; Janet Widener
Martha’s Vineyard Commission Member (Elected) – Doug Sederholm
Moderator – Everett H. Poole
Planning Board – Catherine Thompson, Bruce Golden; John O. Flender; Janet Weidner; Mitchell Posin; Andrew Fischer; Rich Osnoss; Daniel Greenbaum; 508.645.2104
Site Review Committee – Clarissa Allen
Surveyor of Wood, Lumber, Bark – Keith Emin; Stephen Spongberg; Thomas Ruimerman
Treasurer – Melanie Becker; 508.645.2106
Tree Warden – Keith L. Emin
Up-Island Regional School Committee – Pericles Ambulos
APPOINTED TOWN OFFICERS
Accountant – Emily Day; 508.645.2112.
Building Inspector – Leonard Jason Jr.; 508.645.2103
Collector of Taxes – Jessica Bradlee; 508.645.2108
Community Center Advisory Committee – Frank M. Fenner Jr.; Rodney Bunker; Nan Doty; Tim Carroll
Community Preservation Committee – Allen Healy; Karin Wetmore; Barbara Murphy; Andrew Goldman; Warren Doty; Jane Slater
Conservation Commission – Bruce Bartels; Pam Goff; Richard Steves; Dick Smith; Sandy Broyard; Caitlin Jones; Donald Poole; 508.645.2114
Conservation Officer – Chuck Hodgkinson
Council on Aging – Ann Detrich; Elmore Mayhew; Ethel Sherman; 508.693.2896
Director of Emergency Management – Tim Carroll
Dog Officer – Chris Murphy
Election Officers – Bette F. Carroll; Robert S. Carroll; Wilma G. Hancock; Susan Heilbron
Executive Secretary – Timothy R. Carroll
Fire Chief – David O. Norton
Forest Warden – David O. Norton
Gas Inspector – Mike Ciancio
Harbor Advisory Committee – Louis S. Larsen; Gregory Mayhew; Paul H. Mayhew; Scott McDowell; James D. Morgan; Alex Preston; Donald F. Poole
Harbormaster/Wharfinger – Dennis Jason. 508.645.2846
Highway Department & Highway Surveyor – Keith Emin
Historical Commission – Barbara Armstrong; Elizabeth F. Carroll; John Flender; Jane Slater
Housing Committee – Jim Feiner; Andrew Goldman; Roland Kluver; Sheila Muldaur; Bill Randol; 508.645.2104
Inspector of Animals – Christopher Murphy; Joan Jenkinson; Allen Healy
Inspector of Plumbing – Michael Ciancio
Inspector of Wires – Cole Powers; David Schwab
Land Bank Advisory Committee – Clarissa Allen; Tim Carroll; Warren Doty; Elizabeth Randall; Dick Smith; John O. Flender
Landfill – 508.645.3760
Legal Council for Town – Ronald H. Rappaport, Esq.
Library – 508.645.3360
Library Director – Ebba Hierta
Martha’s Vineyard Commission – Chris Murphy, Douglas E. Sederholm
Martha’s Vineyard Regional Transit Authority Appointee – Leonard Jason Jr.
Park & Recreation Committee – Tim Carroll; Andrew Goldman; Julianna Flanders Thorpe; Jane Slater; Frank M. Fenner Jr.
Personnel Board – Frank Lo Russo; Stephen Lewenberg; Jane Greene; Maxwell McCreery
Police Chief – Brian Cioffi
Registrars – Susan Heilbron; Judy Mayhew; Laurisa Rich
School Advisory Council – Susan Stevens (Principal); Christy & Leigh Moreis; Molly Glasgow; Mary Ambulos; Hillary Noyes Keene
Shellfish Constable – Isaiah Sheffer
Site Review Committee – Clarissa Allen; Jonathan Mayhew; Katherine Carroll; Rich Osnoss; Sandy Broyard
Town Clerk – Jennifer L. Christy; 508.645.2107.
Up-Island Council On Aging – Joyce Bowker, dir.; Kathleen Brady, asst. dir.; Ellen Reynolds, outreach worker; Helen Brown, admin. asst.
Veterans’ Graves Officer – Major Albert Stanley Mercer
Zoning Board of Appeals – Frank Lo Russo; Christopher Murphy; Wendy Weldon; Barbara Armstrong; Allison Burger; Russell Maloney; Allen Healy; 508.645.2114
