Gosnold is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

that encompasses the

Elizabeth Islands The Elizabeth Islands are a chain of over 20 small islands extending southwest from the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the United States. They are located at the outer edge of Buzzards Bay, north of Martha's Vineyard, from whic ...

in Dukes County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 70, making it the least populous town in Massachusetts. Most of the residents live in the island village of Cuttyhunk, an island on the southwestern part of the town. The largest island in the town by area, Naushon Island, is owned by the

Forbes family The Forbes family is one of the components of the Boston Brahmins—a wealthy extended American family long prominent in Boston, Massachusetts. The family's fortune originates from trading opium and tea between North America and China in the 1 ...

History

The earliest inhabitants of the

were the

Wampanoag The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and forme ...

Native Americans. The tribe did not settle permanently on the Elizabeth Islands, but used them in summer for

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, and

gardening Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of Aesthetics, aesthetically pleasing area ...

. Occasionally,

arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, or sometimes for special purposes such as signaling. ...

s or

stone tool Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a ...

s are discovered on the islands. The islands' names come from the

Wampanoag language The Massachusett language is an Algonquian language of the Algic language family that was formerly spoken by several peoples of eastern coastal and southeastern Massachusetts. In its revived form, it is spoken in four Wampanoag communities. ...

. Bartholomew Gosnold was among the first Europeans to become aware of the Elizabeth Islands, including Cuttyhunk, in 1602. He and his crew attempted to establish a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

on Cuttyhunk so that they could trade with the natives, the first attempt by

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

ans to do so. The trading post was abandoned after only a few weeks, and Gosnold decided to return home. Upon his return to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the

British Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

claimed jurisdiction of the island chain. Gosnold was first settled in 1641, the year of purchase of the islands by Thomas Mayhew, Sr. The islands were claimed by the Wampanoag until 1658, when the Wampanoag

sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Alg ...

transferred the deed of ownership to Mayhew. Constituting Dukes County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

since 1683, the Elizabeth Islands,

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

, and

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...

, were transferred to the newly created

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

in 1691. Gosnold was separately incorporated as a municipality in 1864; previously it was a part of the town of Chilmark.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 90.59%, is water. Gosnold ranks 272nd out of the 351 communities in the Commonwealth in terms of land area; however, it has the longest distance between points within municipal limits of any town in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It consists of the Elizabeth Islands, including Nonamesset Island, Uncatena Island,

Naushon Island Naushon Island is the largest of the Elizabeth Islands in southeastern Massachusetts. It is part of the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts, and is currently owned by the Forbes family. As of the 2000 census, the island had a permanent population of ...

, Pasque Island, Nashawena Island, Penikese Island, Cuttyhunk Island, and several smaller islands. The string of islands extend roughly southwest of the southwestern tip of Falmouth, with the closest island, Nonamesset, being less than one-third of a mile away at its closest point. More than half the population lives on Cuttyhunk, with the majority of the rest living on Naushon.

Transportation

Transportation to the island of Cuttyhunk is served by Cuttyhunk Ferry Company from New Bedford. Service is daily in the warm months, and on Monday and Friday in the cooler months. There is also a water taxi service between New Bedford and Cuttyhunk. Naushon Island is served by a private ferry from Woods Hole. The islands of Nonamesset and Uncatena are connected to Naushon Island via bridges that can be crossed by foot. Penikese Island is accessible via a chartered boat for STEM-related school trips. All other remaining islands in the town of Gosnold do not have regular / publicized boat service and require a private vessel to be reached.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 70 people and 26 households residing in the town. The population density was . There were 218 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 61 (87.14%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3 (4.29%)

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino, 3 (4.29%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s, Native Americans, and 5 (7.14%) from two or more races. The census did not report any

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

ns, or

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

s, and reported one person as Some Other Race. In the town, the population was made up entirely of adults. 36.7% who were 65 years of age or older. According to the 2010 Census, Gosnold now has the lowest population density of any town in the Commonwealth. The title was previously held by

Mount Washington Mount Washington is an ultra-prominent mountain in the state of New Hampshire. It is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorio ...

at the southwest corner of Massachusetts. Gosnold was first in a 2008 ranking of all Massachusetts communities in terms of total value of real estate per resident.

Government and politics

Government

On the national level, Gosnold is a part of

Massachusetts's 9th congressional district Massachusetts's 9th congressional district is located in eastern Massachusetts. It is represented by Democrat Bill Keating. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+6, it is the least Democratic district in Massachusetts, a state with an al ...

, and is currently represented by Democrat Bill Keating. Massachusetts is currently represented in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

by senior Senator (Democrat)

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

and junior Senator (Democrat)

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...

. On the state level, Gosnold is represented in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

as a part of the Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket district, which includes all of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, as well as a portion of Falmouth. The town is represented in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

as a portion of the Cape and Islands district, which includes all of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and most of Barnstable County (with the exception of Bourne,

Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

, and Falmouth). All of Dukes County is patrolled by the Fifth (Oak Bluffs) Barracks of Troop D of the

Massachusetts State Police The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for law enforcement and vehicle regulation across the state. As of 2024, it has 2,500 sworn troop ...

. Gosnold is governed on the local level by the

open town meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...

form of government, and is led by a

board of selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...

. Due to its geographic isolation and small population, the town has at times asked for a waiver from the Commonwealth from anti-nepotism laws.

Political affiliation

Politics

Education

The town has one schoolhouse, Cuttyhunk Elementary School. As of 2020, the school has no students. However, the town hopes to use the school as a STEM resource center for mainland schools to visit. Penikese Island is home to The Penikese School. It operated as a private school for troubled boys until 2011. The school then became a substance abuse treatment center for a short time before converting into an educational facility for field trips.

References

External links

The Town of Gosnold
Dukes County Official Page
Cuttyhunk Historical Society; The Museum of the Elizabeth Islands
{{authority control Elizabeth Islands Populated coastal places in Massachusetts Towns in Dukes County, Massachusetts Populated places established in 1641 1641 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Towns in Massachusetts