J. Edgar Ijams

In the record (4)

1. 1901 · 1901-07-18

   Ocean City gets a golf course: the Ocean City Golf and Country Club is incorporated at the Atlantic Hotel in July 1901.

   "A meeting of the incorporators of the Ocean City Golf and Country Club was held at the Atlantic Hotel Thursday morning" - Thursday 18 July 1901. The articles were signed by six incorporators: H. A. Godfrey of Baltimore; Charles Webb of J., of Hagerstown; John F. Waggaman of Anne Arundel County; I. Edgar Ijams of Baltimore; George M. Upshur of Baltimore; and John P. Moore of Snow Hill. Godfrey took the chair, and the officers elected for the year were George M. Upshur president, Charles Webb of J. vice-president, and H. E. Waggaman secretary and treasurer, over a board of governors including Godfrey, F. H. Purnell, J. F. Waggaman, Showell Myers and Ijams. The course was "within twenty minutes of the most distant hotels" and "promises a fine sea bath at the end of the eighteen holes"; the Atlantic's management marked its formal opening with an entertainment on Saturday 27 July. This is the earliest golf course this campaign can document at Ocean City, and the men who chartered it are the men who owned the town.

   Atlantic HotelOcean City Golf and Country ClubJohn F. WaggamanGeorge M. UpshurJohn P. Moore

   Source · checked 2026-08-11

2. 1905

   The 1905 hotel roster: Plimhimmon, Atlantic, Seaside, Hamilton, Mount Pleasant and Colonial — and the railroad agrees to give up Baltimore Avenue and let it become a driveway.

   From "Ocean City Improvements," 10 June 1905: the Plimhimmon was already doing business before its formal opening, Mrs. Shreve having "thoroughly renovated and repainted the house" and added a laundry annex, with Manager Ijams running it; proprietor August Roder of the Atlantic and Seaside Hotels had "a large force at work getting ready for the 29th"; Mrs. Massey of the Hamilton was making improvements; E. E. Emerson was the new proprietor of the Mount Pleasant; and "The Colonial makes a fine appearance in its new dress of colors and is about ready for opening." The same column reports "The early abandonment of Baltimore avenue by the railroad and the making of a driveway," and complaints about railway service that the company proposed to answer with daily fast trains. On 19 August: "Contracts have been made for several new cottages at Ocean City, and another hotel up the boardwalk is probable for next year, to be built by parties from York, Pa." and "Every hotel and boarding house at Ocean City is running to full capacity."

   Atlantic HotelPlimhimmon Hotel / Plim PlazaBaltimore, Chesapeake & Atlantic RailwayRosalie Tilghman ShreveAugust Roder

   Source · checked 2026-08-06

3. 1905 · 1905-05-12

   A crowded meeting at the railroad depot organises the Ocean City Pier and Improvement Company to build an ocean pier — the third such company since 1896, and the first to build one.

   "A New Pier for Ocean City. A company was organized last Friday to erect an ocean pier out from the beach at Ocean City — a project long contemplated. A largely attended meeting was held at the railroad depot." R. Lee Purnell of Snow Hill chaired and J. E. Ijams of Baltimore was secretary. Officers of the Ocean City Pier and Improvement Company of Ocean City, Maryland: president Christopher Ludlam of Ocean City (the town's mayor); vice-president L. L. Dirickson, Jr., of Berlin; treasurer D. J. Adkins of Berlin; secretary R. L. Purnell of Snow Hill; assistant secretary J. E. Ijams of Baltimore. A board of directors was elected to serve one year, and it was proposed "to erect the pier at once and to capitalize the company at $20,000." By 8 July R. Lee Purnell reported plans to build "just below the Atlantic Hotel, extending [900] feet into the Ocean."

   capitalised at $10,000–$20,000 — the two Messenger reports disagree

   Ocean City Pier and Improvement CompanySteel Pier and Railway Company of Ocean CityOcean City Steel Pier Railway and Amusement CompanyChristopher LudlamCol. L. L. DiricksonDavid J. AdkinsRobert Lee Purnell

   Source · checked 2026-08-06

4. 1923

   Ocean City has a Board of Trade — organised in the autumn of 1922 under J. Edgar Ijams of the Plimhimmon — and it spends the winter selling the town.

   "The Board of Trade of Ocean City, Md., which was organized last fall with J. Edgar Ijams as president, has been very active during the last winter, as reported at a meeting held in the State school house on Friday night. An extensive publicity campaign has been set on foot, arrangements are being made for increased transportation service, and the hotels and boarding houses are cooperating in an effort to increase the facilities for taking care of guests… Steps are being taken to improve the approaches to Ocean City, and the Board is cooperating with the City Council in the improvement of all streets and highways. The Board has also associated itself with the allied Boards of Trade of the Eastern Shore." The appeal closes: "We want the citizens of Ocean City at the meetings. We want boosters." In February the same column reported that "Mr. William Taylor has accepted the publicity management of a booklet to be published shortly by the News… devoted to the business interests and advantages in Ocean City."

   Fifty years after a committee of Worcester County men sat on the beach and resolved on a hotel, their successors organised a booster club and hired a publicity man.

   Plimhimmon Hotel / Plim PlazaBoard of Trade of Ocean City

   Source · checked 2026-08-06