Welcome to Highland Beach
Highland Beach was incorporated in 1922, it became the first African American municipality in Maryland. It is also believed to be the first African American summer resort in the United States. Although founded as a summer resort, it is now a town of both summer and year-round residents who choose not to permit commercial establishments. There are approximately 80 homes, many of them still owned and occupied by descendants of the original settlers. The residents are proud and protective of their town's heritage, established by proud and successful people determined to overcome the prejudices of their post-Reconstruction times. Highland Beach is the home of Twin Oaks, which now serves as the Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center, Inc.