The land upon which the city was built, as well as much of the surrounding
area, was obtained by Englishman Thomas Fenwick from the Native Americans. In
1869, businessman Isaac Coffin built the first beach-front cottage to receive
paying guests. During those days, people arrived by stage coach and ferry. They
came to fish off the shore, to enjoy the natural beauty of the Atlantic Ocean
pounding against the long strip of sandy beach, to collect seashells, or just
to sit back and watch the rolling surf.
Soon after, other simple boarding houses were built on the strip of sand,
with the activity attracting
