Cape May, sometimes referred to as Cape May City, is a city and seaside resort located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located on the Atlantic Ocean near the mouth of the Delaware Bay, it is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations.Johnson, Charles P. "Many Drive To Resorts On Atlantic: Coast Places Draw Drivers From Pittsburgh District" , The Pittsburgh Press, June 22, 1930, p. 3 of the Automobile section. Accessed July 4, 2011. "The southern part of New Jersey largely in Cape May County contains other popular resorts. Cape May City, the southernmost part of New Jersey, is said to be the oldest vacation resort in the United States." The city, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area.New Jersey: 2020 Core Based Statistical Areas and Counties, United States Census Bureau. Accessed December 22, 2022. It is the southernmost municipality in New Jersey, and is part of the South Jersey region of the state.
As of the 2020 United States census, the city's resident population was 2,768, a decrease of 839 (−23.3%) from the 2010 census count of 3,607, which in turn reflected a decline of 427 (−10.6%) from the 4,034 counted in the 2000 census.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023. In the summer, Cape May's population is expanded by as many as 40,000 to 50,000 visitors.Mulvihill, Geoff via Associated Press. "Dangerous fishing, quaint B&B's share N.J. resort" , Delaware County Daily Times, March 30, 2009. Accessed October 27, 2019. "'I don't really think much about the fishing business,' said Jimmy Iapallucci, a cook at Uncle Bill's Pancake House near the beach. He suspects the tourists who swell the community's population from 4,000 to 40,000 each summer don't either." The entire city of Cape May is designated the Cape May Historic District, a National Historic Landmark due to its concentration of Victorian architecture.
History 17th and 18th centuries
The area that is now Cape May was originally inhabited by the Kechemeche Native American tribe, a subgroup of the Lenape people."Cape May Diamond Hunting Goes Back to the Kechemeche Tribe" , Cape May County Herald, August 18, 2017. Accessed January 3, 2020. "The Kechemeche were part of the Lenni Lenape Council and were the original inhabitants of the southern part of Cape May County. The Lenape were the first settlers in the county and found the quartz stones washed up on the beaches in what is now Cape May Point." The Kechemeche first encountered Europeans around 1600. The city is named after the Dutch captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, who charted the coast between 1611 and 1614 and claimed it for the province of New Netherland.Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names , New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 28, 2015.Gannett, Henry. The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, p. 68. United States Government Printing Office, 1905. Accessed August 28, 2015. It was later settled by colonists from the New Haven Colony in New England.
By the mid-18th century, Cape May had become a popular vacation destination for visitors from Philadelphia and is recognized as the country's oldest seaside resort. Cape May Historic Preservation Commission. "Design Standards", Published Fall 2002, Standard Publishing, Inc; page 8. Staff. "Life Style; Old Resort Draws New Clientele: Honeymooners" , The New York Times, July 23, 1989. Accessed July 4, 2011. "At one time, Cape May was known as the serene Victorian getaway of four Presidents and scores of wealthy New York and Philadelphia industrialists. But recently, Cape May, the nation's oldest seaside resort, has begun to attract a new breed of beachgoer.... Innkeepers here say Cape May's 19th-century ambiance and views of the Atlantic Ocean are the main reasons this sleepy city of 5,000 (50,000 in the summer) has become popular for weddings and honeymoons."
19th century Following the construction of Congress Hall in 1816, Cape May became increasingly popular in the 19th century and was considered one of America's finest resorts by the 20th century.DiGiacomo, Robert. "Beach bicentennial: Cape May’s Congress Hall resort hits 200" , USA Today, June 25, 2016. Accessed March 21, 2018. "Like many ladies of a certain age, Congress Hall has enjoyed her fair share of drama and notoriety over the decades. The original hotel, built of wood, helped usher in Cape May’s role as the leading resort of the early 19th century."
What is now Cape May was formed as the borough of Cape Island by the New Jersey Legislature on March 8, 1848, from portions of Lower Township. It was reincorporated as Cape Island City on March 10, 1851, and was renamed Cape May City on March 9, 1869.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. Accessed May 1, 2026.
Tourism to the city was boosted in 1863 with the opening of the Tuckahoe and Cape May Railroad.
The city suffered devastating fires in 1869 and 1878. In the early hours of August 31, 1869, a fire broke out in the Japanese store on Washington Street. The fire destroyed the post office and at least thirty-five other buildings. Press reports at the time did not mention any deaths. In 1878, a five-day-long fire destroyed 30 blocks of the town center. Replacement homes were almost uniformly built in Victorian style,Victorian Cape May , Cape May Times. Accessed July 4, 2011. "Cape May looked a lot different before the fire of 1878. The town is the oldest seashore resort in the nation. In the 1800s, Cape May had quite a collection of classically designed seaside hotels. The fire of 1878 wiped out 30 blocks of the early seashore town, including some of the resort's major hotels, including the original Congress Hall.... And, for the most part, the new buildings that went up were built in the modern style of the day...later known as the Victorian style... lots of gingerbread trim, gables and turrets." and more recent preservation efforts have left Cape May with many famously well-maintained Victorian houses—the second largest collection of such homes in the nation after San Francisco
The Cape May City Athletic Association was founded in 1886 and opened the Cape May Athletic Park in 1887. Cape May attracted the Philadelphia Phillies who held spring training in Cape May at the Athletic Park in 1888, the Gas House Field in 1891, and again at the Athletic Park in 1898. The Athletic Association fielded a collegiate baseball team that played every summer against other local clubs, as well as semi-professional and professional teams including African-American and Major League teams. President Benjamin Harrison visited Cape May in August 1891 and visited the Athletic Park where he saw Cape May lose 5 to 0 to the Gorham African-American club.
20th century During World War II, because of the submarine threat off the East Coast of the United States, particularly off Cape May and at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, numerous United States Navy facilities were established here in order to protect American coastal shipping. Cape May Naval facilities, listed below, played a significant role in reducing the number of ship and crew losses at sea.
Naval Air Station, Cape May Naval Base, Cape May Inshore Patrol, Cape May Naval Annex, Inshore Patrol, Cape May Joint Operations Office, Naval Base, Cape May Welfare and Recreation Office, Cape May Dispensary, Naval Air Station, Cape May Naval Frontier Base, Cape May Degaussing Range (Cold Spring Inlet), Naval Base, Cape May Joint Operations Office, Commander Delaware Group, ESF, Cape May Anti-Submarine Attack Teacher Training Unit, U.S. Naval Base, Cape May Naval Annex, Admiral Hotel, Cape May
In 1976, Cape May was designated a National Historic Landmark as the Cape May Historic District, making Cape May the only city in the U.S. to be wholly designated as a national historic district.Kent, Bill. "Development; If They Build It, Will Even More Come? Cape May Ponders Parking Garage" , The New York Times, November 9, 1997. Accessed July 4, 2011. "William Bolger, manager of the National Park Service Historic Landmarks Program for the Northeast, confirmed that he had been surveying Cape May to evaluate the city's historic buildings since January. 'Cape May is unique in America in that, since 1977, the entire city has been designated a National Historic Landmark District,' Mr. Bolger said. 'That means everything within the city limits is considered of historic landmark status.'" That designation is intended to ensure the architectural preservation of these buildings.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Cape May had a total area of 2.90 square miles (7.50 km2), including 2.47 square miles (6.41 km2) of land and 0.42 square miles (1.10 km2) of water (14.59%). Cape May is generally low-lying; its highest point, at the intersection of Washington and Jackson Streets, is above sea level.Floodplain Management Plan , City of Cape May, September 10, 2009. Accessed April 20, 2012.
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Poverty Beach.Locality Search , State of New Jersey. Accessed May 21, 2015.
Cape May borders the Cape May County municipalities of Lower Township and West Cape May Borough and the Atlantic Ocean.Areas touching Cape May , MapIt. Accessed March 22, 2020.Cape May County , Coalition for a Healthy NJ. Accessed March 22, 2020.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries , New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019. The Cape May–Lewes Ferry provides transportation across the Delaware Bay between North Cape May, New Jersey, and Lewes, Delaware.
Cape May Harbor, which borders Lower Township and nearby Wildwood Crest allows fishing vessels to enter from the Atlantic Ocean, was created as of 1911, after years of dredging completed the harbor which covers .Preston, Benjamin. "Cape May, New Jersey's Battle Against Nature" , The Earth Institute, June 20, 2011. Accessed July 4, 2011. "Beach erosion is a perennial challenge for coastal communities, but in Cape May, man began accelerating the natural process in 1903. That year, dredges began scooping sand and muck out of the small harbor, expanding it to its current 500 acres. By 1911, a pair of massive stone jetties were completed to protect the mouth of Cape May Inlet." Cape May Harbor Fest celebrates life in and around the harbor, with the 2011 event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the harbor's creation.Staff. "Cape May Harbor Fest offers activities on land and sea" , Shore News Today, June 9, 2011. Accessed July 4, 2011. "Cape May's Harbor Fest, a celebration of seafood and song, the sea, its culture, economy and ecology, will take place 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, June 18 in and along the banks of Cape May Harbor on Delaware Avenue, with many of the land-based activities taking place at the Nature Center of Cape May.This year's festival commemorates the 100th anniversary of Cape May Harbor."