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Cape May County,
New Jersey
Cape May County’s History
Spans More Than Four Centuries
Henry Hudson sailed his ship, the Half Moon,
into Delaware Bay, Cornelius Mey gave his Dutch
name to the southern tip of the peninsula,
descendants of the Pilgrims left Plymouth to
resettle here and Captain Kidd’s buried treasure
is still waiting to be found!
How’s that for a glimpse of Cape May County’s
history that spans more than four centuries –
actually far more than 400 years if the Lenni
Lenape native tribes who first lived here are
included.
Early settlers along the southern most part
of what would become New Jersey were descendants
of those who had arrived aboard the Mayflower,
including Hannah Gorham, granddaughter of John
Howland, the Pilgrim. Leaving New England and
Long Island in search of whales, they
established Portsmouth along the Delaware Bay in
the late 1600s, often referred to as Town Bank,
a community that exists today, albeit much
further inland.
Cape May County was formally created in 1692
from land originally owned by Daniel Coxe, an
English court physician who had supposedly been
given the land by Charles II. The county was
divided into Upper, Middle and Lower Precincts,
three of today’s townships. In 1745, Cape May
Court House in Middle Township became the county
seat.
After the whales disappeared from the bay,
the hearty residents turned to farming and
fishing, making a life for themselves and their
families. The term whaler yeoman is still used
today to name the early families who settled
here and the cemetery at "Old Brick"
Presbyterian Church – itself dating to 1718– is
the final resting place for more Mayflower
descendants than any place outside of
Massachusetts. The oldest marked grave is that
of Sarah Eldridge Spicer who died in 1742.
Like their New England relatives, Cape May
County residents were eager to break with King
George III. As colonists moved toward
independence from England, local men formed a
county militia in 1775 and maintained a lookout
to observe British naval movements. Only one
skirmish occurred in Cape May County during the
Revolutionary War – in 1776, at Turtle Gut
Inlet, now Wildwood Crest.
During the War of 1812 British warships
blockaded the mouth of Delaware Bay and raiding
parties came ashore for provisions from local
farms and fresh water from Lily Lake in Cape May
Point. To thwart the British, patriotic
residents dug a ditch from the lake to the sea,
spoiling the lake water for drinking.
Long before the Civil War, Cape Island –
later Cape May – had become a popular summer
destination for visitors from the Philadelphia
area and points south, including Richmond,
Baltimore and other southern cities. Huge hotels
were built to accommodate thousands of guests
who enjoyed casinos, gambling and the cool ocean
breezes. A huge fire in 1878 destroyed most of
the city but the town was quickly rebuilt with
dozens of cottages, mansions, businesses and
homes, all in the Victorian architectural style
of the day.
The barrier islands to the north of Cape May
– Five Mile Beach, Seven Mile Beach and Ocean
City – were settled in the late 1880s, primarily
as summer resorts. The Wildwoods prospered,
especially after World War II with the advent of
the family car, motels and a two-week vacation
at the shore. During the late 1950s, Wildwood
hosted some of the biggest names in the
entertainment business in clubs around the
island, including Billy Haley and Chubby Checker
during era of doo wop and rock and roll.
In 1879, four Methodist ministers established
Ocean City, a Christian retreat and camp meeting
site, and laid out streets for development, with
deed restrictions to prohibit the sale and
consumption of alcohol. The Tabernacle was built
in 1881 and stood until 1957 when it was
replaced with the building that stands today.
Religious services are still held every Sunday
through the summer.
Development of Avalon and Stone Harbor on
Seven Mile Island dates to the 1890s; once
railroad service started and later bridges over
the inland waterways were built, these towns, as
well as other barrier island communities,
quickly became popular summer destinations.
Inland, Dennis Township was a flourishing
shipbuilding center in the 1700s, where
residents also harvested cedar logs from the
Great Cedar Swamp and made them into shingles
that were shipped to other parts of the country
including Philadelphia where they were used on
Independence Hall. The Joseph Falkenburg House,
built about 1806, is the oldest and one of only
three pre-1860 brick houses in Cape May County.
Woodbine was established in the late 1800s as an
agricultural community by the Baron de Hirsch
Fund as a haven for European Jews escaping
persecution. The residents built the Woodbine
Brotherhood Synagogue, the center of their
community life, in the late 1800s; today the
synagogue is a museum devoted to the
preservation of the town’s unique history.
Now, well over three centuries after the Cape
May County was first settled by whaler yeomen,
the county still depends on fishing, farming and
tourism as its major assets. The Port of Cape
May/Wildwood is among the largest in the United
States and the Garden State nickname is due in
large measure to the farms in the southern part
of the state.
The completion of the Garden State Parkway
into Cape May County in the ;mid-1950s and the
beginning of ferry service between Cape May and
Lewes, Delaware in 1964 have helped solidify the
county’s reputation has a popular vacation
destination.
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