At Nags Head, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Sunset Beach, Atlantic Beach, Topsail Beach, and other beaches, racial segregation restricted Blacks' access to water recreation. Black access to public recreational swimming and fishing was nonexistent and substandard. “City and state beaches prohibited African Americans altogether or relegated them to far from ideal shores that Whites did not use.” In North Carolina, not only were African Americans not welcomed at the beach, but some towns even had laws prohibiting selling them land. “During the Jim Crow era, vacation destinations barred BIPOC from swimming in their waters, staying in their motels, buying cottages, or in many cases even walking on their beaches.
However fifty-one years after the Wilmington insurrection, during an era of continued segregation and marginalization of BIPOC. A haven for Blacks was developing on the North Carolina coast. Ocean City was established in 1949 as an African-American-owned community 15 years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Ocean City was a unique community as it was the first residential beach community with Black home ownership in the state of North Carolina.
The community was promoted to Black professionals by Wade Chestnut and a designated group of “directors (realtists with the Carolina Real Estate and Builders Association)” from key metropolitan areas to include Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Wilmington, High Point, Fayetteville, and Charlotte. Lots were sold for $500 or $1000 on the oceanfront.
The first homes were built in 1949, followed by a restaurant, Ocean City Terrace in 1953. The restaurant was constructed from an abandoned Navy missile observation Tower, now recognized as Operation Bumblebee Tower 6. Streets in the community would bear the names of community family members and famous Black Americans.
Adapted from an essay submitted with historical marker application by Carla Torrey
Image: Pamphlet of Ocean City Beach, N.C. attractions for potential residents. Descriptions include climate, shopping, and home ownership, courtesy of Carla Torrey
Citations
“12 Homes Destroyed.” The Carolinian [Raleigh, NC], October 23, 1954
“300 Attend Gala Celebration at Ocean City Beach on Topsail” The Carolinian. [Raleigh, NC], July 25, 1989. North Carolina Newspapers, North Carolina Digital Heritage Center
“Corporation Formed to Erect Ocean City Pier for Fishermen; Group Plans to Enlarge Facilities At Resort.” The Carolina Times [Durham, NC], March 22, 1958
“Corporations. “Rocky Mount Telegram [Rocky Mount, N.C.], September 20, 1949
Episcopal Church. Diocese of East Carolina, Episcopal Church, “Oceanside Episcopal Church.” The Mission Herald, [Farmville, NC.], October 1955
Episcopal Church. Diocese of East Carolina, Episcopal Church, “Oceanside Episcopal Church.” The Mission Herald, Vol. 71, No. 1 [Farmville, NC.], October 1956
Episcopal Church. Diocese of East Carolina, Episcopal Church, “Camp Oceanside Builds Chapel.” The Mission Herald, Vol. LXXII, [Farmville, NC.], October, 1957
Episcopal Church. Diocese of East Carolina, Episcopal Church, “Camp Oceanside 1958.” The Mission Herald, Vol. 72, No. 2 [Farmville, NC.], April 1958
Episcopal Church. Diocese of East Carolina, Episcopal Church, “Successful Season at Camp Oceanside.” The Mission Herald, Vol. 73, No. 1 [Farmville, NC.], September 1958
Episcopal Church. Diocese of East Carolina, Episcopal Church, “Good Season at Camp Oceanside.” The Mission Herald, [Farmville, NC.], September 1959