in 1892, walter denison opened a summer resort on bushy point. as interest in camping rose in the 1910s, bluff point became a popular destination by the 1920s. tents and shacks grew into a small community of summer cottages by the 1930s. the owner of the property decided to stop subleasing the property in june 1938, with the termination in october 1 and the removal of the structures by november 1. leary writes, "[b]efore a legal protest could be mounted, nature adjudicated the issue. on september 21, 1938, a massive hurricane came ashore at high tide. except for the old winthrop place, it destroyed nearly every building on the site." some 106 homes were lost.