Mrs. S. M. Purnell
proprietor, Hotel Mount Vernon · active 1903
Kept the Hotel Mount Vernon at Talbot Avenue and the Boardwalk, Ocean City, through the 1903 season — full ocean view, $1.50 a day, $7 to $10 a week, and a fifty-cent dinner advertised as the house specialty. Her weekly advertisement is the earliest known use of 'Boardwalk' as a commercial street address at Ocean City.
In the record (1)
1903 · 1903-07-11
The Hotel Mount Vernon advertises itself all summer at "Talbot Ave. and Boardwalk" — $1.50 a day, $7 to $10 a week, and a fifty-cent dinner.
The standing "Ocean City Hotels" advertising block, running weekly in the Democratic Messenger from at least 4 July to the end of August 1903: "HOTEL MOUNT VERNON, Talbot Ave. and Boardwalk, OCEAN CITY, MD. FULL OCEAN VIEW. $1.50 Per Day. $7 To $10 A Week. EXCELLENT TABLE. Our 50 Cent Dinner a Specialty. MRS. S. M. PURNELL, Two Blocks North R. R. Station." The same block carries The Plimhimmon — "One whole block Ocean front. Newly decorated. Hollywood Mandolin Orchestra. Capacity 200. Chattolanee Spring water. Mrs. R. T. Shreve"; The Hamilton — "Beautifully situated: directly facing the ocean, newest and one of the finest hotels on the beach. Mrs. Massey"; and The Colonial — "Was opened for the reception of guests on Saturday, June 27th. Bath house in connection with the hotel and all modern conveniences. Terms moderate." A boarding week at the Mount Vernon in 1903 cost less than half what the Atlantic charged the convention trade by the day. **The address is the point.** "Talbot Ave. and Boardwalk" is a paid, repeated, commercial street address, printed weekly in 1903 — the earliest use this campaign has found of *Boardwalk* as the name of a place you could be told to go to.
Rosalie Tilghman ShreveJosephine L. Massey
Source · checked 2026-08-06