Before the inlet, fishermen dragged boats to the ocean using horses and ropes

The drawing above simulates an aerial perspective of Ocean City of the late 19th century, when a railroad linked it to the mainland. The present-day inlet would cut through the bottom left of the frame. In between the time represented in the image and the 1933 storm, another naturally made inlet accommodated small fishing boats for much of the 1920s before nature filled it back in, a process that often repeated. The area long lobbied the state and federal governments for a permanent inlet to allow a safe port for fishing as well as a distribution point for crabs, oysters and clams, and, by the time of 1933 storm, had state funding lined up. Without an inlet, fishermen used horses, ropes and pulleys to drag their boats across the beach and reach the open ocean and rode waves back to shore when they returned with their catch.

Even amid destruction, locals celebrated ‘Act of God Inlet’

The Aug. 22-23, 1933, storm known as the Chesapeake-Potomac hurricane was one of the most destructive storms to hit the Mid-Atlantic. Ocean City received heavy rainfall and rough surf for four days before the full brunt of storm hit. Buildings, vehicles and a railroad bridge were washed away and the boardwalk torn up. Needing to go somewhere, the overflowing waters of Sinepuxent Bay and nearby rivers breached the barrier island at a low point on the south end of the town, creating the “Act of God Inlet.” Even in the immediate aftermath of the storm locals recognized and celebrated their, however qualified, good fortune, and, at their urging, the federal government quickly funded and completed dredging and jetties to preserve and expand the inlet.

White Marlin Open, wide beach are part of inlet’s legacy

The inlet transformed the region’s economy, for commercial as well as recreational fishing, as evidenced by the recently completed 51st annual White Marlin Open. The increased salinity of the Sinepuxent Bay, meanwhile, makes oysters and clams more flavorful and sand trapped by a jetty makes the beach at the inlet especially wide.

Have a story idea about Baltimore or Maryland history or a question that might lead to one? Email researcher Paul McCardell at pmccardell@baltsun.com.

Assateague, which as a barrier island bends to the whims of the wind and waves even in ordinary weather, was described as being flattened by the storm, which pummeled the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to New England and remains one of the most destructive ever recorded in the region. Facing gale force winds and very high tides exacerbated by a full moon, both Assateague and Chincoteague islands were “completely underwater” and many of their protective dunes were washed away, the National Weather Service wrote.

Reenergizing efforts to preserve Assateague, the disaster also vastly increased the prospective cost of developing Ocean Beach, with major restoration required even just to make lots developable again. In the face of this, the development fizzled, leading landowners to sell to the federal government.

What could have become an “Ocean City South” of homes, businesses and parks began in 1950 on the heels of failed conservation efforts when a group of Baltimore-Washington investors led by Washington real estate promoter Leon Ackerman purchased a large part of Assateague. The corporation paved a 15-mile road to the Virginia line called Baltimore Boulevard, remnants of which are part of the national seashore’s Life of the Dunes Trail. Newspaper advertisements and the opening of the Bay Bridge linking Maryland’s western and eastern shores in 1952 helped drum up interest, including from speculators.

Coveted even more so by landowners and investors was a bridge to the island itself, which otherwise was served by a small car ferry. With the pursuit of a private bridge unsuccessful, Ackerman’s North Ocean Beach Inc. created a rationale for a public bridge by donating to Maryland 540 acres to establish Assateague State Park in 1956. Maryland lawmakers ultimately authorized a bridge taking Route 611 over Sinepuxent Bay. But by the time the Verrazano Bridge opened in 1964 Ocean Beach’s fortunes had already shifted with the sand.

Have a story idea about Baltimore or Maryland history or a question that might lead to one? Email researcher Paul McCardell at pmccardell@baltsun.com.