Laura A. DeMetitte and Women’s Missionary Society

Among Ocean Park’s quiet cottages and peaceful streets is the story of a remarkable group of women whose influence reached far beyond the coast of Maine. For many years, Ocean Park served as the annual gathering place for the National Free Baptist Women’s Missionary Society, bringing together women dedicated to supporting missionary work throughout the United States and around the world.

Organized within the Free Baptist denomination during the nineteenth century, the Society became one of the church’s strongest missionary organizations. Its members raised funds, organized educational programs, and supported missionaries serving in India and other parts of the world. Long before women held leadership roles in many areas of public life, these women were directing large charitable efforts, managing finances, organizing national meetings, and shaping the missionary outreach of their denomination.

One of the Society’s most influential leaders was Miss Laura A. DeMeritte. Serving as treasurer for forty years, from 1873 until 1913, she earned a reputation for exceptional administrative ability and wise leadership. Her summer home was in Ocean Park, where she spent many seasons and remained until her death in 1927. Through leaders like DeMeritte, Ocean Park became more than simply a summer retreat. It became a place where important decisions affecting churches and missions across the country were made.

Ocean Park was founded as a place where faith, learning, music, and family life would flourish together. The annual meetings of the Women’s Missionary Society reflected those same ideals, filling the town with visitors who gathered not simply for rest by the sea but to share ideas, encourage one another, and support work they believed could improve lives around the world.

Today, Ocean Park is often appreciated for its beautiful cottages, broad green spaces, and quiet beaches. Yet tucked within its history are stories like this one. Stories that remind us that this small Maine community once played an important role in a much larger movement of faith, education, and service. It is another example of how even the quietest places can leave an enduring mark far beyond their own borders.