By the late 1850's, annual visitors were replacing tents with elaborately decorated carpenter Gothic cottages and the first major hotel in Oak Bluffs opened in the 1860's. The expanding number of permanent residents, including a significant immigrant population of Portuguese, continued a substantial fishing industry, built cottages and serviced summer visitors in the thriving tourist business. In modern times Oak Bluffs has come to terms with all of the strands in its past, and among the most sought after houses are the small, colorful, carpenter Gothic cottages built by revivalists. Oak Bluffs is bordered by Nantucket Sound on the north and east, Edgartown on the south, and Tisbury on the west and northwest. It includes both subsidized affordable units and market rate units in certain eligible subsidized developments.
Ferry service is the vital link to and from the Island.
The Wood's Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority provides year-round ferry service. The Island Queen offers summer ferry service from Falmouth Harbor hourly. The principal highways are Beach Road and the Edgartown Vineyard Haven Road. There is no freight or passenger rail service on Martha's Vineyard. The MVTA provides paratransit services to the elderly and disabled, primarily through Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands.