FISHING & CRABBING
LICENSES
REGULATIONS
LICENSES
REGULATIONS
PETS at the beach
| 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. |
| OCEAN CITY, Maryland |
