>A Short Lived Success cont.

After much dispute and the election of Chilmark resident Stephen Flanders as Representative to the Massachusetts State House, on February 17, 1880, Cottage City (Oak Bluffs) became the official name of the town. Even though the tiny railway linked the two villages, they legally became two separate towns.

Meanwhile, the railroad chugged along, requiring expensive repairs and losing support from Edgartown. In 1877 the town voted to sell the town’s stock getting $315 for what they had paid $15,000 for in 1874. Despite its struggle to survive, the railroad finally went out of business in 1896.

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Martha's Vineyard Museum