From the Hurricane of ’38 through successive storms in 1954 and 1955, light-weight and well-built structures along this coastline were from time to time swept away. Beginning in 1956 the State Department of Public Works began acquiring storm-ravaged land by public condemnation. Additional purchases by the state occurred in 1967, and the Division of Parks and Recreation, now in DEM, built a modern beach facility and took over the care and maintenance of the beach, totaling more than 144 acres. It is formally known as East Matunuck State Beach.
