Historic Ocean City, located in North Topsail Beach, North Carolina, is a landmark coastal community with a powerful and trailblazing story. Once part of Camp Davis, a 45,000-acre WWII Anti-Aircraft training base, this one-mile stretch of Topsail Island played a critical role in America’s military history. After the war, it became the site of Operation Bumblebee, the U.S. Navy’s groundbreaking rocket-development program whose innovations laid the foundation for NASA’s future space exploration.
When the military base was declared surplus in 1948, the land stood empty and scarred from years of testing—until attorney Edgar Yow recognized an opportunity to create North Carolina’s first non-segregated beach community where African Americans could own coastal property. Together with early Black investors Wade, Bertram, Robert, and Louise Chestnut, the area was named Ocean City, and development began. By 1949, Yow and his brother Circeo formed Ocean City Developers, Inc., forging one of the earliest interracial business partnerships in the state’s history.
Within just a few years, Ocean City transformed from an abandoned testing site into a thriving African American coastal resort community, complete with homes, restaurants, a motel, chapel, camp facilities, and gathering spaces. By 1953, Ocean City was a vibrant hub of beach culture, family traditions, and pioneering Black coastal ownership.
Today, Historic Ocean City is honored as a vital part of North Carolina’s heritage. It was inducted into the Jacksonville-Onslow African American Heritage Trail in 2014 and the North Carolina Civil Rights Trail in 2022. Its history continues to inspire residents and visitors who come to experience this unique blend of coastal beauty and cultural significance.
To learn more about the rich history of this remarkable community, visit www.oceancitync.com