Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. One of the country’s oldest vacation resort destinations, it is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a year-round population of 3,607, reflecting a decline of 427 (-10.6%) from the 4,034 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 634 (-13.6%) from the 4,668 counted in the 1990 Census.[21] In the summer, Cape May’s population is expanded by as many as 40,000 to 50,000 visitors. The entire city of Cape May is designated the Cape May Historic District, a National Historic Landmark due to its concentration of Victorian buildings.
Cape May was recognized as one of America’s top 10 beaches by the Travel Channel and its beach was ranked fifth in New Jersey in the 2008 Top 10 Beaches Contest sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium. It is also known as one of the best beaches on the Middle Atlantic coast.
The city was named for the Dutch captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, who explored and charted the area between 1611–1614 and established a claim for the province of New Netherland. It was later settled by New Englanders from the New Haven Colony.
What is now Cape May was originally formed as the borough of Cape Island by an act of 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 finally became Cape May City as of March 9, 1869.
Cape May began hosting vacationers from Philadelphia in the mid 18th century and is recognized as the country’s oldest seaside resort. Following the construction of Congress Hall in 1816, Cape May became increasingly popular in the 18th century and was considered one of the finest resorts in America by the 19th century. In 1878, a five-day-long fire destroyed 30 blocks of the town center and, as part of the reconstruction efforts, replacement homes were almost uniformly of Victorian style. As a result of this and of more recent preservation efforts, Cape May is noted for its large number of well-maintained Victorian houses — the second largest collection of such homes in the nation after San Francisco.
Tourism to the city was boosted in the 1860s by the opening of the Tuckahoe and Cape May Railroad in 1863.
In 1976, the entire city of Cape May was officially designated a National Historic Landmark as the Cape May Historic District, making Cape May the only city in the United States wholly designated as such. That designation is intended to ensure the architectural preservation of these buildings.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 3,607 people, 1,457 households, and 782.4 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,500.6 per square mile (579.4/km2). There were 4,155 housing units at an average density of 1,728.5 per square mile (667.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 89.05% (3,212) White, 4.85% (175) Black or African American, 0.30% (11) Native American, 0.67% (24) Asian, 0.11% (4) Pacific Islander, 2.30% (83) from other races, and 2.72% (98) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.62% (311) of the population.
Source: Wikipedia
