USA > New Jersey > The New Jersey coast in three centuries; history of the New Jersey coast with genealogical and historic-biographical appendix, Vol. II > Part 14
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The water advantages of the place are superb. Extending its entire length is a beach of hard closely packed sand, making an admirable drive- way. The slope of the beach is exceedingly gentle and gradual, and
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
its evenness, with the absence of depressions and gullies, renders it a most perfect bathing beach. There is no undertow, and no life-lines are re- quired. Along the ocean front is an elevated boardwalk, sixteen feet wide and nearly three miles long. Outside of this no structures whatever are permitted, and the view of the ocean is unobstructed from every part of the town. A magnificent and most substantial sea wall protects it at ex- posed points ; the beach line is two feet higher, by actual topographical sur- vey, than any other in the vicinity, and so firm and compact is the surface that in walking or driving scarcely an indentation is made in the sand. The lowlands or meadows at the back of the city are rarely submerged by storm tides, and from all of the great storms of recent years, which have wrought havoc at many points on the coast, Sea Isle City has emerged unscathed. The avenues, which are all seventy feet wide, with sidewalks fifteen feet wide, run at right angles direct from the beach, so that it may be said that every building in the town enjoys an ocean view.
Avalon, to the south of Townsend Inlet, is situated on the north end of Seven Mile Beach. It contains several hotels and a large number of summer cottages. It was founded by the Seven Mile Beach Company, headed by Frank Siddall, of Philadelphia, in 1887, and in 1891 a borough was created.
Wildwood, situated on Five Mile Beach, about six miles northeast of Cape May City, situated upon a tract of one hundred acres lying between the ocean and the Thoroughfare, differs from all of its neighbors on the southern New Jersey coast in the fact that the town is surrounded by one of the most curious groves of trees in the country. This natural park has attracted the attention of botanists and scientific men from all parts of the world. It contains many of the most remarkable freaks of nature in living wood. Massive trees are wrapped around each other as though placed there by art. The limbs of some pass directly through the trunks of others. There is an immense huckleberry bush growing out of the trunk of a tree twenty feet from the ground, which has for years borne large crops of excellent fruit. A monster grapevine nearly three feet in circumference at a height of ten feet from the ground, runs to a distance . of two hundred feet into the branches of oak trees. There are pines and oaks nearly one hundred feet in height and two to five feet in diameter, and a sassafras tree with a circumference of six feet. From the branches of many of the trees depend great festoons of beautiful green moss. three to six feet in length. It is said that every variety of wild flower known between Maine and Florida has existence here. In the center of this for- est is a charming little body of fresh water known as Magnolia Lake, which is fed by a spring a mile or more distant.
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
The town of Wildwood was founded in 1890 by Philip P. Baker, of Vineland, and was incorporated May I, 1895. The water supply is de- rived from two artesian wells, with depths of one thousand feet and seven hundred feet respectively. There are public schools, and churches of the Baptist and Presbyterian denominations. The leading hotels are the Day-
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY.
ton, Marine Hall, the Latimer, Sea View, Ocean Villa, Tower Villa, Silver Dean, the Brighton, the Ivy and the Wildwood. In 1900 the population of the village was 340.
CAPE MAY.
Cape May, one of the oldest and most famous of American seaside resorts, possesses natural advantages different from and in some respects superior to all others. Situated at the extreme southeastern point of the New Jersey peninsula, with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean upon its one side and those of Delaware Bay upon the other, it is truly a watering place in all that the phrase can comprehend. It was at one time an island, but through the building of a causeway at an early day, in 1696, and con- sequent accretion of land, it is now a peninsula. Climatically it is equally adapted to the northerner and southerner, and seems to be destined to be- come a winter as well as a summer resort. The summer temperature is about five degrees below that of Philadelphia, while in winter it is about four degrees warmer than Philadelphia and two and one-tenth degrees warmer than Atlantic City. Its remarkable equability of temperature is largely due to the proximity of the Gulf Stream, which here approaches the coast more closely than at any other point north of Florida. Influ-
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ential in this regard, also, is the fact that the Cape is closely embraced by the waters of the ocean and the bay, which temper alike the heats of sum- mer and the frosts of winter. The only land connection with the main is in a northeasterly direction, so that the land breeze in hot weather brings no terror in its wake.
The grand ocean boulevard is a feature of which Cape May is justly proud. It is an elevated driveway, over five miles long, on the very edge of the sea. The roadbed is constructed of gravel, and is as compact and smooth as asphalt. Outside of this is a boardwalk promenade, and from either the ocean views are something that can never be effaced from memory of the beholder. The beach slopes gradually from the shallowest riffle, where the smallest children may paddle in assured security, to the deeper parts, where the more venturesome may disport themselves, and bathing becomes the greatest enjoyment possible for all. There are no treacherous holes, and ropes are never needed ; as a matter of fact, the most timid person may enjoy a dip in the surf without the least fear.
Out-of-door sports of all kinds are much indulged in, and the links of the golf club are among the finest in the country. A handsome club house has been recently erected, affording a charming rendezvous for the younger as well as the older people. Social life is pursued in a delightful manner. On land are all the festivities which people bent on pleasure de- vise for entertainment and amusement; while out on the ocean, in the pavilion of the great pier, musical, dramatic and other features offer de- lightful means of passing pleasant hours.
The history of Cape May is of rare interest. Discovered by Henry Hudson in 1609, the region was visited in 1623 by the Dutch navigator Mey, who gave to it his own name. The first records of the place being populated make mention of the coming of whalemen from Long Island, about 1700, when the fishing industry of the Colonies had assumed con- siderable proportions.
Until 1875 what is now commonly known as Cape May, but is in law Cape May City, was called Cape Island. It was first known as a health- ful place as far back as in 1750, when persons were recommended by physicians to come to benefit themselves physically. The first instance of the kind was the coming of the Rev. Samuel Finley, who was a prominent Presbyterian divine, and who after coming to Cape May became pastor of the historical Cold Spring Presbyterian Church, which had been founded in 1714; he later became one of the leading educators in the colonies, he being at one time president of Princeton College. From that time on there are frequent mention in ancient letters and papers of the advice to go to Cape May for the regaining of the health.
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It came into more general notice and favor in 1800, and travel from Philadelphia was by carriages. In 1815 a sloop was built for the convey- ance of passengers, the voyage frequently requiring two days. The At- lantic was then the only hotel, and was the resort of many men of promi- nence, and among its frequent guests was that splendid naval officer, Com- modore Decatur. The first Congress Hall hotel was built in 1816, by Thomas H. Hughes. The people derided him for his folly in erecting so large a structure, but he was firm in his confidence in the development of the place, and predicted that the time would come when a purchaser would need to cover every inch of land with a dollar to obtain sufficient space on
CONGRESS HALL IN 1859.
which to erect a dwelling-a prediction which has had all but entire ful- fillment. The first steamboat, the "Pennsylvania," in '1825 began plying between Philadelphia and Cape May. A few years later the "Delaware" was put in the same line, and from that time there has been constant steam- boat communication during the summer season. A visitor writing in 1830 speaks of the village as "a noted and much frequented watering place." and another, writing in 1840, said :
"The village of Cape Island is a favorite watering place. It contains
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
two large hotels three stories high and one hundred and fifty feet long, and a third one, lately erected, four stories high and one hundred feet long. besides numerous other houses for the entertainment of visitors. The whole number of dwellings is about fifty. In the summer months the Island is thronged with visitors, principally from Philadelphia, with which there is a daily steamboat communication. It is estimated that about three thousand strangers annually visit the place."
In 1848 the village adopted a borough organization, and in 1851 it became incorporated as the City of Cape Island, with Isaac M. Church as mayor. Two other charters were subsequently procured, as necessity arose, one in 1867 and another in 1875, when the name was changed to that of the City of Cape May.
In 1859 Cape May City was deemed worthy of the following mention in "The Knickerbocker Magazine," one of the most pretentious periodicals of the day :
"The neighborhood of which we are speaking is none other than that most charming of ocean summer resorts and watering places, that famous refuge from the heat and dust of the weary city-the beach at Cape May. We speak literally, for it is a city, and not a village or town merely, at which the traveler will land when he debarks at Cape May. In this census we speak, of course, of the permanent residents only, and not of the sum- mer visitants. These may, in the season, be counted not only by hundreds but by thousands, and with their help, and that of the dozen to twenty imposing hotel edifices, and the infinite tail of restaurants, barber shops, ice cream saloons, bowling alleys, billiard rooms, pistol galleries, bathing houses and temporary houses of all names-the little city really grows metropolitan in aspect ; and the gas works and the Mayor's office, which at other times seem to have been sent there merely on storage, now appear quite in place."
Until 1863, travel to and from Cape May was by vessel or stage. During the summer, steamers made round trips every two days from Philadelphia and New York, and at times there was daily communication with the former named city. The stages ran by way of Bridgeton and Tuckahoe. In 1863 the Cape May & Millville Railroad was opened, and this was subsequently incorporated in the West Jersey Railroad system. In 1894 the Philadelphia & Seashore Railroad was completed.
Cape May has a permanent population of 2,257. Its public buildings comprise a city hall and two fire stations which cost in the aggregate fifty thousand dollars.
The water works, owned by the city, have an estimated value of $125,000, and an additional sum of $75,000 is being expended upon them.
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
The water works are located about one mile from the city and occupy grounds which are always kept in attractive condition. Water is obtained at a depth of one hundred and five feet from thirty-three tubular artesian wells. In an emergency twenty-two hundred gallons per minute can be pumped and sent into the city. Three million gallons per day is the average quantity used during the season.
The fire department has an equipment of two first-class steam engines, two hook and ladder trucks, four hose carts, one chemical engine and a quantity of smaller chemical apparatus. Engineers and drivers are on duty night and day, and an electric fire alarm system extends to all parts of the city.
An electric light plant, valued at $75,000, owned and operated by the Cape May Electric Company, supplies all the public and the greater part of the private light. A gas plant worth $25,000 is operated by the Cape Island Gas Company.
The public schools occupy a high school building recently erected at a cost of $60,000. The teachers are fourteen in number, and the school attandance is 450.
The church buildings are: The First Methodist Episcopal, value $12,- 000, seating capacity 800; the First Presbyterian, value $27,000, seating capacity 500; the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Advent, value $4.000, seating capacity 300; and St. Mary's Roman Catholic, value $25,000, seat- ing capacity 600.
The first newspaper published in the village (and in the county) was "The Ocean Wave," founded in June, 1855, by Colonel Johnson. It was a small sheet of four pages, each twelve by eighteen inches. Three months later it was purchased by Joseph S. Leach, who sold it in 1863 to Samuel R. Magonigle. Mr. Magonigle died in 1869, when the paper became the property of Christopher S. Magrath and Aaron Garretson, Sr. It passed through various other hands, and in 1886 came into possession of the pres- ent owner, James H. Edmunds. Since 1883 it has been edited by Henry WV. Hand. Other newspapers now published are the "Star of the Cape" and the "Herald," both weekly.
The financial institutions are the First National Bank, capital $25 .- 000, and a branch of the New Jersey Trust and Safe Deposit Company of Camden.
The hotels include some of the most palatial and notable in the United States-Congress Hall, with its beautiful six acre lawn; the Windsor, the Stockton, the Aldine, the Colonial, and many others.
While the growth and advancement of Cape May has been continu- ous, it has not been without encountering serious obstacles and disadvant-
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
ages. Its first bank, the Bank of Cape May County, a joint stock corpora- tion with stockholders in every part of the county, organized September 26, 1853, closed disastrously two years later, with a large amount of out- standing circulating notes.
At various times progress has been retarded and large losses have been incurred through great conflagrations. September 5, 1857, the famous Mount Vernon Hotel, which had been two years in building, was burned. This hotel was the largest in the United States at that time, and al- though it was never entirely completed, one end of it was open for two years. Only a couple of years ago, Mr. William V. Mckean, who was
T. A.R
CAPE MAY PIER IN 1859.
President Buchanan's private secretary, told the writer that he ate supper there one August evening in 1855, and that the dining room had more than seven hundred and fifty persons in it at the time. He said that he walked across the floor and counted two hundred and fifty steps he had taken in doing so. So large was the building that the workmen in the other end of the building did not disturb the guests, and so long was the building that a person could not distinguish another at the other end. In June, 1858, the Mansion House and the Kersal House also burned down. August 29, 1869, a similar disaster swept away the entire portion of the village lying between Washington street and the ocean, and between Ocean and Jackson streets, with the exception of the Columbia House and two
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
or three other buildings. Among the hotels burned was the United States Hotel, the American House and the Atlantic Hotel. But the most stu- pendous catastrophe in the history of the village was the great fire which occurred on November 9, 1878. Its ravages swept over almost thirty acres of ground, destroying property to the value of more than a half- million dollars, and included nine hotels and scores of beautiful cottages.
Probably Cape May has been visited by a greater number of prominent Americans and distinguished foreigners, during the past nearly one hun- dred years, than has been any other city in the country, the metropolis of New York and the national capital alone excepted.
The visit of the great statesman and orator Henry Clay was most pathetic. His coming was purely for rest, and to seek some surcease from
OLD COURT HOUSE.
the great sorrow of his life, the death of his son, Colonel Harry Clay, who fell in the battle of Buena Vista, February 27, 1847. He reached the city August 16, of the same year, and all along his journey he had been greeted by hosts of friends, those who had supported him in his unsuc- cessful contest for the presidency and those who, though opposing him, honored him for his intellectual abilities, and sympathized with him in his affliction. He was received with all honor by the officials of the town and county, in the presence of a great throng of country people who came to look upon one of whom they had heard so much.
Mr. Clay remained at Cape May for several days, and, as told by Rich-
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
ard Smith Ludlam, who was then landlord of the Mansion House and entertained him, he loved bathing, and went into the water as often as twice a day, and it was while enjoying it that he lost much of his hair. "The ladies would catch him, and, with a pair of scissors, carried for just that purpose, clip locks from his head to remember him by. When he re- turned to Washington, his hair was very short indeed."
. Many distinguished parties came from New York and Philadelphia to meet Mr. Clay. Among those from New York, were Recorder Tallmadge, Nicholas Dean, M. G. Hart, Morris Franklin, Horace Greeley and others, who came by steamboat. According to the "New York Herald," their mode of transit created great amusement and occasioned many jokes. "Some called it the landing before Vera Cruz ( the war with Mexico was then in progress), and to see dignity perched on the shoulders of the boat- men who, wading through the surf, deposited their loads on the beach, was truly laughable."
In response to an address by Nicolas Dean, of New York, Mr. Clay said, after expressing his gratitude for his cordial reception, and referring to his affliction :
"I was induced to take this journey, for I could not look upon the partner of my sorrows without experiencing deeper anguish." (Mr. Clay was here completely overcome by his feelings, covered his face with his hands, and was silent for several minutes. ) He then continued: "Every- thing about Ashland was associated with the memory of the lost one; the very trees which his hands assisted me to plant seemed to remind me of his less. Had the stroke come alone, I could have borne it with His as- sistance, and sustained by the kindness of my friends and fellow-citizens, with meekness and resignation. But of eleven children, four only remain. Of six lovely and affectionate daughters, not one is left."
The first President of the United States to visit Cape May was Frank- lin Pierce, who came in 1855, and was welcomed by the city council and held a public reception.
President U. S. Grant came for short visits in four different seasons. In 1873, June 13, he was accompanied by a number of the members of his cabinet and by other prominent men.
President Chester A. Arthur visited Cape May City in 1883, arriving July 23, on the government dispatch boat "Dispatch." In the evening he was received at a banquet by the mayor and council. He took his depart- ure at midnight, amid a grand display of fireworks, and was conveyed to his vessel in a surf-boat manned by a life saving crew.
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
President Benjamin H. Harrison, Postmaster General John Wana- maker, Secretary of State James G. Blaine and General William T. Sher- man visited the city in 1889. In the summer of 1891 President Harrison kept an executive office in Congress Hall. In 1893, the year of his retire- ment from the presidency, he delivered the principal address at the Fourth of July celebration.
Cape May Point, on the extreme southern land end of New Jersey, on what was formerly known as Stites' Beach, is surrounded on all sides, except the northeast, by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay. It is about two miles from Cape May City, with which it is con- nected by the Cape May, Delaware Bay & Sewell's Point Railroad. In addition to its well known advantages as both a summer and winter resort, the Point enjoys the distinction of possessing a fresh-water lake, located only a few hundred feet from the breakers. It has water works, electric light, and its hotels are excellent, and guests are always sure of finding good bathing, sailing, fishing and driving.
Cape May Point was founded in 1875, as a Presbyterian summer resort. The plan was devised by Alexander Whilldin, of Philadelphia, and others, who organized the West Cape May Land Company, which was incorporated March 8, 1872. February 18, 1875, the Sea Grove Associa- tion was chartered by the legislature, and a town was platted under the name of Sea Grove. A postoffice was established March 27, 1876. In 1878 the name was changed to that of Cape May Point. It was made a borough in 1878, but this organization was abandoned in 1896, and it has since been included in Lower township.
Soon after the founding of Sea Grove (Cape May Point) Mr. John Wanamaker, of Philadelphia, purchased property there. President and Mrs. Harrison visited him there, and their admiration for the place led Mr. Wanamaker, then Postmaster-General, and Mr. William V. McKean, ed- itor of the Philadelphia "Public Ledger," and other friends, to present a handsome summer cottage to Mrs. Harrison. The Harrison family cccu- pied it during the summer of 1890 and 1891, but did not return in 1892, the year of the death of Mrs. Harrison. General Harrison, after his retire- ment from the presidency March 4, 1893, passed a portion of the following summer there. In 1896 he disposed of the property.
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CHAPTER III.
HISTORIC FAMILIES OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
"Beneath the roots of tangled weeds, Afar in country graveyards, lie The men whose unrecorded deeds Have stamped this nation's destiny.
"We praise the present stock and man; But have we ever though to praise .
The strong, still, humble lives that ran The deep cut channels of these days?
"Beneath those tottering slabs of slate, Whose tribute moss and mold efface, Sleeps the calm dust that made us great, The true substratum of our race!'
-James Buckham.
For almost two centuries the people of New Jersey have maintained a unity of purpose and individuality peculiarly free from sectional, relig- ious or political factions of any great importance. This is true to such a degree that their history is soberly legislative, and without military ro- mance. It has not inspired the poet or even the historian.
From mixed and antagonistic nations, the colonists received grants of land carelessly and recklessly given to companies, patentees and pro- prietors-grants which overlapped and caused confusion of titles which, with every new enterprise or grant, necessitated a confirmation of title. The promise of religious liberty brought to New Jersey groups of colonists of contending sects or denominations, which settled in adjacent localities. The two provinces into which was then divided the territory now known as New Jersey, were peopled with those whose interests conflicted each
NOTE .-- In this chapter various family names appear in different forms, as Bown, Bowne; Crawford, Crauford, Crauffurd; etc. Certain geographical names also appear in dissimilar forms. This is due to the writer preserving the exact orthography given in the original documents of which use has been made.
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
with the other. Although oppressed by New York and rivaled by Penn- sylvania, the history of New Jersey has been one of peace and justice to all men, savage or civilized. What manner of men were these who could be brought together, with so many conflicting interests, and yet in a few years could by council and legislation alone form a strong united common- wealth? Some great masterful principle must have controlled them all at their coming. They must have been men of affairs, accustomed to con- sidering the common interests of the community beyond merely per- sonal ends.
The earliest colonists of New Jersey were merchants and seamen from the great commercial cities bordering the North Sea, from Bergen in Nor- way to Aberdeen in Scotland. Some of these cities had, as wealthy Hanse Towns, influenced if not controlled the affairs of Europe for four or five centuries. The Hanseatic League had formed a "commercial republic" which had sustained commerce and manufactures against feudalism until, largely by their support, the sovereigns of the Old World could establish national unity and protect each his own commerce through the authority of international law. The Hanse Towns had struggled for liberty, had grown very wealthy, and had become seats of learning. They had sup- ported the Reformation-Lutheranism and Calvinism. They had factories and agents in all the commercial centres of Europe. In the seventeenth century the municipal rights of the citizens of large towns and cities had become firmly established everywhere on the continent and in the British Isles. Merchants and tradesmen of municipalities paid little heed to the dictates of courts.
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