Ocean City, Maryland
| Ocean City, Maryland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Town | |||
| Town of Ocean City | |||
Ocean City in August 2013
|
|||
|
|||
| Nickname(s): "The White Marlin Capital of the World" | |||
 Location in Worcester County and the state of Maryland |
|||
 Ocean City
Ocean City
|
|||
| Coordinates: 38°23′29″N 75°4′11″W / 38.39139°N 75.06972°WCoordinates: 38°23′29″N 75°4′11″W / 38.39139°N 75.06972°W | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Maryland | ||
| County | Worcester | ||
| Founded | 1875 | ||
| Incorporated | 1880 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Council/Manager | ||
| • Mayor | Rick Meehan | ||
| • City Council |
Member List
|
||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 36.37 sq mi (94.20 km2) | ||
| • Land | 4.41 sq mi (11.42 km2) | ||
| • Water | 31.96 sq mi (82.78 km2) 87.87% | ||
| Elevation | 7 ft (2 m) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 7,102 | ||
| • Estimate (2012) | 7,089 | ||
| • Density | 1,610.4/sq mi (621.8/km2) | ||
| 320,000-345,000 estimated summer weekend population | |||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP codes | 21842-21843 | ||
| Area code(s) | 410, 443, 667 | ||
| FIPS code | 24-58225 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0586284 | ||
| Website | www.oceancitymd.gov | ||
Ocean City (OC or OCMD), officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic resort town 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 in that area. The population was 7,102 at the 2010 U.S. Census, although during summer weekends the city hosts between 320,000 and 345,000 vacationers, and up to 8 million visitors annually. During the summer, Ocean City becomes the second most populated town in Maryland. It is part of the Salisbury metropolitan area.
The land upon which the city was built, as well as much of the surrounding area, was obtained by Englishman Thomas Fenwick from the Native Americans. 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.The Atlantic Hotel was originally owned by the Atlantic Hotel Company, but eventually Charles W. Purnell bought it in 1923. It is still currently owned and operated by the Purnell family. Besides the beach and ocean, it offered dancing and billiard rooms to the visitors of its more than 400 rooms, and for years it was the northern-most attraction in Ocean City. 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 on the Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic Railroad directly into the town to a train station on Philadelphia Avenue and returning to larger city markets with locally caught fish from Ocean City.
...
Wikipedia