In 1876, the Mitchell family sold 1050 acres to John Ambrewster and wife, Sarah, of Camden, N.J., for $23,500. During the same period, Calvin Taggart and his son, E. B. Taggart, of Philadelphia, were operating a steamship line on the Delaware River with plans to expand their operation to include the upper Chesapeake Bay. A third party, William C. Eliason, entered the picture when he was employed by the Taggarts to work as a deck hand on the steamboat, Lamokin. The Ambrewster, Taggarts and Eliason, now captain of the steamboat, Pilot Boy, joined forces and formed the Tolchester Improvement Company.

The original plan was to connect the steamship line with a railroad being built across Kent County. The county railroad was to connect Tolchester with the Smyrna & Delaware Railroad. Unfortunately the railroad went bankrupt and never found its way to Tolchester. In the absence of the railroad, a new plan had to be devised by Ambrewster, Taggart, and Eliason to utilize the boats, the land and docking facilities in Tolchester and the docking facilities leased in Baltimore.

The year 1877 saw the opening of an amusement park on ten acres of land, a somewhat primitive park, under the supervision of Captain Eliason. The resort included picnic grounds with tables, a few concessions, a bath house, a hand propelled merry-go-round, and a hand organ pulled by a goat. Thus was the beginning of the most popular beach resort along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, destined to provide entertainment and fond lifelong memories to millions of patrons during the next eighty-five years.

Tolchester Beach, in its prime, expanded to 155 acres and was serviced by six steamers and a ferry. Happy visitors stayed at the great summer hotel on the top of the bluff. Here were to be found a dance hall, a roller coaster, bowling alleys, a bingo parlor, a roller skating rink, the whip, dodgems, pony and goat carts, boat rides, a miniature steam train named Jumbo, novelty and candy shops, and popcorn, ice cream, hot dogs and kewpie doll stands.

At its height, Tolchester Beach attracted as many as 20,000 visitors a weekend from across the bay an the Eastern Shore. After flourishing for eight-five years, Tolchester Beach passed from the scene, finally closing in 1962.