The history of Highland Beach is recounted in the book "The Land Was Ours: African American Beaches from Jim Crow to the Sunbelt South" by Andrew W. Kahrl. The author described the development of Highland Beach as part of the emergence of a niche market in African American planned vacation communities. "Highland Beach on the Chesapeake Bay: Maryland's First African American Incorporated Town" is another book about the town which was written by longtime residents - Jack E. Nelson, Margo Dean Pinson, and former mayor, Raymond L. Langston.