Exploration and Settlement

Lenape Village.jpg

Sketch of Lenape Village by John Campanius

Missionary in the colony of New Sweeden circa 1645

Nanticoke and Lenape Confederation Learning Center

https://nanticokelenapemuseum.org/museum/1117/our-ancient-way-of-life/

The first inhabitants of the Cape May peninsula were the Native American peoples of the Lenni-Lenape. They lived in villages similar to the one pictured here along the banks of the Delaware River and Bay. In the summer they would travel down to the shore for the cooler weather and to fish, hunt, and dig for shellfish. Many of the well-worn trails used by the Lenape became the basis for the roads European settlers would later develop to make the journey to and from Cape May.

Map of Townbank AKA Portsmouth.jpg

Map of the "Town" of Portsmouth in 1726

Cape May Geographic Society

Cape May, NJ

Reproduction - 1951 by Russ Lyons

The Jersey Cape was sighted as early as 1524 during the exploration voyages of Giovanni da Verrazano. However it wasn’t until 1609, when Henry Hudson sailed into the Delaware Bay on the Half Moon, did European exploration and colonization begin. Between 1614 and 1632 Dutch colonists made several attempts to establish whaling and fishing industries on the Cape, but were unsuccessful.

English colonists had greater success in the area. A combination of local myth, legend, and lore places a settlement called Town Bank on the shores of the Delaware Bay as early as 1635. However, no reliable documantary or archeological evidence exists from that time. Significant erosion has occurred along the shore leaving the site of the original settlement several hundred yards into the Delaware Bay.

The map on the left shows the settlement of Town Bank, also known as Portsmouth, as it appeared in 1726. This area is known as North Cape May today. English Creek, at the bottom of map, is now the location of the Cape May Canal and The Cape May Lewes Ferry Terminal.

shore whaling1.jpg

WHALING OFF LONG ISLAND

Engraved Print by W.P. Bodfish

Harper's Weekly

January 31, 1885

Engraving accompanied an article about a pod of Right Whales that had been hunted off the coast of Long Island

Photo courtesy of

www.website

By 1685  35 "whaler-yeoman" families had established permanent settlements throughout what would become Cape May County. These settlers came from Long Island and New England in search of hunting grounds for whales. In the Delaware Bay they were able to practice "shore whaling." Whales would be spotted from the beach and then crews would row out into the bay to hunt. Captured whales would then be towed back to the beach to harvest their blubber for whale oil.

The term "yeoman" refers to a farmer who owns his own land. Whaling was primarily a winter activity as whale populations migrated south. The rest of the year these gentleman farmers raised crops and livestock. It was a difficult and very rural life. By 1700 the population of the entire county was no more than 350. The first reliable census in 1726 put the population at only 700. By way of comparison, the population of the colony of New Jersey in 1730 was 37,510.

cox hall shade.jpg

Coxe Hall Cottage

1691

Oldest surving structure in Cape May County

Remaining piece of larger Coxe Hall Mannor

96.1.27

Historic Cold Spring Village

Donated and restored in 2006

The whale population was largely depleted by the 1730s, but the thirty-five founding families remained and continuted to develop their lands. These familes, and their names, such as Corson, Hand, Parsons, Cresse, Hughes, Ludlam, Leaming, Spicer and Schellenger, dominated the geography and politics of Cape May County. They are still a significant part of the population to this day. Their control of land and potential routes of travel would play an important part in the development of travel and transportation in Cape May County.

Historic Cold Spring Village is able to preserve this part of Cape May County's history through Coxe Hall Cottage. Originally part of the larger Coxe Hall Manor, built in 1691, it is the oldest surving structure in Cape May County. Coxe Hall was built for Dr. Daniel Coxe, the Royal Governor of the Province of West Jersey (the colony was originally divided into East and West Jersey). Coxe Hall's original location can be seen at the top of the 1726 map of Town Bank. (Along Cox Hall Creek in the present day Villas section of Lower Township)

Coxe Hall played a significant role in early Cape May County History. The first recorded county court session was held there. Legislative sessions and militia musters were also reportedly held at the manor.

The Coxe family eventually sold their extensive land holdings. The land the manor was on was sold to a local farmer. Not needing an extensive manor home for his family, this section was removed and coverted to a small family farmhouse. It is typical of the small rural homes common in the area at that time. 

Penn Gazz.jpg

Advertisement for Land for Sale in Cape May County

Pennsylvania Gazette

June 26, 1766

Article retireved from

www.website

It is not known exactly when residents of the colonies began coming to Cape May for leisure. However, the descendants of the whaler-yeoman families certainly played a role in promoting it. The article to the left is from the June 26, 1766 edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette. It is the first known advertisement describing Cape May as a vacation getaway. It was placed by Robert Parsons looking to sell...

"A Valuable Plantation - 254 acres of Land, Marsh, and Swamp." He goes on to describe a portion of the land has been cleared and has a large two story house and kitchen. The property is, "pleasantly situated, open to sea in the lower precinct (Modern day Lower Township) of the County of Cape May, and within one mile and a half of the Sea Shore, where Numbers resort for Health and bathing in the water; and this place would be very convenient for taking in such People." 

Sea Shore Entertainment.jpg

Advertisment for "Sea Shore Entertainment at Cape May"

Philadelphia Aurora and General Advertiser

Placed by Ellis Hughes

July 1, 1801

Article retirived from

www.website

Robert Parsons was a direct descendant of John Parson, one of the thirty five original settlers who was given a deed to 315 acres in 1697. It is not known if the land was actually sold, but it shows that the local residents were aware of the potential appeal their small community held for visitors.

The next advertisement shown is from the July 1, 1801 edition of the Philadelphia Aurora and General Advertiser. Ellis Hughes (yet another name connected to the founding familes) was advertising rooms at a "Public House with prepared rooms" located between Perry and Jackson streets in Cape May. He offered his guests "sea bathing, dining on oysters, fish, and drink of good liqours. Until 1816 when the first Congress Hall was built, it was the only hotel in Cape May. 

It is this advertisment that the City of Cape May stakes its claim on being America's oldest seashore resort. 

Sloop Charlotte.jpg

Annoncement of Vessels Clearing Customs in Philadelphia

Including the Sloop Charlotte J. Lyle bound for Cape May

Pennsylvania Journal and the Weekly Advertiser

April 4, 1771

Article retrieved from

www.website

The residents of Cape May County realized they had something special to offer to travelers. However the biggest problem they faced was how to get vistors to their remote location. In the era of Colonial America, southern New Jersey was the wild frontier of the area. It was sparsely populated and not very accessible. The region is a collection of farmland mixed with vast pine forests, cedar swamps, salt marshes and cranberry bogs. 

Travel to Cape May from Philadlelphia in the Colonial period was most often made on horseback or by sloops and schooners down the Delaware River to the Bay. However, there was no regular schedule. Potential travelers depended on customs announcments like the one show to the left from the Pennsylvania Journal and the Weekly Advertiser from April of 1771 to determine when a ship might be heading to Cape May. 

It would not be until the turn of the 19th century that regular stagecoach routes were established. 

Please continue to the next page to see how that developed. 

Exploration and Settlement