“An unpretentious resort where people could enjoy the country, the great shade trees, and the safe, sandy beaches” is how one magazine once described Red Point Beach. The vacation spot about 4 miles below North East was established in 1926 after Alphonse Pericat and C. F. Park of Wilmington purchased the 112-acre property in Elk Neck.
The partners added some summer cottages, created campsites, had a beachfront store, and acres of wooded land for outdoor pleasure, along with the sandy beach on the North East River, all making it a beautiful spot for mooring craft, fishing, and enjoying the summer. In those early days, people traveled down dusty roads, drew water from a hand pump, and lit their cottages with kerosene lamps. Generations of families spent their summer at Red Point.
Over time the state paved the main road and electricity arrived. In 1953, the Post Office announced that residents at Red Point Beach would have home delivery from June 16 to September 15 each year. Odette (Skip) Scrivanich, whose grandfather (Pericat) was one of the partners, managed the beach for several decades. She died in June 1975 after contracting rabies from a bat bite. After her death, the property was put up for sale in 1978.
For Additional Photos and information, see the album Red Point on Facebook
Cecil County Becomes a Vacation Spot
Note & Sources
Maryland in Congress, Baltimore Sun, Aug. 2, 1953
Red Pont Beach Advertisement, July 3, 1963
Red Point Beach: 50 Years Old This Summer, Cecil Whig. Aug 25, 1976
I am writing a similar story about redpoint and would like to use your story as a reference. Is that ok ? . It will be published on my blog. I grew up in redpoint and I am describing its rich history as well as its current state. Your article fits perfect for my description. A twilight zone of sorts
Certainly Jacob. When you finish it, give us the link and we’ll share it on our various social media platforms
Hey Jacob,
I am Don Thorne and a fervent visitor to Red Point as my family had a cottage there on Bay St. or Bay Ave. as it were. I remember Jo-Jo in concessions and Skip from back in the late 40’s early 50’s. My dad (Earl (Buss) Thorne taught me how to swim off the pier there in the late 40’s. I will be 80 in December and am planning a trip to RP with my wife, Dena, in mid-October this year……………can’t wait!!! Please send me any memories you may have…………I’d love to hear from you!
Don
Don, I sent you a reply by email. Hopefully some of that information helps.
Jacob……………..So sorry but I didn’t get your email to me. My correct address is [email protected]
Again, any memories, photos, etc. you may have from those days back in the late ’40’s to early ’50’s…………..I would “die” for!!!
Thank you so much,
Don
I used to come to Red Point Beach with a friend and his family back in the 50’s, I haven’t seen him since I got married in 1964. I tried to contact him and his family a lot of times but don’t know where to start. His name is John Zehner. His parents had a cabin there back in the 50’s and early 60’s. Does he still have a home down there? Thank you for any information you can give me.
John thanks for sharing your memories about Red Point Beach.
can you please give me information as to weather John Zehner still has a cabin in Red Point Beach. Thank you
Don’t have any info on that John.
I use to love visiting Red Point Beach in the mid-late 70s, my fathers family owned cottages there, the Collins’. My Aunt Mary and Uncle John passed many years ago as have my mother and father. Becoming adults we all lost touch. I often think back to the summers spent there and wonder if their children’s children still have homes or visit as well as how different it may look today. I remember Billy and Anne Marie Collins, like me they would be in their late 50’s early 60’s now. Thanks for reading.
Thanks for sharing your memories about Red Point Beach Peggy.
I grew up in the old house on top of the hill before the cottages. I remember Skip. She was unique. I recall when she passed from rabies. About a week later, my Mother was brushed by one of the many bats that flew in and out of our fireplaces. Luckily, Mom did not contract the disease. RIP Skip.
Thanks for sharing your memories, Daphne.
Gosh, so heartwarming to see how people loved this place. Skip was my mother’s cousin, and ‘Uncle Clarkie’ was Grandmom’s brother. Jean Pericat was Clark’s wife, the beach was handed down from her dad. Skip was adopted by Clarkie and Jean after something tragic happened to Jean’s sister and her husband. Yup, and Skip (real name Odette, after her Mom) died from a bat bite. Do remember Mother telling me about that. Never met them though, Grandmom moved and raised her family in NJ, so we would vacation on the Jersey Shore, altho MOTHER stayed at Red Point as a child, I think prior to Skip’s adoption, as I have very early pictures of the place and some early cottages. J. Clark Samuel was a much-loved newspaper editor, they let Skip run the beach and campground, they were heartbroken when she died, and sold it off, after having been in Jeans family for 50 years. What is great about the Samuels is I can trace them all the way back to Meredith Family, 12 generations back. From what I have read, Skip was also a school gym teacher and the very first female Constable for Cecil County, and an absolutely amazing person. I wish I had had the opportunity to meet them, I may even have, but I was so young I don’t remember. Clarkie’s Dad was Dr. Meredith Ivor Samuel of Delaware, I am not sure he ever had any ties to Cecil County though. Welsh tradition family names get handed down, Clarkie was named for his maternal grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Clark, another line of the family going back to the 1600’s! From what I understand, there is a beautiful airbnb for rent right where the country store was, or where their residence was. The views from the place look amazing. Anybody looking for a nostalgic visit may want to stay there!
Charles we remember Clark. What a great, old-school editor he was. Also, thanks for sharing your memories.