Cape May is the nation’s oldest seaside resort and as such it has a long and rich history dating back to the 1600’s. 

The Kechemeche Indians of the Lenni-Lenape tribe were the first known inhabitants. In 1609 Henry Hudson documented a sighting of the southern tip of New Jersey, and in 1621 Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey came ashore and gave this land the name of “Cape May”.

The first residents hailed from the English colonies of Connecticut and Massachusetts, purchasing land from the Indians in the 1630’s. For most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Cape Island was a fishing, whaling, and farming community. 

Then in the mid-1700’s, the island began to emerge as a resort for visitors from Philadelphia who traveled by horse-drawn wagons and stagecoaches, then by steamship and railroad. By the 1830’s, Cape Island began to attract the elite of New York, Baltimore, and Washington in addition to Philadelphia. Hotels, music pavilions, and grand boardwalk emerged.

And then in 1878, a devastating fire destroyed 35 acres of the town and burned down many of the grand hotels and private cottages that had been built to accommodate wealthy travelers. After this fire, Cape May decided to rebuild itself in the architectural style of the day, Victorian. 

Following WWI and WWII, the opening of the Garden State Parkway in 1954, gave Cape May a boost, ending the city’s former isolation as automobile travel increased dramatically.

In the 1960’s, two powerful forces blew into Cape May that helped shape the city’s future. The first was the Ash Wednesday Storm on March 7, 1962, that destroyed the boardwalk, beachfront, and Convention Hall, and severely damaged many properties. The second was the Reverend Carl McIntire, a fundamentalist minister, who also changed the city’s landscape by purchasing many Victorian era properties and moving some of them in order to save them from destruction. 

Then in the 1970’s, Cape May continued a resurgence as historic preservationists restored many of the town’s Victorian homes to their original beauty and splendor for use as Bed and Breakfast inns, guest houses, restaurants and shops. Ever since, Cape May has continued to shine as a popular seaside resort throughout all seasons of the year.