Frontier Town was built by Bill Patton and Bill Pacy in an era when there were fewer entertainment options in Ocean City and the season ran Memorial Day to Labor Day. It opened to much fanfare in 1960 with Maryland Gov. J. Millard Tawes in attendance.
This was a time when Old West nostalgia had swept the country and television shows such as Gunsmoke, The Rifleman and Wagon Train were immensely popular. Frontier Town featured cowboys and horses, stagecoach and steam train rides (and robberies) and an 1870s-style western town complete with can-can girls and a gunfight at the OK Corral. It was – and still is – a popular daytrip for kids of all ages.
Frontier Town has grown a lot from that little western theme park. A large campground with over 500 campsites, jet ski and pontoon boat rentals, zip-lining and a water park offer activities never dreamed of in that long ago year of 1960.
Photo courtesy Mitch Parker