Cape May

The seaside resort of Cape May was named for Dutchman Cornelis Mey, who sailed past this part of southeastern New Jersey in 1616. Originally known as Cape Island, the area was settled by a handful of English-speaking farmers and whalers in the 1690s. By 1776, it was advertised as a popular, healthy place for bathing in the ocean. The first boardinghouses were erected in the early 1800s, and by 1850, the town boasted nearly two dozen. Vacationers came from Philadelphia, Baltimore, and even t...