South Cape May, New Jersey

Not to be confused with southern Cape May.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	14		—
1910	7		−50.0%
1920	10		42.9%
1930	6		−40.0%
source: [1] 1910-1930 [2]

American oystercatcher on the beach at South Cape May Meadows

South Cape May was a borough that existed in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, from 1894 to 1945.

The borough was formed on August 27, 1894, from portions of Lower Township, based on the results of a referendum held six days earlier. ^[3]

The borough was heavily wrecked after the 1936 Nor'easter, and was ultimately destroyed by the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane, which hit in September of that year. ^[4] After the hurricane, the borough was dissolved as of April 30, 1945, and returned to Lower Township. ^[5]

The remaining land not underwater is part of a bird sanctuary (South Cape May Meadows Preserve). ^[6]

History

In 1840, a man named Mark Devine bought 89 acres of land. Devine continuously bought parcels of land, eventually owning 225 acres of land stretching from Paterson Avenue in Cape May to Cape May Point. In 1882, Theodore M. Reger, an entrepreneur, formed an investment group known as The Cape May City Land Company, where they bought Devine's tract south of Broadway. Reger sought to develop the land, with the goal of land reclamation, seawall construction, wharves, roads, hotels, and cottages. ^[7]

In 1885, Reger built a Lucy-type elephant called the Light of Asia, which housed his real estate office, concessions, and a sightseeing platform. People called the elephant "Jumbo" because of its size, as well as the fact that Barnum & Bailey Circus had an elephant named Jumbo. Due to low visitation, the structure was demolished in 1900. ^[7]

In the 1887, the New Mount Vernon Hotel began construction in order to replace the original Mount Vernon Hotel, which burnt down in 1856 during construction, and would have been the largest hotel in the world. The new hotel was to be smaller than the original, but the plan included cottages that stretched 14 beachfront blocks and 69 blocks all the way to the Cape May Turnpike (currently Sunset Boulevard) in a gridiron pattern. In 1887, a mural of the new hotel was painted on the side of the Light of Asia elephant to advertise it. By 1888, South Cape May consisted of one hotel, 8 cottages, bathhouses, and a two-story pavilion. ^[7]

In 1894, Reger withdrew the tract of land from Lower Township to form the borough of South Cape May. Shortly after, Reger and his business partner, James Henry Edmunds, formed another company, the West Cape May Improvement Company, in order to develop the lots and streets within the borough. Between 1892-1918, an electric trolley car ran through South Cape May to connect it to Cape May. ^[7]

By 1910, the beachfront properties had to be moved inland by a block so they would face the railroad tracks on Mount Vernon Avenue, rather than the ocean. A three-story boarding house opened around this time, but most of the land remained a meadow. ^[7]

In 1925, Sunset Boulevard was paved over the gravel Cape May Turnpike due to talks about a ferry forming between Cape May Point and Delaware. This led to an influx of development in the area, although the ferry wasn't built until 20 years later in North Cape May. That same year, several Spanish-villa style cottages were built in South Cape May. There were roughly 50 in the borough, although this only consisted of 5% of the land in the borough. ^[7]

In 1936, a Nor'easter destroyed many of the cottages in the borough. Finally, the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane dealt the final blow to the borough. Floodwater went all the way past Sunset Boulevard, leaving any structures either destroyed or uninhabitable. The borough then declared bankruptcy as they had no properties to tax, with the borough being receded back to Lower Township. Later, in 1950, a fierce tidal wave swept through the area, reaching as far as 6th Avenue in West Cape May, ultimately destroying any remaining structures in the former South Cape May, returning the area into the meadow it was prior to development. ^[7]

Today, the remaining land is now home to a bird sanctuary known as South Cape Meadows, which is adjacent to Cape May Point State Park. ^[7]

References

1. Wm. C. Hunt, Chief Statistician for Population. "Fourteenth Census of The United States: 1920; Population: New Jersey; Number of inhabitants, by counties and minor civil divisions" (ZIP). United States Census Bureau . Retrieved March 21, 2007.
2. "Fifteenth Census of the United States : 1930 - Population Volume I", United States Census Bureau, p. 715. Accessed December 5, 2011.
3. Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 115. Accessed October 16, 2012.
4. Cape May History, accessed February 11, 2007 Archived February 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
5. Burcher, Joseph G. Remembering South Cape May: The Jersey Shore Town that Vanished into the Sea, p. 94. Arcadia Publishing, 2010. ISBN   9781614232148. Accessed September 12, 2019. "Seven months after the hurricane, on April 30, 1945, the borough of South Cape May officially ceased to exist and the land became part of Lower Township."
6. South Cape May Meadows, The Nature Conservancy. Accessed September 12, 2019. "Situated at the southwest tip of the Cape May peninsula, the South Cape May Meadows Preserve includes more than 200 acres of critical habitat in the globally renowned birding hot-spot of Cape May, New Jersey.... Established in the 1840s, South Cape May was once a Victorian resort town boasting modest vacation cottages until a storm surge washed much of the town away during the 1950s. Today, remnants of the town lie offshore, scattered on the ocean floor."
7. Tischler, Susan (February 1, 2006). "What happened to South Cape May?". CapeMay.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.

38°55′59″N74°56′31″W / 38.933°N 74.942°W / 38.933; -74.942