Moody Beach, Maine

Moody Beach, Maine
Moody Beach, Maine
Area within New England town
	Moody U.S. Post Office
	Moody Beach Location within the state of Maine
	Coordinates: 43°16′30.31″N 70°35′49.19″W / 43.2750861°N 70.5969972°W
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	York
Elevation	46 ft (14 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	04054

Moody Beach is a coastal neighborhood and private beach located in Wells, Maine, with about 100 homes adjoining the beach. Moody Beach has a blend of year-round and summer residents, as well as short-term vacationers from around New England and Quebec. The coastline stretches about a mile long, from Ogunquit Beach to Moody Point on Ocean Avenue.

The area was named in honor of George H. Moody, proprietor of the former landmark corner store on Post Road and Kimball Lane.^[3] Moody's post office operated from this location as well, until it was replaced by the current building in 1975. The original structure still stands and is now home to the Wells Chamber of Commerce.^[4]

Moody Beach is central in the debate over public access versus private rights to the Maine shore. In March 1989, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court sided with homeowners in Bell v. Town of Wells, also known as the Moody Beach case.^[5] The court affirmed that, in Maine, owners of beachfront property or property adjoining tidelands have private property rights to the low-water mark or low tide area, subject only to a public easement for “fishing, fowling, and navigation.” The case is often cited as authority for the notion that the public has only very limited rights in intertidal zone (the area between high and low tide).

Images

Withrows on the Beach guest house in 1988
Southern boundary of Moody Beach at Ogunquit Beach

References

^ "Moody". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ "ZIP Code 04054 Map". zipdatamaps.com. 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
^ "Child rescued from surf at Moody Beach". The Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
^ Shelley, Hope M. (1996). Wells (Images of America). Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0-7385-1265-5.
^ "Public Shoreline Access in Maine" (PDF). University of Maine Sea Grant College Program and the University of Maine School of Law. Retrieved 6 November 2017.

[gnis-1] "Moody". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.

[2] "ZIP Code 04054 Map". zipdatamaps.com. 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2023.

[3] "Child rescued from surf at Moody Beach". The Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved 15 August 2023.

[4] Shelley, Hope M. (1996). Wells (Images of America). Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0-7385-1265-5.

[5] "Public Shoreline Access in Maine" (PDF). University of Maine Sea Grant College Program and the University of Maine School of Law. Retrieved 6 November 2017.

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v t e Municipalities and communities of York County, Maine, United States
County seat: Alfred
Cities	Biddeford Saco Sanford	York County map
Towns	Acton Alfred Arundel Berwick Buxton Cornish Dayton Eliot Hollis Kennebunk Kennebunkport Kittery Lebanon Limerick Limington Lyman Newfield North Berwick Ogunquit Old Orchard Beach Parsonsfield Shapleigh South Berwick Waterboro Wells York
CDPs	Alfred Berwick Cape Neddick Cornish Kennebunk Kennebunkport Kezar Falls‡ Kittery Kittery Point Lake Arrowhead North Berwick South Berwick South Eliot West Kennebunk York Harbor
Unincorporated communities and villages	Bald Head Bar Mills Bedell Crossing Cape Porpoise East Parsonsfield East Waterboro Felch Corner Hills Beach Moody Beach Ocean Park Perkins Cove Springvale York Beach York Cliffs
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county
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