Ocean City Community
History
The Ocean City Community was founded in 1949, as the only place African-Americans could purchase coastal property in North Carolina, 15 years before the Civil Rights Act. Today we are the caretakers, and the trustees, of their hope.
Ocean City Community
History
The Ocean City Community was founded in 1949, as the only place African-Americans could purchase coastal property in North Carolina, 15 years before the Civil Rights Act. Today we are the caretakers, and the trustees, of their hope.
Our Story
A New Beginning
The inception of a beach community on the Atlantic Ocean where Blacks could have home ownership was created by a white Wilmington attorney, Attorney Edgar L Yow, amid adverse attitudes in the forties. Having bought areas of land on Topsail Island, Attorney Yow shared his idea with Dr. Samuel J Gray, a Black physician in Wilmington, who was one of his clients. Topsail Island had been used during World War II as a firing range over the ocean for the soldiers who were stationed at Camp Davis located in Holly Ridge.
The only access then to the island was a floating pontoon bridge across the Island Waterway on what in now NC Highway 50 and NC Highway 210. Dr. Samuel Gray, feeling that he could not devote time from his practice to help with the project, approached his friends, the Chestnuts [Bertram, Wade, Robert and Louise (Johnnie Thompson)]. Dr. Samuel Gray and each of the Chestnuts bought a tract of land on the island. Wade Chestnut conceived the idea of naming this section of the island, Ocean City, as it is presently called. In 1949, stock was sold and an inter-racial corporation (Ocean City Developers, Inc.) was formed for ownership of the land.
Ocean City Beach Citizens Council
Our Mission
To preserve the history and improve the physical, social and economic health of the Ocean City community, support community self-reliance and enhance the quality of life for the residents through community-based problem solving, community-oriented services and public/private cooperation.
Our Mission
The Ocean City Jazz Festival is committed to presenting the gold-standard of jazz by producing a showcase event that raises an appreciation of the genre of jazz, fosters economic growth, unites artists and attendees, and inspire a new generation culturally through the history of the Ocean City Beach Community.
