Editing Cape May

{{refimprove|date = December 2024}}
{{Short description|Cape at the southernmost point of New Jersey}}
{{about|the body of land between Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean|the city named after it|Cape May, New Jersey|other uses}}
{{Infobox landform
| name              = Cape May
| type              = [[Peninsula]]
| photo             = Cape May NJ from airplane (August, 2022).jpg
| photo_width       = 300px
| photo_alt         = View of Cape May from the sky
| photo_caption     = Aerial view of Cape May Peninsula
| map               = USA New Jersey Cape May County#USA New Jersey#USA
| map_relief        = yes
| coordinates       = {{WikidataCoord|display=inline,title}}
| etymology         = Named for [[Cornelius Jacobsen May]]
}}

'''Cape May''' consists of a [[peninsula]] and [[barrier island]] system in the [[U.S. state]] of [[New Jersey]]. It is roughly coterminous with [[Cape May County, New Jersey|Cape May County]] and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating [[Delaware Bay]] from the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. The southernmost point in both New Jersey and the [[northeastern United States]] lies on the cape. A number of resort communities line the Atlantic side of the cape, including [[Ocean City, New Jersey|Ocean City]], the most populous community on the cape, [[The Wildwoods]], known for its [[Wildwoods Shore Resort Historic District|architecturally significant hotel district]], and the [[Cape May, New Jersey|city of Cape May]], which has served as a resort community since the mid-1700s, making it the oldest such resort in the U.S.

As 2024, the population is 2,757 with 90% being white.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cape May, New Jersey Population History {{!}} 1990 - 2022 |url=https://www.biggestuscities.com/city/cape-may-new-jersey |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=www.biggestuscities.com}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The peninsula is named for [[Cornelius Jacobsen May]], a Dutch explorer who worked for the [[Dutch East India Company]].

==Geography and ecology==
[[File:Wetlands Cape May New Jersey.jpg|thumb|300px|Cape May's [[wetlands]]]]
The peninsula comprises the municipalities of [[Avalon, New Jersey|Avalon]], [[Cape May, New Jersey|Cape May]], [[Cape May Point, New Jersey|Cape May Point]], [[Dennis Township, New Jersey|Dennis Township]], [[Lower Township, New Jersey|Lower Township]], [[Middle Township, New Jersey|Middle Township]], [[North Cape May, New Jersey|North Cape May]], [[North Wildwood, New Jersey|North Wildwood]], [[Stone Harbor, New Jersey|Stone Harbor]], [[West Cape May, New Jersey|West Cape May]], [[West Wildwood, New Jersey|West Wildwood]], and [[Wildwood Crest, New Jersey|Wildwood Crest]]. The region is a popular destination for [[Quebec|Québécois]] tourists.<ref>Lawlor, Julia. [http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/05mainnj.html "Back From the North, and the Water Feels Magnifique"], ''The New York Times'', August 5, 2007. Accessed September 29, 2007. "Tourism officials and hotel owners in this Cape May County resort began noticing an increase in the number of French Canadian visitors in the summer of 2005, after a prolonged scarcity caused by a weak Canadian dollar and high unemployment in Quebec."</ref> It is part of the [[Southern Shore Region]].

The city of Cape May, located on the island and south of the peninsula, is home to the oldest seaside resort in the nation with historical roots dating back to the 18th century.<ref>Howard, Beth. [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/29/travel/a-sampling-of-house-tours-across-nation.html "A Sampling Of House Tours Across Nation"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 29, 1987. Accessed October 12, 2007. "The nation's oldest seashore resort, Cape May, N.J., is noted for its Victorian gingerbread architecture."</ref> The entire city was designated as a [[National Historic Landmark]] on May 11, 1976, and many of the buildings throughout the town are original Victorian structures that have been maintained in pristine condition.<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/nhl/designations/Lists/LIST07.pdf List Of National Historic Landmarks By State] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090824165403/http://www.nps.gov/nhl/designations/Lists/LIST07.pdf |date=August 24, 2009 }}, [[National Park Service]], July 2007. Accessed October 12, 2007.</ref> The [[United States Coast Guard Training Center Cape May|basic training camp]] of the [[United States Coast Guard]] is located in Cape May. This facility is the only enlisted basic training center for the United States Coast Guard in the country. Each recruit goes through eight weeks of training before being shipped out.

Cape May is also famous as one of the top [[birding]] sites in North America. There are many different parks and birding sites in the area. Due to its location at the southern tip of New Jersey and numerous nature preserves and wildlife refuges, large concentrations of birds can be found in Cape May, especially during spring and fall migration. Cape May Bird Observatory acts as the central coordinator of birding activities in Cape May, including the [[World Series of Birding]], held in Cape May and throughout New Jersey annually in May.

===Cape Island===
[[File:Cape may.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Sunset Beach, New Jersey|Sunset Beach]] on Cape May]]
Cape Island is a man-made island at the southern tip of Cape May County, which consists of [[Cape May, New Jersey|Cape May]], [[Cape May Point, New Jersey|Cape May Point]], [[West Cape May, New Jersey|West Cape May]] and portions of [[Lower Township, New Jersey|Lower Township]]. The island is separated from the mainland and the rest of Cape May County by the man-made [[Cape May Canal]], Cape Island Creek and Cape May Harbor, which cut it off from the rest of the [[Cape May Peninsula]]. Cape May Canal is a {{convert|2.9|nmi|mi km|adj=on}} [[waterway]] connecting Cape May Harbor to the [[Delaware Bay]], at the southern tip of [[Cape May County, New Jersey|Cape May County]], [[New Jersey]].<ref>U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, PA. (2009). [http://gis.sam.usace.army.mil/N007/Cape%20May%20Canal/Cape+May+Canal.pdf "Cape May Canal, New Jersey."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215071612/http://gis.sam.usace.army.mil/N007/Cape%20May%20Canal/Cape%2BMay%2BCanal.pdf|date=2013-02-15}}</ref> Before the canal was built, "Cape Island" referred to the site of the City of Cape May, southeast of Cape Island Creek, a tidal "creek" and marsh that has been partly filled in at its southern end.<ref>See [http://www.resortgraphicsllc.com/cape-may/index.html Aerial Tour of Cape May, NJ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910194725/http://www.resortgraphicsllc.com/cape-may/index.html |date=September 10, 2011 }}, retrieved September 21, 2011.</ref>

==History==
The [[Kechemeche]] tribe of the [[Lenni Lenape]] were the first residents of the area that historians know of.<ref name=history>{{cite web|url=http://www.capemaycity.com/Cit-e-Access/webpage.cfm?TID=103&TPID=10704 |title=Cape May History |year=2009 |access-date=10 October 2011 |publisher=[[Cape May, New Jersey|City of Cape May]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006171221/http://www.capemaycity.com/Cit-e-Access/webpage.cfm?TID=103&TPID=10704 |archive-date=6 October 2011 }}</ref> Each summer, the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] vacationed at what is now Cape May to escape the summer heat. While there, they fished, hunted, and collected fruits before the advent of autumn mandated the return to their inland villages.<ref>{{cite book|last=Santelli|first=Robert|title=Guide to the Jersey Shore: From Sandy Hook to Cape May|publisher=Insiders' Guides|location=[[Guilford, Connecticut]]|year=2006|edition=7th|page=vi|isbn=0-7627-4038-8|oclc=22509728}}</ref>

The first European to catch a glimpse of Cape May was navigator [[Henry Hudson]] and 18 of his crew mates on the [[Halve Maen]]. On August 28, 1609, while searching for the [[Northwest Passage]], Hudson decided to sail up the unexplored [[Delaware Bay]]. Several miles up the coast, strong tides pulled the Halve Maen to a sandbar, and the crew was stranded until thunderstorms and wind aided the ship around the Cape May peninsula. This event was recorded by Hudson's first mate, [[Robert Juet]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Dorwart|first=Jeffery M.|title=Cape May County, New Jersey: The Making of an American Resort Community|publisher=Rutgers University Press|location=[[New Brunswick, New Jersey]]|year=1992|page=1|isbn=0-8135-1783-4|oclc=24377299}}</ref>

News of his discovery sparked a search for the location of a new trading post. English explorer [[Samuel Argall]] explored the bay and named it for the governor of the Virginia Colony, [[Lord De La Warr]].<ref>Argall believed that the Delaware Bay was the northern boundary of the Virginia Colony.</ref> Not to be outdone, the Dutch also sent some navigators to look for suitable sites for trading ventures. Among the band of explorers were [[Cornelis Henderson]], [[Adriaen Block]], and [[Cornelis Jacobsen Mey]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Dorwart|first=Jeffery M.|title=Cape May County, New Jersey: The Making of an American Resort Community|publisher=Rutgers University Press|location=[[New Brunswick, New Jersey]]|year=1992|page=2|isbn=0-8135-1783-4|oclc=24377299}}</ref>

The recorded history of Cape May stretches back to 1620, when Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey surveyed and named the area for himself. It later grew from a small settlement to the large beach resort it has been since the 19th century.<ref name=history/> The City of Cape May asserts that its status as a vacation spot began in 1766,<ref name=history/> with Philadelphians coming in by stagecoaches, ships, and horse-drawn wagons, and that the Kechemeche Lenape had primarily used the land for hunting beforehand. Hotels were already on Cape May as of 1834.<ref name=history/>

In 1782 during the [[American Revolutionary War]], the young [[Continental Navy]] [[Lieutenant]] [[Joshua Barney]] [[Battle of Delaware Bay|fought]] with a British squadron at Cape May and Delaware Bay. Barney's force of three [[sloop-of-war|sloop]]s defeated a [[Royal Navy]] [[frigate]], a sloop-of-war and a [[Loyalist]] [[privateer]]. The battle ended with the loss of two British vessels and one American sloop.

==See also==
{{Portal|New Jersey}}
*[[Cape May County, New Jersey|Cape May County]]
*[[Cape May Light]]
*[[Cape May Historic District]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Cape May County, New Jersey]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Cape May}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928101548/http://www.visitnjshore.com/New-Jersey-Shore/Cape-May/Cape-May-History.asp Cape May history]
*[http://www.visitnjshore.com/Cape-May-Lighthouse-History.asp Cape May Lighthouse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530162404/http://www.visitnjshore.com/Cape-May-Lighthouse-History.asp |date=2008-05-30 }}
*[http://www.capemaychamber.com/ Cape May Chamber of Commerce]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070608160718/http://www.capemaycity.com/ Cape May city website]
*[http://www.hcsv.org/ Historic Cold Spring Village]

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[[Category:Landforms of Cape May County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Headlands of New Jersey|May]]
[[Category:Peninsulas of New Jersey]]
[[Category:Birdwatching sites in the United States]]
[[Category:Islands of New Jersey]]
[[Category:Delaware Bay]]
[[Category:Coastal islands of New Jersey]]