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74-504: Ocean City may refer to one of several places in the United States: Ocean City, Maryland , a prominent beach resort town in the mid-Atlantic region Ocean City, New Jersey , a family-oriented seaside resort town near Atlantic City Ocean City, North Carolina , a historically African-American district of North Topsail Beach, North Carolina Ocean City, Florida ,

148-620: A humid subtropical climate with long, warm to hot and humid summers, cool winters and year-round precipitation. Ocean City receives 2300 hours of sunshine annually (higher than the USA average). Temperatures are moderated in Ocean City due to its location on the Atlantic coast. During the summer months, a cooling afternoon sea breeze is present on most days with an average of only 10 days annually reaching 90 °F (32 °C). However, in 2010

222-658: A census-designated place (CDP) in Okaloosa County Ocean City, Washington , a sparsely populated CDP along the Pacific Coast See also [ edit ] West Ocean City , a small CDP in Worcester County, Maryland. [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

296-747: A fairly rapid expansion that took place during the post-World War II 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. This tunnel connects Northampton County on the Delmarva Peninsula to Southeast Virginia. Ocean City has become one of

370-587: A ferry terminal at Claiborne , west of St. Michaels , to Ocean City, via the Baltimore and Eastern Shore Railroad and the Wicomico and Pocomoke Railroad . Travelers could also take a ferry to Love Point on Kent Island, board a Queen Anne's Railroad train, and travel east to Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware . Automobile transportation across the Chesapeake Bay was by ferryboat until 1952, when

444-522: A few major roads; the main connection to the other parts of Maryland is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge , which carries U.S. Route 50 and U.S. Route 301 . U.S. Route 13 connects the southern part of the Eastern Shore to both Delaware and points north and Virginia and points south. The Eastern Shore of Maryland comprises Caroline , Cecil , Dorchester , Kent , Queen Anne's , Somerset , Talbot , Wicomico , and Worcester counties. These lie on

518-558: A flat, sandy area that forms the coast. The coastal plain includes the Delmarva Peninsula and hence the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The geology of Delmarva is an inseparable part of the Eastern Shore, which has few rocky outcrops south of Kent County. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal crosses from Back Creek on the Elk River to Port Penn, Delaware . While it was a shallow canal with locks after its construction in 1829, it

592-509: A male householder with no wife present, and 53.7% were non-families. 42.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.84 and the average family size was 2.41. The median age in the town was 54.2 years. 9.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.8% were from 25 to 44; 33.8% were from 45 to 64; and 29.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of

666-423: A mayor and seven-member city council. The mayor is elected at-large to two-year terms while the city council is elected at-large to staggered four-year terms. The city council elects a council president who presides over and sets the agenda for city council meetings. The mayor represents the town to state and local agencies. Both the mayor and city council hire a city manager who is in charge of all daily operations of

740-539: A multi-million dollar beach restoration program 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. In 2006, the city erected the Ocean City Firefighter's Memorial to honor local firefighters as well as firefighters who died in

814-711: A public transportation system called Ocean City Transportation . This agency operates the Coastal Highway Beach Bus, the West Ocean City Park-N-Ride Beach Bus, the Express Beach Bus for special events, and a trackless train shuttle called the Boardwalk Tram. Ocean City Transportation also offers paratransit service. The Boardwalk Tram operates during the summer months along the entire length of

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888-512: A state delegate seat in district 37A. Ocean City 's skyline, containing tall hotels and condominiums, stands out within Delmarva . At the southern end of the town, a recreational boardwalk spans over thirty blocks, containing carnival rides and games, restaurants, bars, arcades, and clothing boutiques. Tourists visit St. Michaels on a neck surrounded by water; the colonial former port of Oxford ; Chestertown ; and isolated Smith Island in

962-564: A state encompassing the Delmarva Peninsula . The 1998 proposal by state Senators Richard F. Colburn and J. Lowell Stoltzfus did not specify a status for Eastern Shore's nine counties following secession, but suggested the new state's name could be "Delmarva". The Delmarva Shorebirds are a minor league baseball team who play Class A baseball in the Carolina League at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury , affiliated with

1036-522: A subsidiary of Chesapeake Utilities , provides natural gas to the town. The Town of Ocean City Municipal Water Department provides water to the town, operating 25 wells, 3 treatment plants, 6 above-ground storage tanks, and an underground storage tank. The Public Works department provides wastewater service to Ocean City, operating the Ocean City Wastewater Treatment Plant. Trash and recycling collection in Ocean City

1110-509: Is considered to be the first English settlement within the Province of Maryland . Talbot County was formed in 1662. Cecil County was formed in 1674, by proclamation of the Governor, from eastern portions of Baltimore County and the northern portion of Kent County. Wicomico County was formed in 1867, as the 9th and last county, created from Somerset and Worcester counties. Ocean City

1184-944: Is handled by the Public Works department, with the town's trash transported by Reworld to the Energy Resource Recovery Facility in Fairfax, Virginia , a waste-to-energy plant. Police services in Ocean City are provided by the Ocean City Police Department , which consists of 105 full-time officers and from 100 to 110 seasonal officers. Fire protection in Ocean City is provided by the Ocean City Fire Department, which consists of over 200 volunteer members and over 100 career members. Ocean City has three sister cities: Maryland Eastern Shore As of

1258-446: Is home to a fishing, crabbing, and seafood processing industry. In the 21st century, the main economic activities on the Eastern Shore are vegetable and grain farming , seafood , large-scale chicken breeding ( Perdue Farms was founded in Salisbury and is still headquartered there today), and tourism . Tobacco was the chief commodity crop during colonial times. The agricultural economy switched to mixed products, including grain, in

1332-767: Is home to one of the United States' oldest operational carousel rides. Colloquially known as "The Pride of the Boardwalk," the 1912 Herschell-Spillman carousel received the National Carousel Association's Historic Carousel Award in 1996. The Midtown section of Ocean City stretches from 28th Street to 90th Street and is home to dining along the bay and nightlife. Located in Midtown are the Jolly Roger Amusement Park and

1406-588: 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 originally was owned by the Atlantic Hotel Company, but eventually Charles W. Purnell bought it in 1923. As of 2014 , it is still owned and operated by the Purnell family. Besides the beach and ocean, it offered dancing and billiard rooms to

1480-494: Is part of the Salisbury metropolitan area as defined by the United States Census Bureau . In the summer, businesses and government agencies are augmented with approximately 100 seasonal police officers, plus extra firefighters and other workers. Numerous events take place within the town during the shoulder-season, including Sunfest, Springfest, Bike Week, Cruisin' Weekend, Winterfest of Lights, and Reach

1554-571: Is the longest-running municipal skatepark in the United States today. Due to time, wear and the current needs of skaters, the original bowl and steel halfpipe ramp were torn down in the Fall of 1997 and the newly constructed skatepark opened in July 1998 on the same site. The park has attracted the National Dew Tour for several years. Ocean City has a council-manager system of government with

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1628-564: Is the most populous community on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The region's economy is dominated by three industry sectors: fishing along the coasts, especially for shellfish such as the blue crab ; farming, especially large-scale chicken farms; and tourism, especially centered on the Atlantic coast and beach resort of Ocean City . Because of its coastal and low-lying geography, the region is vulnerable to extreme weather events, including hurricanes and larger environmental issues like climate change and rising sea levels . The region contains

1702-580: The Algonquian-speaking Assateague and Nanticoke peoples. The land on which the city was built and much of the surrounding area was obtained by Thomas Fenwick, an Englishman, from the Indigenous peoples of the region. In 1869, businessman Isaac Coffin built the first beach-front cottage to receive paying guests. During those days, people arrived by stagecoach and ferry. Soon after, other simple boarding houses were built on

1776-810: The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal . There are three major routes to the Eastern Shore: The two major highways on the Eastern Shore are U.S. Route 13 and U.S. Route 50 , which meet in Salisbury . Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional Airport , in Salisbury, is the only commercial airport on the Delmarva Peninsula . Airports for private aircraft include: The Eastern Shore has made several attempts to separate from Maryland. Proposals were debated in Maryland's General Assembly in 1833–1835, 1852, and 1998. There were earlier proposals visualizing

1850-720: The Civil War by local companies; by the late nineteenth century, all were controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad (which also bought control of the steamboat and ferry routes), then Conrail and Norfolk Southern . Today the remaining active railroad tracks on the Eastern Shore are operated by short-line railroads Delmarva Central Railroad and the Maryland and Delaware Railroad . Commercial east–west ties between Delaware towns and Maryland towns were culturally significant in Colonial and Early American periods despite

1924-551: The Dave Mathews Band , Cyndi Lauper , The Lumineers , and Alanis Morissette . However, Tropical Storm Ian forced the event to be rescheduled for fall 2023. Ocean City continues to sprawl westward across the bay, toward Berlin and Ocean Pines . It was part of the Ocean Pines micropolitan statistical area until that was subsumed by the Salisbury metropolitan area . According to the U.S. Census Bureau ,

1998-522: The Mason–Dixon line forms the border between Maryland and Delaware. The border was originally marked every mile by a stone, and every five miles by a "crownstone". The line is not quite due north and south, but is as straight as survey methods of the 1760s could make it. It was surveyed as a compromise solution to a century-long wrangle over colonial territory between the Penn and Calvert families of England. If

2072-581: The Roland E. Powell Convention Center . This area also features the Seacrets entertainment complex on 49th Street, one of the highest-grossing bars in the country, known for bringing in hundreds of coconut palms and other tropical plants in the summer. Historical sites include: Ocean City is known for its Senior Week activities when recently graduated high school seniors from Maryland and surrounding states travel to Ocean City. Senior Week historically begins

2146-574: The September 11 attacks . In addition to a statue of a firefighter, the monument incorporates a piece of steel beam from one of the towers destroyed at the World Trade Center . In 2011 the resort area accommodated approximately 8 million visitors per year. In 2022, the Town of Ocean City announced the inaugural Oceans Calling Festival, a four-day music event drawing major artists such as

2220-723: The Town of Ocean City , is an Atlantic resort town in Worcester County , Maryland , along the East Coast of the United States . The population was 6,844 at the 2020 U.S. census , although during summer weekends the city hosts between 320,000 and 345,000 vacationers and up to eight million visitors annually. During the summer, Ocean City becomes the second most populated municipality in Maryland, after Baltimore . It

2294-486: The "Atlantic Avenue", the first Ocean City boardwalk was constructed in 1902. After being damaged by a storm in 1962, the boardwalk was rebuilt to stretch a total of 2.25 miles, which is its current length. In 1985, the boardwalk suffered extensive storm damage during Hurricane Gloria , which pummeled Ocean City with 89 MPH winds; however, the boardwalk was refurbished and a concrete sea wall was soon constructed to prevent further damage. The aftermath of Hurricane Gloria led to

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2368-405: The 2020 census, its population was 456,815, with about 7% of Marylanders living in the region. The region is politically more conservative than the rest of the state, generally returning more votes for Republicans than Democrats in statewide and national elections. Developed in the colonial and federal period for agriculture, the Eastern Shore has remained a relatively rural region. Salisbury

2442-537: The Atlantic Ocean fishing grounds. In the late 1930s, the Army Corps of Engineers dredged a new channel on the bayside of Ocean City to allow larger boats to have access to Sinepuxent Bay. The dredge was pumped back onto the western shore of Ocean City allowing the creation of Chicago Avenue and St. Louis Avenue, leading to new development where previously only marshland had been. Ocean City has undergone

2516-588: The Beach, which take place on the Boardwalk and in the Roland E. Powell Convention Center . Ocean City is also home to the annual Maryland State Firefighters Convention, a week-long event in June that honors the state's firefighters. Before the European colonization of what is now Maryland in the 17th century, the shoreline of the Delmarva Peninsula had been populated for thousands of years by Indigenous peoples including

2590-722: The Chesapeake Bay. North of Crisfield is Janes Island State Park , with camping and kayaking trails through marshlands. Cambridge continues to be a popular destination for tourism because of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge , the Hyatt Chesapeake Bay Resort, Spa & Marina, and the Harriet Tubman National Park. At the southern end of the Chesapeake coast of Maryland, the town of Crisfield

2664-622: The Chesapeake Bay/Delaware Bay watershed divide had been taken as the borderline, the state of Delaware would be about half its current size. William Claiborne was granted land that was then part of the Colony of Virginia in 1629. He named it "Kent County". In 1631, he sailed north up the Chesapeake Bay from its south and west side to the area known today as Kent Island . There he made a fortified settlement that

2738-633: The Eastern Shore overall. At the presidential level, the Eastern Shore also leans Republican. But Kent and Somerset counties have flipped back and forth in supporting Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. The last Democrat to win Dorchester County was Bill Clinton from Arkansas in 1996 . Cecil County has not gone Democratic since Jimmy Carter from Georgia won the county in 1976 . Queen Anne's, Caroline, Wicomico, and Worcester counties have voted Republican at every election subsequent to Lyndon Johnson's landslide . Up until 2020, this

2812-629: The Ocean City Boardwalk. Ocean City's transit service connects with Shore Transit , which connects with other destinations. From May to September, the DART First State Beach Bus connects with the Coastal Highway Beach Bus. Ocean City Municipal Airport , located 3 miles (4.8 km) west of downtown Ocean City serves general aviation and charter aircraft. Delmarva Power , a subsidiary of Exelon , provides electricity to Ocean City. Sandpiper Energy ,

2886-755: The White Marlin Open, one of the larger fishing tournaments in the world, is held. Prize money for the largest white marlin , blue marlin , and tuna can range over $ 1 million. The Ocean City Boardwalk currently runs from South 2nd Street at the Ocean City Inlet in South Ocean City (by the Ocean City Life Saving Station Museum ) up to 27th Street in South Ocean City. The boardwalk is home to food, shops, arcades, and amusements. Originally called

2960-544: The annual Sunfest destroyed five boardwalk businesses in 1994. There was a small water park and giant walk-through haunted house with live actors near the end of the pier and a New Orleans-style Hollywood in Wax Museum on the boardwalk side. In the mid 1990s, the wax museum closed and was turned into a Photon laser tag arena . The building now houses the Ripley's Believe it or Not! museum. In 2002, Ocean City undertook

3034-498: The border line, which largely cut through woods and swamps. Trade with Philadelphia was conducted by overland routes to Delaware towns such as Odessa (then called Cantwell's Bridge) and Smyrna , then called Duck Creek. Agricultural products and milled grain were taken up the Delaware River by "shallop men" in small vessels called shallops . These cultural connections continue to this day. An east–west rail route ran from

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3108-466: The coastal geography, infrastructure is already being damaged both due to sea level rise, and storm surge from tropical storms and hurricanes. The Eastern Shore's economy depends on the larger fisheries and farming, both of which are sensitive to climate change. Various waterways provide a medium for commerce and boaters: the Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay , the Susquehanna River , and

3182-475: The eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay and Susquehanna River , which is the western border of Cecil County with Harford County . The region borders the Mason–Dixon line with Delaware to the east and north, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and Virginia's Eastern Shore on the south. Maryland's and Virginia's Eastern Shores, along with most of Delaware, form the Delmarva Peninsula . The location of

3256-630: The first Chesapeake Bay Bridge was opened for traffic. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, developers began selling lots on Assateague Island, south of the inlet. However, a storm on March 6, 1962 destroyed houses, shacks, and roads. The state and federal governments intervened before reconstruction by creating the Assateague Island National Seashore and Assateague State Park to preserve this area rather than have it be developed. An Eastern Shore Baseball League operated during three periods between 1922 and 1949. It

3330-436: The first phase of extensive beach replenishment projects in Ocean City. In 2012, the Ocean City Boardwalk was damaged again as a result of Hurricane Sandy , which flooded and destroyed half the boardwalk. The boardwalk has since been rebuilt to its original length and attracts many tourists. Also located in South Ocean City is Trimper's Rides , a historic amusement park founded in 1893 as The Windsor Resort. Trimper's Rides

3404-513: The first steamboat traveled the Bay. By the 1880s, railroad lines linked the Eastern Shore to Philadelphia and later, Norfolk, Virginia , by way of a railroad line straight south from Wilmington to Dover , Delmar , Salisbury , and Cape Charles . Maryland's Eastern Shore was served by branch lines running generally southwest from the main route. See List of railroad lines in the Delmarva Peninsula . The Eastern Shore's many branchlines were built after

3478-477: The first week after graduation, and the graduates often are referred to as "June Bugs". The city is home to the Brine Beach Lax Festival (Lacrosse) on the second week of June. The Ocean City Film Festival takes place every year in early March. First opened in June 1976, Ocean Bowl Skatepark in South Ocean City was the first skate park to open on the East Coast in the United States, and it

3552-399: The inlet permanent, dividing Fenwick Island (north) from Assateague Island (south). Early transportation to the island was by train. Until the 1820s, travel and commerce between the Eastern Shore and Baltimore were less important than the connections between it and Philadelphia. Water travel by sailboat and steamer linked the Eastern Shore to Baltimore more tightly beginning about 1813, when

3626-427: The largest vacation areas on the East Coast. By the 1970s, big business flourished and gave birth to the construction of more than 15,000 condominium units, creating high-rise condominiums that gave investors a glimpse of the ocean and pounding surf. However, throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, the width of the beach began to shrink, prompting the first of a series of beach replenishment projects. A fire during

3700-424: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ocean_City&oldid=1154657203 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ocean City, Maryland Ocean City , [oʊʃɪn sɪtiː] officially

3774-545: The more densely populated and urban Western Shore. Since the late 20th century, when conservative whites shifted to the Republican Party, the region has strongly supported Republican candidates for governor. The three Republican nominees for governor from 1994 to 2018 – Ellen Sauerbrey , Bob Ehrlich , and Larry Hogan – swept all nine counties. This streak ended in 2022 when Democrat Wes Moore won Kent and Talbot counties, though Republican Dan Cox still won

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3848-575: The original Coast Guard tower on Caroline Street. The Ocean City Inlet was formed during a significant hurricane in 1933, which also destroyed the train tracks across the Sinepuxent Bay. The inlet separated what is now Ocean City from Assateague Island . The Army Corps of Engineers took advantage of nature's intervention and made permanent the inlet at the south end of Ocean City. The inlet eventually helped establish Ocean City as an important Mid-Atlantic fishing port, as it offered easy access to

3922-563: The popular restaurant, nightclub, distillery, and entertainment venue Seacrets. The call letters stand for "We are Ocean City Maryland". Music Ocean City is mentioned in the Car Seat Headrest song “Beach Life-In-Death”. Ocean City has a single major north−south thoroughfare, Maryland Route 528 , known as the Coastal Highway for most of its length. Two bridges connect the mainland to Ocean City: Ocean City also has

3996-484: The rivers and bays surrounding Ocean City until the overflowing water cut a 50-foot crevasse from the bay to the ocean. Ocean City businessmen had long sought funding to create an inlet to support a harbor, so residents seized upon the opportunity and built jetties to ensure the city's land remained divided from what is now Assateague Island . According to the Köppen climate classification system, Ocean City, Maryland has

4070-494: The second half of the 18th century. Energy in the Eastern shore is provided by five oil and natural gas plants. As part of the broader Chesapeake Bay watershed , the Eastern Shore confronts common environmental issues of the watershed, such as nutrient runoff from agriculture, but it is also vulnerable to climate change . Because of its low-lying geography and sandy soil, the region is particularly vulnerable to sea level rise and salt water intrusion. Moreover, because of

4144-416: The southern border with Virginia was a cause for significant dispute amongst colonists prior to 1668, when Phillip Calvert of Maryland and Edmund Scarborough of Virginia demarcated the Calvert-Scarborough Line. This line ran northeast from Watkins Point in the Chesapeake through the James L. Horsey Farm and beyond to the Atlantic, but was ultimately never observed due to poor marking. The line in use today

4218-424: The strip of sand, with the activity attracting prominent businessmen from the Maryland Eastern Shore , Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Wilmington, Delaware. 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. Before 1870, what

4292-462: The subsequent general election to Democrat Frank Kratovil , Queen Anne's County state's attorney. In 2010, Harris again ran for the district and handily defeated Kratovil after a single term in office. Harris has held the seat without serious difficulty since. In the Maryland General Assembly , the Eastern Shore encompasses a portion of district 35B and all of districts 35A, 36, 37A and 37B, 38A, 38B and 38C. All seats are held by Republicans except for

4366-532: The temperature rose to 103 °F (39 °C) which was the hottest air temperature on record, and episodes of extreme heat combined with tropical humidity can occur with heat index values ≥ 100 °F (37.8 °C). The prominence of the Outer Banks of North Carolina to the south means direct hits from tropical storms and hurricanes are rare, although they sometimes brush the area. The Atlantic hurricane season extends from June 1 through November 30, sharply peaking from late August through September. During

4440-409: The town and serves as its chief financial officer. As of 2017, the mayor of Ocean City is Rick Meehan, and the members of city council are council president Matt James, council secretary Tony Deluca, Frank Knight, Carol Proctor, William Savage, John Gehrig Jr., and Peter Baus Ocean City has an emergency advisory radio system broadcast on two FM frequencies. WOCM broadcasts from studios located at

4514-438: The town has a total area of 36.37 square miles (94.20 km ), of which 4.41 square miles (11.42 km ) is land and 31.96 square miles (82.78 km ) is water. Ocean City is on the barrier spit called Fenwick Island , which encompasses Ocean City, as well as South Bethany and Fenwick Island, Delaware . Ocean City's southern point is an inlet formed by the 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane . Rainfall and tides swelled

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4588-427: The town to a train station on Philadelphia Avenue and returning to larger city markets with locally caught fish from Ocean City. In 1930, Ocean City Beach Patrol was formed in order to better protect the bathers that frequented the shoreline. It was done in collaboration with Mayor William W. McCabe and Coast Guard Captain William Purnell. The first guard, Edward Lee Carey, watched over bathers who swam out of sight from

4662-476: The town was 51.4% male and 48.6% female. Ocean City now extends just more than 9 mi (14 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 houses the Ocean City Boardwalk. The boardwalk is the main shopping district and entertainment area of the town. The Boardwalk has two amusement parks , Trimpers Rides and The Pier, which

4736-417: The town was 92.2% White , 2.7% African American , 0.2% Native American , 1.3% Asian , 2.2% from other races , and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.9% of the population. There were 3,852 households, of which 11.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.8% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.3% had

4810-403: The visitors of its more than 400 rooms, and for years it was the northernmost attraction in Ocean City. By 1878, tourists could come by the Wicomico & Pocomoke 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

4884-503: The winter months, Ocean City has cool weather with an average high of 45 F (7.5 C), however periods of mild temperatures in the 50 to 60 F range are common. The air temperature fails to rise above freezing 5.8 days on average and the plant hardiness zone is 7b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 9.1 °F (−12.7 °C). On rare occasion, episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill values under 5 °F (−15 °C). The coldest temperature on record

4958-458: Was 90.0% White , 5.8% Hispanic , 0.8% African American , 0.2% American Indian and Alaskan Native , 0.8% Asian , and 2.2% two or more races. As of the census of 2010, there were 7,102 people, 3,852 households, and 1,784 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,610.4 inhabitants per square mile (621.8/km ). There were 30,119 housing units at an average density of 6,829.7 per square mile (2,637.0/km ). The racial makeup of

5032-414: Was a Class D minor league with teams in all three states of Delmarva. Although the Eastern Shore comprises a large part of Maryland's land area, it had a population of 456,815 as of the 2020 Census, representing about 7.4% of Maryland's total population. The most populous city in the region is Salisbury , and the most populous county is Cecil . The Eastern Shore is considerably more conservative than

5106-460: Was deepened in the early 20th century to sea level, and physically separates the Delmarva Peninsula from the rest of the United States. Maryland south of the canal is considered the Eastern Shore by residents. The term Western Shore is used by Eastern Shore residents to describe all the counties of Maryland west of the Chesapeake Bay, but especially those of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area and Southern Maryland . The north–south section of

5180-418: Was established under the Award of 1877; this line travels east from Watkins Point, then up the middle of the Pocomoke River before heading due east along the Calvert-Scarborough Line at the point where it intersects the river. Like New Castle County, Delaware , Cecil County is crossed by the Fall Line , a geologic division where the rockier highlands of the Piedmont region meet the Atlantic coastal plain ,

5254-487: Was founded on July 4, 1875, when the Atlantic Hotel opened on Assateague Island . At the time, Assateague Island was continuous from the Delaware state line to well south of Ocean City: the Ocean City Inlet was not formed until a hurricane in August 1933 cut across the south end of the town. The inlet was cut not by waves sweeping inland, but by 4 or 5 days' worth of freshwater runoff from the coastal creeks running seaward. By 1935, government money had built jetties to make

5328-576: Was recently renamed Jolly Roger at The Pier , after its sister uptown local amusement park . The downtown neighborhood, Old Town, is marked by Victorian style houses and other older buildings. Ocean City has a long history of fishing, both commercial and recreational. The town bills itself as the "White Marlin Capital of the World." During the summer, numerous charter and private boats fish for billfish , tuna , wahoo , and other game fish. In early August,

5402-468: Was true for Talbot County as well, but it was won by Joe Biden . The Eastern Shore has long been a part of Maryland's 1st Congressional district . Democrat Roy Dyson represented the 1st district from 1981 until 1990, when he was defeated by Republican Wayne Gilchrest . Gilchrest held the seat until 2008, when State Senator Andy Harris defeated him in the Republican primary. Harris narrowly lost

5476-568: Was −6 °F (−21 °C). The average seasonal (Dec-Mar) snowfall total is small, with 6 to 12 in (15 to 30 cm), and the average snowiest month is February which corresponds with the annual peak in nor'easter activity. As of the 2020 census, 6,844 (estimated at 6.900 as of 2022) people resided full time in the Town of Ocean City, with 3,723 households. The population density was 1,510.5 inhabitants per square mile. There were 30,028 total housing units, with 3,820 occupied year-round and 26,208 vacant. The resident racial makeup of Ocean City

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