Long before the era of Atlantic City and Las Vegas, a casino was just a place to gather together.  Literally, it meant “little house.”  It eventually came to be used for a social gathering place, where one could dance, listen to music, and gamble.  Well… now we know why we are called a casino, right?

How about “Atlantic Beach?”  Atlantic Beach was the name given to the northern end of Atlantic Avenue.  The whole area of Misquamicut used to be called “Pleasant View.”  The name was eventually changed to the name we know today, which just happens to be an Indian word for “Pleasant View.”

Now that we have a little background, we’ll just cover the basics of the history of this property.  The Norwich-Westerly Railway Company originally created this parcel of land, during the turn of the twentieth century, as the Atlantic Beach Casino.  In 1921, Harry and Julia Trefes purchased the property from the trolley company and continued to run the property under this name until 1972.  In 1972, the property was sold to their sons Charles and Elias H. Trefes, who incorporated under the name of the Atlantic Beach Park, Inc. 

Why are we calling it a casino, again?  In spite of the name change, the citizens of the Town of Westerly still refer to the business as the Atlantic Beach Casino.  The developer, who grew up here, also continued to call it the Atlantic Beach Casino, and decided it was the most appropriate name, given its history