Ocean View, Delaware facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ocean View, Delaware
Town
Tunnell-West House
Motto(s):  "A Place To Come Home To "
Location of Ocean View in Sussex County, Delaware.
Ocean View, Delaware Location in Delaware Show map of Delaware Ocean View, Delaware Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Delaware
County	Sussex
Area
• Total	2.79 sq mi (7.24 km2)
• Land	2.77 sq mi (7.18 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.06 km2)
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,636
• Density	950.60/sq mi (367.00/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	19967, 19970
Area code(s)	302
FIPS code	10-53920
GNIS feature ID	214403

Ocean View is a small town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. In 2020, about 2,636 people lived there. It is part of the larger Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware area.

This town is becoming a popular place for people to live who work in or visit the nearby summer resort of Bethany Beach.

Where is Ocean View Located?

Ocean View is located about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the Atlantic Ocean. It is also 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Indian River Bay.

The Assawoman Canal runs along the east side of Ocean View. The town of Bethany Beach is right next to it on the east. To the northwest and west, White's Creek forms a border. The town of Millville is also next to Ocean View on the west. To the south, Ocean View borders other parts of Sussex County that are not towns.

The town covers a total area of about 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²), and all of it is land. Ocean View has three churches, a school, and a town park.

A Look at Ocean View's Past

Early Settlers and Land Disputes

For a long time, European settlers did not come to the area where Ocean View is now. The soil was sandy and salty, and the ocean air was not ideal for farming. Settlers preferred land a few miles inland, which was higher, drier, and had richer soil.

There was also a problem with who owned the land. Lord Baltimore claimed the area for his Maryland colony. But William Penn said it belonged to the Delaware Colony. Settlers wanted land with clear ownership, so they looked elsewhere.

The First Settlement: Middlesex Plantation

Ocean View's story began in 1688. Lord Baltimore gave 500 acres (200 hectares) of land to Matthew Scarborough. Scarborough was the first settler and named his land "Middlesex." This area became known as Middlesex Plantation.

Even though the land dispute was later decided in favor of William Penn and Delaware, the authorities in Delaware still recognized Scarborough's ownership.

From Hall's Store to Ocean View

After Scarborough passed away, the Hazzard family took over the land. By the late 1700s, people who made salt would sometimes visit the area.

Later, the Hall family owned the land. Around 1800, W. S. Hall opened a general store on his farm. A small village grew around this store and was called Hall's Store. The Hall family is seen as the founders of Ocean View. In 1822, a post office was set up in Hall's Store.

There's a story that a young man climbed a tree and saw the Atlantic Ocean from there. That's how the name Ocean View supposedly came about. After the American Civil War (1861–1865), people started visiting the Atlantic beaches more. They found that you could see the ocean from the second floor of some buildings in the village. Because of this, Hall's Store was renamed Ocean View. The town officially became a town on April 13, 1889.

Growth and the Broiler Industry

For much of the 1800s, Ocean View was quite isolated. The closest railroad was in Dagsboro, built in 1874. The Assawoman Canal opened later, which helped with access, but it didn't greatly boost the town's economy. It wasn't until cars became popular in the early 1900s that more visitors started coming to Ocean View.

In 1923, Ocean View became famous for something new: the commercial broiler industry. Mrs. Cecilie Long Steele changed the poultry industry by raising the first large group of chickens for meat (broiler-fryer-sized) right here. Even though Ocean View doesn't raise chickens anymore, this industry became the most important agricultural activity in Delaware.

After World War II, more and more people wanted land near the Delaware beaches. It became easier to reach the Delmarva Peninsula by car from big cities in the East. This led to a real estate boom in Ocean View, and land prices went up a lot in the second half of the 1900s.

Getting Around Ocean View

DE 26 westbound in Ocean View

Most people travel to and from Ocean View by road. Delaware Route 26 is the main state highway that goes through the town. It runs east to west, heading towards Bethany Beach in the east and to U.S. Route 113 in Dagsboro in the west. A small part of Delaware Route 54 Alternate also passes through the southeast edge of town.

Ocean View's Population

Population in 2020

In 2020, Ocean View had 2,636 people and 1,217 households. Most of the people (about 92.56%) were White. Other groups included Black (0.72%), Native American (0.04%), Asian (1.78%), and Native Hawaiian (0.19%). About 2.43% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.

The average household income was $75,852. About 12.1% of the town's residents lived below the poverty line.

Schools in Ocean View

Ocean View is part of the Indian River School District.

See also

In Spanish: Ocean View (Delaware) para niños