The town is named for 1620 Dutchcaptain named Cornelius Jacobsen Meywho explored and charted the area between 1611–1614, and established a claim for the province of New Netherland. It was later settled by New Englandersfrom the New Haven Colony. What is now Cape May was originally formed as the boroughof Cape Island by an Act of the New Jersey Legislatureon March 8, 1848, from portions of Lower Township. It was reincorporated as Cape Island city on March 10, 1851, and finally became Cape May city as of March 9, 1869.[12]
Cape May began hosting vacationers from Philadelphia in the mid 18th century and is recognized by the United States government as the country's oldest seaside resort.[10] It became increasingly popular in the 18th century and was considered one of the finest resorts in America by the 19th century. In 1878 a five-day-long fire destroyed square blocks of the town center and as part of the reconstruction efforts replacement homes were almost uniformly of Victorian style.[13] As a result of this and of more recent preservation efforts, Cape May is noted for its large number of well-maintained Victorianhouses — the second largest collection of such homes in the nation after San Francisco. In 1976, the entire city of Cape May was officially designated a National Historic Landmarkas the Cape May Historic District, making Cape May the only city in the United States wholly designated as such.[14] That designation is intended to ensure the architectural preservation of these buildings.
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