The Slaughter Beach Corporation was the basis of moving toward forming and incorporating the town of Slaughter Beach. The Slaughter Beach Corporation was formed to provide some infrastructure to make the area more attractive to visitors and others as a resort area. The corporation of 1922 provided for the renovation and improvement of the hotel, including garaged and stables. A large dance hall was being rebuilt and remodeled, and an “orchestra is engaged for the summer”. It also provided that a six-foot-wide boardwalk that extended along the shore and included a pavilion. In February 1931, a meeting of the property owners and the members of the boardwalk community was held in the dance hall to consider incorporating. A draft charter to provide structure to the newly formed township was unanimously approved. After much discussion, and Mr. Holzmuellar, the Chairman, led the group to discuss the need for a draw bridge rather than a stationary one, which would facilitate those boats coming ‘from the bay to the canal back of Slaughter Beach’. A town council was formed and the newly appointed council members were C.D. Holzmueller, H.H. Mulholland, Thomas Simpson, Everett Deputy, Mr. Archer, Charles E. Reed, and Clesson Bridgham. These members owned the vast majority of the beach area. One of the first people selected to be the ‘Chief Prohibition Officer’ was Mr. Charles Cullen. Prohibition was eliminated by the 21st amendment on December 5th, 1933, so Mr. Cullen’s role was relatively short lived. Included in the first business of the new town was an order that all property owners were required to get their boardwalks in order by 7/1/31, with the town agreeing to fill in the boardwalk between houses on streets owned by the town. Copies of the election and tax assessments were placed in public places, such as the Dance Hall, Hitchen’s store, Mr. Pettyjohn’s store, and Mr. Pearce’s store. On July 12, 1932, George Draper was named President, with that title later changed to Mayor. There were a number of steps required to organize and file the legal documents required to create the new Town of Slaughter Beach.

The steps to incorporate the town were meticulously chronicled in the town minutes. There were several town meetings in 1931 to organize the government, each of which has detailed information about the tasks to submit a formal petition to the Delaware House of Representatives. The final charter was submitted as House Bill #204, and was reported as passed by local newspapers on July 9, 1932. Aspects of The Slaughter Beach Corporation, founded in 1922, was systematically transferred to the new incorporated town. There was an election of the Town commissioners and a president. The “president” title was later changed to “mayor”, and the “commissioners” were later renamed to “councilmen”. Infrastructure started by the Slaughter Beach Corporation was taken over by the new incorporated town. This included a community water system and electrical service, and related support services for the Town. Below is the first page of meeting minutes from 1932 to 1935 detailed actions taken to address the needs of the new Town. There is a hand-written note at the top of the page that this was the beginning of the incorporation process.

Information sources were:

1931-1936 Meeting minutes of the Town of Slaughter Beach.

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