Ocean City’s post office opened in 1875, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #131 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Ocean City was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listings are the St. Paul's by-the-sea Protestant Episcopal Church and the Captain Robert S. Craig Cottage. Its Register listings are the St. Paul's by-the-sea Protestant Episcopal Church and the Captain Robert S. Craig Cottage. Below: 24 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Ocean City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ocean City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ocean City is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #131 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ocean City’s overall grade.
Few Maryland towns list much on the Register (a typical Maryland town has 0.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ocean City’s 5.8 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Ocean City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Ocean City’s post office has been open since 1875.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bayshore EstatesBayside KeysCaine Harbor MileCaine KeysCainwoodsFenwickMontego BayMontego Bay Mobile Home ParkNorth Ocean CityOcean Bay CityWarrens Park
Gone or out of use
Montego Station Ocean City Post Officepost officeNorth Ocean City Station Ocean City Post Officepost officeOcean City State SchoolschoolPeninsula General Health Serviceshospital
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Ocean City on the map, 1901 to 1998
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ocean City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1901Ocean City sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ocean City.
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 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, guests arrived by stagecoach and ferry.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Ocean City post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ocean City rank for history?
Ocean City is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #131 of 261 in Maryland. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Ocean City?
Two places: the St. Paul's by-the-sea Protestant Episcopal Church (listed 2008) and the Captain Robert S. Craig Cottage (2017).
How old are the homes in Ocean City?
1% of Ocean City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1982.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (22), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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