OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND

'Ocean City', sometimes known as 'OC', is an Atlantic Ocean resort town located in Worcester County, Maryland. Ocean City is widely known in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is a frequent destination for vacationers.

Contents

History

Ocean City today

Senior Week

Geography

Climate

Demographics

Mayors of Ocean City

Notable residents

Notes

References

External links

History

The land the city was built on, as well as much of the surrounding area, was once owned by Englishman Thomas Fenwick. Today, the land is sometimes still referred to as Fenwick Island, which runs from the Ocean city inlet north to Indian River Inlet in Delaware.
In 1869, businessman Isaac Coffin built the first beach-front cottage to receive paying guests. During those days, people arrived by stage coach and ferry. They came to fish off the shore, to enjoy the natural beauty of the Atlantic Ocean pounding against the long strip of sandy beach, to collect seashells, or just to sit back and watch the rolling surf.
Soon after, other simple boarding houses were built on the strip of sand, with the activity attracting prominent businessmen from the Maryland Eastern Shore, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Wilmington. They came not so much to visit as to survey the spit. A decision was made to develop it and 250 lots were cut into it, and a corporation was formed to help with the development of the land. The corporation stock of 4,000 shares sold for $25 each.
Prior to 1870, what is now Ocean City was known as "The Ladies' Resort to the Ocean."
The Atlantic Hotel, the first major hotel in the town, opened July 4, 1875. Besides the beach and ocean, it offered dancing and billiard rooms to the visitors of its more than 400 rooms. By 1878 tourists could come by railroad from Berlin to the shores of Sinepuxent Bay across from the town. By 1881 a line was completed across Sinepuxent Bay to the shore, bringing rail passengers directly into the town.
The Ocean City Inlet was formed during hurricane eight of the 1933 season, the Chesapeake Potomac Hurricane. The inlet separated what is now Ocean City from Assateague Island. The Army Corps of Engineers took advantage of nature's intervention and made the inlet at the south end of Ocean City permanent. The inlet eventually helped to establish Ocean City as one of the world's great fishing ports as it offered easy access to the fishing grounds of the Atlantic Ocean.
Rapid expansion of Ocean City took place during the post-war boom. In 1952, with the completion of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Ocean City became easily accessible to people in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. In 1964, with the completion of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a whole new pathway to the south was opened. Ocean City became one of the largest vacation areas of the East Coast.
By the 1970s, big business flourished and gave birth to the construction of more than 10,000 condominium units, creating a spectacular sight of high-rise condominiums that assured every investor of a glimpse of the ocean and pounding surf. However, throughout the 1980s and into the early 90's, the width of the beach began to shrink, prompting the first of a series of beach replenishment projects.
In 2002, Ocean City undertook the most recent of many, multi-million dollar, beach restoration programs, in an attempt to slow the westward migration of its beaches. The program pumped tons of sand from offshore and deposited it onto the beach. A dune line was also re-established in front of Ocean City's building line. Another similar project began after the 2006 tourist season closed.

Ocean City today

Today, the Ocean City area continues to sprawl westward across the bay and toward Berlin and Ocean Pines. It is part of the Ocean Pines Micropolitan Statistical Area. No longer a quaint resort, it still affords hundreds of thousands of vacationers an escape from their everyday lives.
Ocean City now extends nearly 11 miles (16 km) from the southern inlet to the Delaware line. The strip now supports hotels, motels, apartment houses, shopping centers, residential communities, and condominiums. The southern tip has two amusement parks, Trimpers Rides and The Pier, which has recently been purchased by Jolly Roger's, another local amusement park. The downtown neighborhood is marked by Victorian style houses and other older buildings, many of which have been razed in recent years to construct more parking lots, hotels and condos.
The town supports a full-time population of slightly more than eight thousand, with the town itself being a major employer. Tourism in the winter has picked up pace, where once even many traffic lights were shut down or bagged up, golf and conventions have increased the traffic and has convinced many seasonal restaurants and hotels to remain open. In the summer, the town bursts at the seams, with businesses and government agencies augmented with a large number of temporary policemen, firefighters, and other workers.
The city has erected a memorial to the firefighters who lost their lives on September 11. This memorial is located on the boardwalk, about six blocks from the inlet. The memorial consists of a firefighter statue, engraved brick and stone, and a piece of one of the twin towers that collapsed in New York City.

Senior Week

Ocean City is known as the location of "Senior Week" or "Beach Week." In this yearly event, recently graduated high school seniors from throughout Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania travel to Ocean City to spend a week with their friends and away from parental supervision. Senior Week is traditionally celebrated the first week after graduation, and has become a staple of East Coast tradition. The town is filled with graduating seniors from mid-May to mid-June. Many of the lower quality hotels thrive off of "Senior Week" by offering cheap rates as well as turning a blind eye to underage drinking.

Geography

Ocean City is located at 38°23'29" North, 75°4'11" West (38.391526, -75.069712). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 94.2 km² (36.4 mi²). 11.8 km² (4.6 mi²) of it is land and 82.4 km² (31.8 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 87.47% water.
Ocean City is on the barrier spit, which encompasses Ocean City, South Bethany, Delaware, and Fenwick Island, Delaware.

Climate

Ocean City's location in the middle of the East Coast affords it a mild Humid subtropical climate, with hot, humid summer and mild, wet winters. Summer highs often reach into the 80s, but ocean breezes keep the immediate coast cooler than inland locations. Due to the prominence of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which lie to the south and east, tropical storms and hurricanes are very rare.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 7,173 people, 3,750 households, and 1,829 families residing in the town. The population density is 607.3/km² (1,574.7/mi²). There are 26,317 housing units at an average density of 2,228.3/km² (5,777.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 95.34% White, 2.50% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 1.24% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 3,750 households, out of which 11.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% are married couples living together, 6.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 51.2% are non-families. 39.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 1.91 and the average family size is 2.47.
In the town the population is spread out with 11.3% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 25.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 47 years. For every 100 females there are 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 103.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $35,772, and the median income for a family is $44,614. Males have a median income of $28,613 versus $27,457 for females. The per capita income for the town is $26,078. 8.4% of the population and 6.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 23.0% are under the age of 18 and 3.9% are 65 or older.
The City Comprehensive Plan estimates the city's total number of weekend visitors, during summer months, typically reaches 320,000-345,000.

Mayors of Ocean City

Ocean City's elections are non-partisan.

'Name'	'From'	'To'
William S. Wilson	1894	1898
George M. Upshur	1896	1898
James Z. Powell	1898	1900
Clayton J. Purnell	1900	1902
John F. Waggaman	1902	1903
Christopher Ludlam	1903	1908
W. Lee Carey	1908	1912
William B.S. Powell	1912	1916
John B. Jones	1916	1918
Edward M. Scott	1918	1920
Elbridge E. Collins	1920	1922
William W. McCabe	1922	1934
William Thomas Elliott	1934	1938
Edmond H. Johnson	1938	1940
Clifford P. Cropper	1940	1944
Daniel Trimper, Jr.	1944	1959
Hugh T. Cropper	1959	1970
Harry W. Kelley	1970	1985
Granville Trimper	1985	1985
Roland E. Powell	1986	1996
James N. Mathias, Jr.	1996	2006
Rick Meehan	2006	-

★ http://archive1.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/mdmanual/37mun/ocean/html/omayors.html

Notable residents

★ Spiro Agnew, former United States Vice President

★ Charles Calhoun, first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

★ Don Geronimo, of the Don and Mike Show

Notes

★ In a Travel Channel poll Ocean City's boardwalk was rated third best in the USA.

★ The 1986 film, "Violets are Blue", starring Sissy Spacek and Kevin Kline, was filmed in Ocean City.

References

1. http://www.town.ocean-city.md.us/Planning%20and%20Zoning/DraftComprehensivePlan/Chapter1.htm Planning and Zoning

External links

★ Town of Ocean City, MD Official Site

★ Ocean City, MD Chamber of Commerce

★ Ocean City, MD Department of Tourism

★ OceanCityWiki.com

★ Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company

★ Art League of Ocean City