About Columbia Beach

Columbia Beach was founded more than 85 years ago as a summer retreat for African American residents of the greater Washington, D.C. area. In 1940, a group of prominent African American families began building summer homes in the area and established their new community as Columbia Beach in 1941. Like so many others who flocked to Shady Side at that time, they sought a waterside retreat from their homes in nearby Washington and Baltimore. Despite their status as doctors, lawyers, and government executives, these families were barred from other communities in the area because of the racial segregation that persisted in the nation at that time. Other communities on the western shore of the Bay, including Arundel on the Bay and Highland Beach, share a similar history.

For many years beginning in the 1940s, Columbia Beach held boating regattas that attracted participants from nearby communities as well as many other Mid-Atlantic States. Trophies were presented to the winners of the races. Other ceremonies included parades and the annual crowning of Miss Columbia Beach.

The original layout of the community remains, surrounded as it is by the Chesapeake Bay to the east, Flag Pond to the west, and Franklin Point State Park, at the southern end of the peninsula. Some of the early summer cottages still stand, many owned by the original families. The street names, which are a mix of names of the community’s founding families and of significant names in African American history, are a daily reminder of the roots of Columbia Beach.

Columbia Beach today is a mix of year-round residences and vacation homes. Expanded and updated original homes sit side-by-side with new multi-story construction. Residents are racially diverse and include young working families, retirees from Baltimore and Washington, and those who commute or telecommute to jobs near and far.