As a means of capitalizing on 1950’s TV series like “Gunsmoke,” “Rawhide,” and “Daniel Boone,” Bill Patton and Bill Pacy created Frontier Town in Ocean City, Maryland in 1959, and four years later added the 600-site Fort Whaley Campground. Manufactured home community (MHC) and recreational vehicle (RV) resorts owner Sun Communities, Inc. bought both properties in a deal that closed July 31, according to delmarvanow.

While the 200-acre resort’s front-and-center event is the replication of the Wild West replete with gunfights, a general store, a barbershop, a bank and the “Twin Cheeks” bathhouse, the 70-acre campground fits in with families looking for an affordable vacation, much like any RV community that Sun operates.

Although terms of the sale were not disclosed, Sun’s July 30 earnings report revealed it had set aside $76 million to acquire three RV communities comprised of 1,185 developed sites. Jon Coleman, Sun’s executive vice president, said Frontier Town and Fort Whaley accounted for two of those properties.

Parkel Corp., which has owned Frontier Town since 1969, and acquired the Fort Whaley Campground in 1999, will continue to manage the property until the season ends in November.

As MHProNews knows, Sun is a publicly-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates 250 MH and RV communities in 30 states. ##

(Photo credit: delmarvanow-Frontier Town)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.