Sixty years ago this week, the strongest recorded storm at the time slammed into the East Coast, including Delmarva, and left a swath of destruction in its path. Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware coastal communities were devastated by what is now known as the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962.

The storm also destroyed the plans and early creation of a community on Assateague Island. A developer named Leon Ackerman owned about 15 miles of the Maryland portion of Assateague Island and his plans were to create a community called "Ocean Beach," which was offering future buyers a "Lifetime of Vacations." The island was surveyed and plots of land were sold to buyers. By the time the storm hit, about 3,200 families had planned on calling Ocean Beach home.

The plans did not come without their hurdles. There was push back from some locals who did not want to see the island turn into another Ocean City, most notably from a man named William Green. Green made it his mission to stop Assateague's development, traveling to Annapolis every year to petition the General Assembly to save the island.

The island also did not have any infrastructure for development. No water and sewer and installation was proving to be incredibly difficult. And at the time, the only was onto the island was by ferry. When the storm hit, the destruction virtually put an end to any possible development.

After the storm, even Ackerman acknowledged the island was unsuitable for houses and vacations. But there was still some fight left from Worcester County leadership who believed turning the island into a national park would be detrimental to the county financially. Ultimately, President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill establishing the Assateague Island National Seashore in 1965. The land was bought back from Ocean Beach owners, and Assateague Island has remained undeveloped ever since.