Tag: history

A look inside the future home of the Harriet Tubman Museum

You’ve probably driven past the Howell House at 632 Lafayette Street and never noticed it. For years, the decaying and vacant parsonage of the Macedonia Baptist Church waited behind a chain-link fence. But in 2020, the house will begin its new life as the home of the Harriet Tubman Museum. First some history.  The Howell… Read more »

Video: Musket demonstration with Al Conly

Al Conly demonstrates how to load and operate a Brown Bess musket. You can see this musket demonstration in person at the Colonial House, 653 ½ Washington Street, from 1-4pm on Wednesdays in July.

The Stephen Smith House

The Stephen Smith house has stood at 645 Lafayette Street for nearly 170 years. Maybe you’ve walked past it. Maybe you’ve read the plaque out front that offers a brief summary of Smith’s life. But you might not realize that he was a key figure in the pre-Civil War Underground Railroad. Smith was born into… Read more »

The fire of 1878

Today in 1878, fire broke out in the Ocean House on Perry Street. Less than twelve hours later, it had destroyed forty acres and destroyed commercial properties including Congress Hall, Ocean House, Centre House, Columbia House, Atlantic House, and Merchant’s Hotel. The total loss was estimated at $400,000. Arson was suspected, but the suspect was… Read more »

Racing to Success

In 1905, a young struggling entrepreneur by the name of Henry Ford and the dashing Louis Chevrolet came to Cape May, vying for the right to claim the fastest automotive machine.