Martha's Vineyard Museum
A Finding Aid to the Mink Meadows Golf Club Scrapbook
Table of Contents
Descriptive Summary
| Repository | Martha's Vineyard Museum Gale Huntington Research Library 59 School Street P.O. Box 1310 Edgartown, MA 02539 (508) 627-4441 |
|---|---|
| Call Number | RU 511 |
| Creator | Bigelow, Robert L., 1876-1952 |
| Title | Mink Meadows Golf Club scrapbook |
| Date | 1937-1947 |
| Extent | 1 box (0.252 cubic feet) |
| Language | The materials are in English. |
| Abstract | Robert L. Bigelow was a large property owner on West Chop in Tisbury, Massachusetts. In 1937 he started construction of a golf course there. This scrapbook documents the early years of the creation of the Mink Meadows Golf Club. |
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use and Reproduction Restrictions
Requests to reproduce material from this collection should be directed to the library's staff. Reproduction fees may apply.
Preferred Citation
Martha's Vineyard Museum, RU 511, Mink Meadows Golf Club Scrapbook.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Robert Bigelow, Jr. in 1980 (Accession no. 1980.16).
Publication Information
Martha's Vineyard Museum
Gale Huntington Research Library59 School Street
P.O. Box 1310
Edgartown, MA 02539
(508) 627-4441
Processing Information
Finding aid prepared by Joyce Cooper in January 2015 with assistance from Lara J. Ullman. Finding aid machine-encoded by Nathaniel Janick in February 2015.
Creation of this finding aid was sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.Controlled Access Headings
Genre(s)
- Scrapbooks
Geographic Name(s)
- Tisbury (Mass. : Town)
Subject(s)
- Golf Course
Biography/Historical Note
Robert L Bigelow (1876-1952) was the president of Eastern Exchange Bank (formally Bigelow State Bank, established in 1921) in New York City, New York. In the 1920s he was a large property owner on Martha’s Vineyard, including several properties with beaches and ponds. Bigelow started clearing fire lanes on his property on West Chop, known as Mink Meadows, in 1928. By 1937 he established plans for a 27-hole golf course, with the first nine holes well underway. The course was opened to general play in June of 1938 as a 9-hole course. In 1942 the club was closed due to the outbreak of World War II. The 9-hole course was reopened in 1946 under lease to West Chop summer residents headed by J. Reed Morss.
Scope and Content Note
This scrapbook documents Bigelow's early efforts in establishing a golf course. It includes photographs of clearing the land and installing the first waterlines; newspaper articles of early development and trouble with regulations and Cape & Vineyard Electric Co.; and scorecards, tournament results, fee schedules, and social events.