History of Ocean City, Maryland
(By Elizabeth Tuico) Marylanders of a certain age recall simple summers in Ocean City. We spent our days on the beach and evenings strolling along the historic boardwalk. During my recent visits, I found a shinier Ocean City, MD – one infused with corporate cash and benefits from a more active city government. This change made me wonder about the history of Maryland’s only town built on the Atlantic Ocean.
Indigenous Peoples: Assateague and Nanticoke
European explorers found the Delmarva area attractive for its fishing and crabbing opportunities. For about one hundred years, the Assateague and Nanticoke peoples existed harmoniously with European settlers, who were primarily English Catholics. However, conditions changed when Lord Baltimore granted Thomas Fenwick the land, and Fenwick established the Treaty of 1722. By then, Europeans had seized the native lands and relegated all native peoples to five reservations along the Pocomoke River. A provisional government ruled over the reservations in Ocean City until the Assateague and Nanticoke people left the region. Some relocated to Canada while others remained nearby in Delaware.
Europeans kept the original names of the land like Assateague Island and Assawoman Bay.
Fishing and Agriculture
Early European settlers set up trading posts in Ocean City and tobacco farms. Fishing was a means for survival during the winter months, but slowly Ocean City became a favorite location for professional fishermen. In the late 1800s, wealthy men began hunting in the region, buying up land to build lodges.
First Commercial Developers (1869-1889)
In 1869, Isaac Coffin built the Rhode Island Inn, the first commercial hotel with a tavern. The Atlantic Hotel opened in 1875 and still operates today. Stephen Tabor began marketing this tiny seaside village on a barrier island in the 1880s, calling it “The Ladies’ Resort to the Ocean.”
Railroad Era (1876-1933)
The year 1876 ushered in Ocean City’s railroad era which relied on passenger and freight trains. The railroad served the pounding fish industry by profitably transporting freshly caught fish to markets in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York.
The first railroad to bring passengers into Ocean City was the Wicomico and Pocomoke. In 1868, this line extended from Salisbury to Berlin into the mainland side of Sinepuxent Bay. Passengers got closer to the ocean when the railroad built a low wooden trestle bridge with a center pivot in 1876, creating a station at South Division Street.
The railroad era ended abruptly on August 23, 1933, when a hurricane destroyed the railroad bridge, pound fishing camps, and tracks leading to the camps. No entity ever repaired these important transportation components as automobiles became more popular.
Erosion and Fire
The powerful 1933 storm separated Ocean City from Assateague Island creating an inlet. This new waterway allowed the commercial and recreational fishing industry to expand. Today, boats can safely harbor behind the island but still access the ocean through the inlet. Ocean City’s popular White Marlin Open benefits from this shift in geography.
In 1911, a fire destroyed much of the wooden structures around town. The Great Fire of 1925 destroyed the pier, two blocks of the boardwalk and three blocks of the old downtown as well as the Atlantic and Seaside Hotels. Owners rebuilt the Atlantic Hotel a year later.
Ocean City recovered during the depression years, becoming a major tourist destination with the opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge
In 1952, engineers completed the first span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge which connects Annapolis to the Eastern Shore and Ocean City. Prior to the bridge, drivers and their vehicles boarded ferries to make the journey. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge, along with the completion of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in 1960 which connects Ocean City, MD to Virginia mark the turning point in Ocean City’s history. Tourists saved hours travelling to the beach, making the destination much easier. A second span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened in 1973 which provides five lanes of traffic.
Ocean City, MD in the 1960s
When Chesapeake Bay crossings became faster, Ocean City took off during the decade of the 1960s. Developers built over 15,000 condominium units and hundreds of restaurants and bars followed to accommodate the summer crowds. A 1960 marketing slogan touted Ocean City, MD as “The Hospitality Resort with Family Fun at Family Prices.” Children enjoyed Frontier Town and Jolly Roger amusement park. Officials expanded the boardwalk which became the focal point. Families would vacation for weeks since a working parent could commute easily on the weekends.
Today, this barrier island on the Atlantic Ocean contains twenty miles of beaches and hosts eight million visitors a year.
For more Ocean City, MD memories, check out the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum.
Elizabeth Tuico owns Rebel Road Creative, a marketing and content agency based in Washington, DC. An avid traveler, she enjoys exploring near and far.
