MARTHA'S VINEYARD GARDEN CLUB
  • WELCOME
  • Meetings/Events/Workshops
    • 2023 Program & Events
    • Directions to the WAKEMAN CENTER
    • Directions to the OLD MILL
  • About Us
    • Who we are
    • Leadership
    • Committees
    • Charitable Projects
    • Fun with the MVGarden Club
    • AG FAIR and the Garden Club!
  • JOIN the Club, RENEW OR DONATE!
  • Garden Club History
    • Blasts from the Past
    • The OLD MILL Yesterday
    • The OLD MILL Today
    • Garden Club Seale
  • Giving Back
    • Rose Styron Garden
    • Harbor Homes
    • Woodside Community Garden
    • Mytoi Gardens on Chappy!
    • Floral Arrangements for Hospice Soiree!
  • Blooming Art
    • Blooming Art - Preview 2023
    • After Blooming Art 2022
    • Blooming Art 2022 Photos and Thank You!
  • Member's Gardens
    • 2022 Garden Walkabouts hosted by our Members
    • Jane Bradbury's Edgartown Garden
    • September: Minor Knight
    • August: Nancy Kilson
    • July: Susan Hobart and Susan Rust
  • Resources
    • Conservation Information
    • Horticultural HInts for January
    • Reference Info, Magazines & Apps
    • Virtual Presentations, Garden Tours and Websites
    • Allied Organizations on MV
    • Prominent Horticultural Organizations
  • Members Only
    • WT & MVCB Grant Information
    • Membership List
    • Branding presentation
    • Bylaws (Aug. 2013)
THE OLD MILL :THE GARDEN CLUB'S OFFICIAL* HOME SINCE 1942. 

History of the property and the Garden Club's Old Mill:
  • The Garden Club's Old Mill sits on property that held two previous grist mills and an earlier textile mill. The first grist mill on the property dates back to the mid-1600’s. 
  • In 1808, David Look purchased the last grist mill, installed carding machines and looms, and began to produce cloth.
  • In 1845, Thomas Bradley purchased the property, built a new textile mill (the Garden Club's Old Mill) and focused on producing satinet, a dense woolen fabric used by seamen because of its water-shedding properties. The Old Mill prospered along with the whaling industry.
  • In 1859, Thomas Bradley sold the property to Henry Cleveland, who continued to produce satinet.
  • The demise of the whaling industry precipitated the decline of the Old Mill. The last known advertisement for satinet appeared in 1873.
  • In 1874, ownership of our Old Mill passed to Thomas Campbell, Henry Cleveland’s son-in-law.
  • In 1879, Thomas Campbell’s widow sold the English-made machinery for junk and the large mill wheel went to a local blacksmith.
  • Between 1897 and 1937, the Old Mill was used intermittently as a tea room, art gallery, and auction house. It fell into disrepair.
 
More recent history:
  • In 1937, when the dilapidated Old Mill was about to be torn down, Mrs. T. M. Randolph Meikelham, the first Garden Club president, objected.  Strongly.  
  • Mrs. T. M. Randolph Meikelha and two other Club members rented the Old Mill to save it from destruction
  • In 1942, the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club was able to buy the property.  And for the past seventy years, the Garden Club has worked hard to preserve the Old Mill. 
  • The Old Mill  is the oldest industrial building in West Tisbury and has strong historical connections with the development of the town.

  • WELCOME
  • Meetings/Events/Workshops
    • 2023 Program & Events
    • Directions to the WAKEMAN CENTER
    • Directions to the OLD MILL
  • About Us
    • Who we are
    • Leadership
    • Committees
    • Charitable Projects
    • Fun with the MVGarden Club
    • AG FAIR and the Garden Club!
  • JOIN the Club, RENEW OR DONATE!
  • Garden Club History
    • Blasts from the Past
    • The OLD MILL Yesterday
    • The OLD MILL Today
    • Garden Club Seale
  • Giving Back
    • Rose Styron Garden
    • Harbor Homes
    • Woodside Community Garden
    • Mytoi Gardens on Chappy!
    • Floral Arrangements for Hospice Soiree!
  • Blooming Art
    • Blooming Art - Preview 2023
    • After Blooming Art 2022
    • Blooming Art 2022 Photos and Thank You!
  • Member's Gardens
    • 2022 Garden Walkabouts hosted by our Members
    • Jane Bradbury's Edgartown Garden
    • September: Minor Knight
    • August: Nancy Kilson
    • July: Susan Hobart and Susan Rust
  • Resources
    • Conservation Information
    • Horticultural HInts for January
    • Reference Info, Magazines & Apps
    • Virtual Presentations, Garden Tours and Websites
    • Allied Organizations on MV
    • Prominent Horticultural Organizations
  • Members Only
    • WT & MVCB Grant Information
    • Membership List
    • Branding presentation
    • Bylaws (Aug. 2013)