History

Charles 'Charlie' McGregor

merchant and builder · active 1908–1911+

Young Berlin entrepreneur and notary public who bought Lot 48 at Baltimore Avenue and Dorchester Street in 1908 and opened a concrete-block store-and-apartment building there for the 1911 season — early masonry construction in a wooden resort town. His apartments proved so popular that by July 1911 he announced a second large cement-block building for the fall.

In the record (1)

  1. 1911

    Charlie McGregor opens his concrete-block store-and-apartment building at Baltimore Avenue and Dorchester Street.

    Charles 'Charlie' McGregor, a young Berlin entrepreneur who had bought Lot 48 in 1908, opened his newly built concrete store building at the northeast corner of Baltimore Avenue and Dorchester Street in time for the 1911 summer season — a general store on the first floor, apartments above. Masonry construction was still novel in a wood-built resort town. The venture paid immediately: on July 29, 1911 the county paper reported that 'Notary Public Charles McGregor, will erect another large cement-block building at Ocean City in the fall. His apartments were so popular that he will supply more.' PAGE: the item is on page 5 (ALTO file 0244), not page 7 (file 0240). File 0240 is page 1 of that issue. Verified by fetching and reading files 0238-0247. The Messenger of 8 July 1911 independently reports 'The largest store so far at Ocean City, and to be built of cement blocks, is con[tracted]' - a second contemporary attestation for the building, and the earlier of the two. SHIPS UNVERIFIED because the museum's specifics (Lot 48, bought 1908, north-east corner of Baltimore Avenue and Dorchester Street, general store below and apartments above) have no contemporary support in 419 pages of the county paper or 546 out-of-county pages. Only the concrete-block construction, the popularity of the apartments and the promised second building are attested. ADD: the town's 1910-11 accounts show Charlie McGregor acting as the corporation's cash agent - 'To C A McGregor, cash to pay interest on note - 16.65' and 'To C A McGregor, cash to pay men for labor on removing sewage pipe out of bay - 6.30'. He was closer to the town's business than the museum's account suggests.

    Unverified — sourced but not confirmed against a primary record.

    Source · checked 2026-08-11