Cape May County, New Jersey: The Making of an American Resort Community

By Jeffery M. Dorwart

Book Overview

Cape May County, at the southern tip of New Jersey, is one of America's most vibrant seashore resorts. Jeffery Dorwart has written a history of this community from its earliest settlement as an Atlantic maritime and farming frontier to its development today as a major regional tourist attraction. From earliest times, Cape May County was a region of cultural ferment, as American Indians, African-American slaves, European Quakers, Baptists, and Presbyterians struggled to coexist on the wild, isolated Jersey Cape. Despite this variety of settlers, a distinct type of resident, known as the whaler yeoman, dominated affairs on the Cape May peninsula for over two hundred years. Railroad development and the arrival during the late nineteenth century of Eastern European, Italian, and Scandinavian immigrants gradually changed Cape May County society. A multiethnic, multicultural community evolved that threatened whaler yeoman domination. New settlements appeared in the pine wilderness of the mainland and on the uninhabited Atlantic Ocean barrier islands. These changes caused social and political conflicts, and new development assaulted the fragile seashore environment. Fishing and shipbuilding were key industries throughout the early history of Cape May County. In addition, familiar industries such as cranberry harvesting and nearly forgotten endeavors such as goldbeating, sugar refining, and cedar shingle mining played vital roles in the county's economic development. Dorwart also traces the origins of the seashore resort industry through the history of the city of Cape May, with its unique architectural styles and heritage, as well as the founding of Wildwood, Ocean City, and the newer resort towns. The story of how Cape May County responded to dramatic change not only illuminates the historical development of a New Jersey seashore community but also enhances our understanding of the American experience with changing social and economic conditions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813517842
• ISBN13: 9780813517841
• Release Date: March 1992
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Length: 364 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

"Cape May" - the world's finest Seashore Town!

This Book tells a lot and shows a lot about my favoriate part of the Atlantic coast. Anyone who wants to know more about all that the southern coast of NJ has to offer should read thid fine book.There is no other place more beautiful in this world then traveling from Stone Harbor thru The Wildwoods and into Cape May. I have been visiting this part of the Country for over 40 years now and this fine book (if possible try to get it in hard back - but it may not come that way)can take you all over the Cape. I'm from Maryland and we have our own Ocean City but it can't hold a match to what a town like Wildwood has to offer. Get the book and visit a real vacation part of the Country that isn't only about booze,B-girls,bars,hippies,queers and Arabs! "ENJOY" Joe Kopeck

Excellent history of the Jersey Cape!

This book provides a comprehensive background of Cape May County, New Jersey. It explains the development of the barrier islands, the Delaware Bay coast, and the inland areas of the county. It will enhance your Cape May experience as a vacationer or resident. Here at CapeMayBeach.com, we use this history to help us in our write-ups of the places on the Delaware Bay coast.