Ocean City History: The
area we call Ocean City today has a long history of changes. The county
of Worcester, where Ocean City is located started out belonging to
Delaware and Somerset County, MD over 400 years ago.
Plans
were made to create the port city of Arcadia where the Indian River
Inlet in Delaware is now located. This plan never developed and instead
the city of Baltimore was created.
While not a historic fact, it is believed that the first cottage with rooms to rent was created by Isaac Coffin in 1869. Soon more boarding houses were built and the Ocean City land rush was on.
During
the early 1870's business men from the Eastern Shore, Baltimore, and
Philadelphia decided to develop the area and 250 lots were created.
There were 4,000 corporate stocks issued at $25 each.
On July 4, 1875 the Atlantic Hotel opened. It offered 400 guest rooms along with dancing and billiards.
In
1881 a railroad line was extended from Berlin to Ocean City. This
increased the popularity of Ocean City and made it accessible to more
vacationers.
A 4 day storm in 1933 created an inlet to the bay. Engineers decided to make this a permanent inlet and thus the fishing industry began.
After
the war, in 1952, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was opened and in 1964 the
Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was opened. These 2 projects increased
tourism and allowed for trade routes from the west and the south, making Ocean City one of the largest resorts on the east coast.
During
the 1970's over 10,000 condominium units were built in Ocean City.
Today that trend has given way to single family homes being built on the
outskirts of Ocean City. The post war baby boomer's that once
vacationed in Ocean City are now calling Ocean City (Worcester County)
their home.
Piers
and trees that were once located on the bay side are now ocean front as
the strip of land known as Ocean City steadily creeps westward. While
surf and storms nip away the coastline the bay continues to fill with sand.
A
few years ago Ocean City undertook a beach replenishment project that
pumped sand from the ocean onto the shore and replaced sand dunes that
were destroyed by construction. Only time will tell how this will help.
Today
Ocean City is almost 10 miles long. It starts at the inlet and runs up
to the Delaware state line. From the amusement area on the boardwalk
north towards Delaware, it is easy to see the history of modern day
Ocean City. The Trimper family still operates a carousel that was
purchased in 1903. Yet as you move north on Coastal Highway the modern
day high rise buildings become more prevalent on the Oceanside.
The trailer parks and single family homes are being pushed out to make room for more high density buildings. Land has become scarce and talk of annexing West Ocean City is becoming a loud roar.
Ocean
City will define its future during the next several years. I hope you
will consider becoming a local and help us develop our future.
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