In 1951 and 1952, lots were advertised for sale in the

Baltimore Sun and the Evening Sun for $495 per lot and $695

per waterfront lot to build summer cottages (a getaway from

the city life). During the purchase process, paperwork was

provided along with your sales agreement.

Paperwork included rules for burning fires on your lot. There

was also a prohibition for the cutting of trees, only to be done

when an owner decided to build, and the only trees permitted

to be cut at that time were those necessary for building. The

document was titled, “DO NOT DESTROY IN A DAY WHAT

NATURE CREATED IN A LIFETIME.” This was implemented

because individuals from outside the area with no interest in

property owners of Sunrise Beach were soliciting the cutting of

trees to sell the timber for profit. These restrictions were put in

place to preserve Sunrise Beach and make it one of the finest

waterfront properties.

Long before there was a local Wawa, Sunrise Beach/Arden on the Severn attempted to construct a community store on the corner of Whitney’s Landing and Sunrise Beach Road.

Well into the construction, concrete block walls stood when the owners/builders applied for a liquor license. The community stepped in and protested the liquor license, and that was the end of the community store. 

When I was a kid, I remember exploring the overgrown structure as we played in the area.

All of this disappeared by the time the house that is now there was constructed in 1989.