Craigville Historic District

Craigville is a small camp meeting community on a bluff overlooking Centerville Harbor and Nantucket Sound. The New England Convention of Christian Churches bought 160 acres of the Perry Farm in 1871 and held its first camp meeting on August 1, 1872. Streets were laid out in grid and curving patterns around a triangular park with a Tabernacle at its northern end, and at least 288 small lots were offered for sale or lease. Within a year, 31 cottages, two hotels, a store and a first Tabernacle had been built. The present Tabernacle dates from 1887. The district covers about eight acres and holds 26 contributing buildings, including Carpenter Gothic cottages such as Alpha Cottage, the store, the post office and the Craigville Inn. Its boundaries exclude later year-round houses. It was listed for its link to the camp meeting movement and for its well-preserved camp architecture. The grounds are still used as a conference center.