In 1884 entrepreneur Hazen Z. Ellis constructed a large building called Recreation Hall on an empty expanse of sandy scrub land his wife Ellen had just purchased facing the quarter mile long Short Sands Beach in York, Maine. In 1885, Hazen purchased a license to operate a roller‐skating rink.
By the time the railroad came to that beach in 1887, he had expanded the hall into a hotel to handle the expected influx of summer visitors and constructed a boardwalk from the train station directly to his hotel. A stable near the train station provided wagon transportation and rental horses for the guests. During 1886 and 1887, Ellen had purchased the remaining beach land adjoining the Atlantic Ocean from the Bowden and Norton families. In an act of generosity and good business sense at about the same time the railroad arrived, Ellen transferred ownership of the entire beach area in front of the hotel as a public park in perpetuity, creating an amenity and unobstructed view for hotel patrons.
In 1902, Hazen and Ellen transferred ownership of the Ocean House property to their son Fred. He tragically died in 1904, and just one year later both Ellen and Fred’s wife Mina died, all from typhoid fever. The Ocean House now passed to Fred’s twin brother Frank who was a successful contractor involved in moving houses. Frank’s sister Fannie was married to entrepreneur and hotel manager, Willard Simpson, and he was hired to manage the Ocean House until his death in 1932. Paul B. Camp Sr. and his wife Bessie had leased a hotel in Gulfport Florida in 1931 to operate in the winter months and were looking for a hotel to operate during the summer season. They leased Ocean House from Frank Ellis in 1932. When a bank foreclosed on Frank in 1933 the Camps first leased it from the bank and then purchased it from the bank in 1934. The Camp family ran a high quality, customer‐oriented hotel operation, seasonally shifting their key staff members between Florida and Maine. In 1954 the Camps transferred ownership of the Ocean House property to a new corporate entity, Ocean House, Inc., with shares divided between Paul Sr. and Bessie Camp, their youngest son Paul Camp Jr., and middle son F. Ellis Camp (known as Ellis). Paul Sr. died in December 1974, and Bessie died six weeks later in January 1975. When the estate was settled in 1976, Bessie’s one‐third interest and Paul Jr.’s one‐third interest in Ocean House went to Ellis Camp, who had been living in York full time and running the hotel since 1961.
By 1977, Ellis Camp had family health concerns and sold it to a group of four men with little experience in the business of operating a hotel and restaurant. Don Corsen and the Rivers brothers; Bob, Dave, and Don purchased the Ocean House property, borrowing the purchase price except for the down payment from Ellis Camp. As Orbust Inc., this group struggled from July 1977 to May 1985 to make a profitable business. They tried operating Ocean House as a hotel, function hall, and restaurant, as time‐share units, and finally attempted to develop it as a retail and condominium complex. Dogged by liens and lawsuits, Orbust Inc., finally sold the property in May 1985 to their second developer, Robert J. Dunfey Jr. His Seabury Housing Associates had the assets to turn the Ocean House into a first‐rate condominium complex with the exterior look and feel of the original hotel. A spectacular fire in 1986 destroyed the forty‐three unit main condominium building before completion, but it was rebuilt, and the units sold along with twenty‐three town house units out back.
Ocean House has a special place in the hearts of thousands of guests and residents because of its unique location and the foresight of its original creators.
You must be logged in to post a comment.