A resort begins with a hotel

Ocean City incorporated in 1875, the same year the Atlantic Hotel opened to guests on July 4.

Before Ocean City became a long ribbon of hotels and neighborhoods, the settlement gathered around a few early accommodations. Town histories identify Isaac Coffin's 1869 inn as an early beginning and the Atlantic Hotel's July 4, 1875 opening as a defining public milestone.

The story is not simply one building. It is a shift in how a barrier island was understood—from a sparsely visited fishing place to a connected seaside resort. The town incorporated that same year.

Editorial note: The photograph shows the later Atlantic Hotel building, not the 1875 opening day.