The notion of southern hospitality has long held a special place in the American psyche. So it should surprise no one (okay, maybe a few of you) that one of Cape May’s most notable landmarks is the Southern Mansion, a structure that, like Cape May, the South, and even America itself, has survived tough times only to come back stronger than ever.
Category: History

Working at the Top: Cape May’s Lighthouse Keepers
The post of lighthouse keeper entailed a unique lifestyle for the keeper and his family. The duties were often lonely and tedious and could be downright dangerous when storms buffeted the lantern. It was especially perilous if weather forced the keeper to climb from the watch room to the lantern landing and remove snow and ice from the 16 windows 12 stories up.

Hot Dogs & Soda for Cape May Point
Hot dogs, sodas and bicycles are coming to Cape May Point State Park this summer. For the first time in its 38 year history, Cape May Point State Park is advertising for vendors – one for a mobile food concession and another for bicycle rental.

Jackson’s Club House: A little controversy at Columbia and Stockton
The gambling, prostitution, heavy drinking and carousing male visitors the clubhouse hosted were just the sort of activities Cape May was hoping to attract during the Victorian era. Or not.

Love at the Lighthouse
The Cape May Lighthouse has become a favored destination for many engagements and weddings. Is the Lighthouse right for your special day?

Cape May’s Grande Dame: The Chalfonte Hotel
Cape May’s 132-year-old Grande Dame has been sold. The venerable Chalfonte Hotel on Howard Street, known for its wrap-around porches and Southern comfort, has changed hands, but fear not, it has not gone into the hands of strangers. Bob Mullock, longtime Cape May resident and owner of Cape May National Golf Club, became the hotel’s… Read more »

Storm of the Century
By all accounts, Monday, March 5, 1962 looked like nothing unusual would occur in Cape May. The forecast called for cloudy skies and a chance of rain. But two storms, a new moon, and a spring equinox formed to create a colossal three day assault of winds averaging 55 knots, and 25 to 35 foot… Read more »

Collecting Cape May Beach Tags
Oh, those pesky Cape May beach tags! Everyone complains about them. Some try to wrangle their way out of buying them. Still others go out of their way to buy them early. And then there are those who collect them. Beach tagcollectors can be easily spotted. Some, like octogenarian Karl Suelke, wear their collections. These are… Read more »

African American Heritage
Here’s my question, if a segment of a community’s history is demolished because of a well-intentioned government program called, ironically enough, Urban Renewal – does said history still exist? Cape May’s Afro-American history nearly faded into the haze of demolition dust, but when a group of mostly white local artists got together in 1994 and… Read more »

Nature meets nurture at St. Mary-by-the-Sea
Nuns believe in miracles. And they’ll tell you it’s miraculous that their 116 year old St. Mary-by-the-Sea retreat still survives the wrath of the aggressive Atlantic Ocean. The storm-tossed high dunes are at their back door, at the very tip of New Jersey. The U-shaped white Victorian building, with its aprons of open porches has… Read more »