Ocean View, incorporated on April 13, 1889, was formerly known as Hall's Store, and its first Town Council meeting was held on April 20, 1889, with nine elected council members. The site's history reaches back to the colonial era, when the present location was part of a 500-acre tract called Middlesex granted to Matthew Scarborough in 1688 under the authority of Charles, Absolute Lord and Proprietary of the Provinces of Maryland and Avalon, Lord Baron of Baltimore. After Scarborough's death, the land passed to the Hazzard family and then to the Hall family, who founded Ocean View. In 1820, W.S. Hall opened a store on his farm near White's Creek on part of the old Middlesex plantation, and the surrounding area became known as Hall's Store. A village grew around the store, inhabited by farmers, watermen, and seamen. After the War Between the States, the village was renamed Ocean View as nearby beaches began attracting recreation, and in the late 19th century it was said that the Atlantic Ocean could be seen from the second stories of many village homes.