I recently read an article by Skip Finley referring to Inkwell Beach mentioning it had been called that since the 1800s. This is contrary to what I recall, so I’ve decided to briefly write up my memories for anyone who might be interested. This is in no way meant to rebuke Skip Finley’s facts of memory, however.

I have been a summer resident of the Vineyard and the Bluffs in particular since 1937 and somehow I have fortuitously maintained a strong memory from that era —1937 to the present time. My Uncle Jerry Barmakian owned the former Boston House from 1920 to 1946 —now an amusement center.

I have memories of the beach sites and names in Oak Bluffs at that time, from north to south. Northernmost was the East Chop Beach Club: totally private. From the jetties entrance to the harbor was a small beach to the Boat Wharf and there was what we called the comfort station, now known as public restrooms. (On that beach I learned to swim rather abruptly as my friend Lenny Harrington pushed me off a boulder, no longer there. It was a case of sink or swim and I chose the latter.) From the other side of the boat wharf until the Pay Beach was known as the Town Beach, essentially the length of Ocean Park. It had several sets of stairs, one cement to the upper landing, still there, as are the remnants of the breakwaters.

Pay Beach had two rows of bathhouses, about 100 overall. They had corrugated steel wall interiors, and were about eight feet by 10 feet. The rental cost was $25 per season and we always rented one. About 15 family members used it and we did test managers Bob and Ruth Hughes’ patience — so it was owned by the town of Oak Bluffs. The bathhouses advertised saltwater bathtubs. The pier at Pay Beach had a large deck with music and refreshments, and a basketball court that Howie Leonard and other friends of mine used with reckless abandon. It also had frozen Milky Way candy bars for five cents —my allowance for the day! And with that came a bonus of high dental bills from Doc Amaral, the dentist at the end of Circuit avenue. The hurricane of 1954 I believe obliterated the entire facility to the ground. It was never rebuilt as bathhouses no longer seemed to be in favor or style. In any event, that beach was always known as Pay Beach due to the fact that non-members had to pay 25 cents to gain entrance.

Directly south of Pay Beach was the town pier and beach — more recently called the Inkwell Beach. The pier was where the long jetties are now. It had an upper and a lower level. Midway to the next set of jetties, about 150 feet away was a raft about 25 by 25 feet. It was eventually eliminated as a youngster drowned in the substructure. That beach was always known as Town Pier beach into the 1980s. I have never heard it referred to as Inkwell until well past that time. To confirm this, one might speak to the families of some of the faithful users of Town Pier beach, including Bert Combra, the Bettencourts, John (Bulldog) Richie, the Alwardts, the Bernards, Frances and his older siblings — Kathy White, etc. Of course another storm damaged the pier and the town saw fit not to repair it as there had been a few injuries with roughhousing and diving into shallow water. In fact, one end of that beach was so heavily populated by the extended Barmakian families, the seawall had been scratched Barmakian Beach and many local Oak Bluffs residents mistakenly assumed that corner was a private beach.

South of Town Pier Beach was Harthaven, fenced off as private property. From there, into Edgartown that was known as Sylvia Beach (now called State Beach) named after Joseph Sylvia, owner of the Ocean View Hotel and a state representative.

Vaughn Barmakian
Winchester and Oak Bluffs