Historic Figures

  1. Illustration of William "Captain" Kidd overseeing a treasure burial by Howard Pyle

    Pirate treasure in Cape May County?

    Text by | Published March 5th, 2012 in Cape May County • Ghosts and Spirits • Historic Figures

    According to an old undated newspaper filed away at the Cape May County Museum, an author identified only as Z.H. recalls a story told to him about Captain Kidd’s treasure supposedly buried in Cape May County.

  2. President Franklin Pierce

    The Halls Presidents Walked

    Text by | Published February 1st, 2012 in Cape May • Cape May Magazine • Historic Figures

    It has been Cape May legend that Abraham Lincoln and his wife spent time here. There is no factual documentation that they enjoyed summer here as other presidents did, some visiting more than once.

  3. Working at the Top: Cape May’s Lighthouse Keepers

    Text by | Published September 1st, 2009 in Cape May Point • Historic Figures

    The post of lighthouse keeper entailed a unique lifestyle for the keeper and his family. The duties were often lonely and tedious and could be downright dangerous when storms buffeted the lantern. It was especially perilous if weather forced the [...]

  4. Who’s Been Here? The Famous Visitors of Cape May

    Text by | Published October 1st, 2001 in Cape May • Historic Figures

    What do Ulysses S. Grant, Henry Ford and Norman Rockwell have in common? At one point in their famous lives, they all came to Cape May.

  5. Cape May’s Role in History: Pathway to Freedom

    Text by | Published September 1st, 2001 in Cape May • Historic Figures

    Harriett Tubman worked as a cook in Cape May in 1852, earning money to help runaway bondsmen. She learned how the Greenwich Line worked, and of routes in Salem, Cumberland and Cape May counties, including obscure Indian trails.

  6. The Chalfonte Saga Continues

    Text by | Published August 1st, 2000 in Architecture • Cape Island • Cape May • Historic Figures • Hotels

    What began as a simple boarding house soon grew into a reputable hotel under the direction of Colonel Henry Sawyer. He was a local hero — it was said that every man, woman and child in Cape May could recite [...]

  7. The Chalfonte Hotel: The Beginning

    Text by | Published July 1st, 2000 in Cape Island • Cape May • Historic Figures • Hotels

    A simple carpenter stares death in the eye, and lives to build one of Cape May’s living treasures. A story rooted in American history, the tale of Henry Washington Sawyer is one of courage, strength and pride.

  8. A Feeling of Community Revisited: Cape Island’s African-American Heritage

    Text by | Published February 1st, 2000 in Cape Island • Cape May • Historic Figures

    People and events which go beyond tales of Victoriana and visiting presidents. Ancestry dating to colonial days. Remembrances of community life during the last century. Stories of life, love and loss — stories that never made the history books.

    This is [...]