The Museum of Cape May County

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The Cape May County Historical and Genealogical Society was founded in 1927 and opened The Cape May County Historical Museum in 1930. The mission of the Cape May County Historical & Genealogical Society is to preserve the diverse history of Cape May County for the education, enlightenment and pleasure of present and future generations.

06/17/2026

Do you love local history as much as we do? 🏛️

We've put together an Amazon wishlist of supplies and materials that help us preserve, display, and share Cape May County's incredible story. Every contribution goes directly toward our work. Take a look and see if anything speaks to you. Thank you for supporting your local museum!

This Spring, the Museum hosted a Preservation Skills Development Workshop that brought together current and future stake...
06/12/2026

This Spring, the Museum hosted a Preservation Skills Development Workshop that brought together current and future stakeholders in the stewardship of our local history. Attendees included Stockton University students, Museum volunteers, and representatives from historical organizations across Cape May County.

Led by conservators from the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia, the workshop introduced participants to the fundamentals of collections care, identifying preservation concerns, and best practices for handling and caring for historic photographs.

Thanks to funding support from the New Jersey Cultural Trust, the Museum was able to offer this workshop free of charge to community members, helping expand access to preservation training and strengthen connections across our local history community.

06/11/2026

A special thank you goes out to Kirk Hastings for donating a wonderful book to the museum's library: The First Hundred Years - 1920-2010. It is a fascinating book that explores the history of Wildwood Crest. It even has photos of graduating 8th graders, beach patrol members, firefighters, and police!

05/23/2026

Have you heard any stories about pirate treasure buried in Cape May County? One such tale says that Captain Kidd came ashore at Cape May Point and buried treasure near the lighthouse. A tree in that area was called "Kidd's Tree." Since Kidd roamed the New World's eastern shoreline around the 1690s, he did not use the lighthouse as a point of reference. The first lighthouse at Cape May Point wasn't built until 1827. What are the chances of "Kidd's Tree" still being there? If you decide to go looking for treasure, keep in mind that parts of Cape May Point have been claimed by the ocean and the treasure could be somewhere under the sea.

Sources:
The History of Cape May County by Lewis Townsend Stevens
William Kidd www.biography.com
Cape May Lighthouse www.history.uscg.mil

05/23/2026

Some streets in Wildwood were named after people who were importand to Wildwood's beginnings. Leaming, Hand, Bennett, and Schellenger were some of them. Are you related to any of these early visionaries? If you think that you are, make arrangements to visit the Museum of Cape May County and explore your heritage.

Unfortunately our Tuesday at Two lecture for this week (May 12th) has been cancelled. We apologize for the inconvenience...
05/11/2026

Unfortunately our Tuesday at Two lecture for this week (May 12th) has been cancelled. We apologize for the inconvenience, and look forward to seeing you on Tuesday the 19th for our lecture on the Battle of Fort Billingsport!

05/02/2026

As I was looking through the books about families in the area, these names jumped out at me: Harris, Tyndall, Jackson, Miller, Sharp. Could they be related to you?

We have a special guest lecturer coming to the Museum on Thursday, April 30th, at 2pm! You won't want to miss this one -...
04/23/2026

We have a special guest lecturer coming to the Museum on Thursday, April 30th, at 2pm! You won't want to miss this one - space is limited, so please give us a call to reserve your seat (609-465-3535, leave a message if calling after hours). Free to attend!

Guest speaker: Ty “Dancing Wolf” Ellis, owner and founder of the Lenapehoking Reestablishment Project and Indigenous Youth Group Coordinator for the Native American Advancement Corporation. The Lenapehoking Reestablishment Project is geared towards the promotion of Lenape awareness, support of tribal youth, and public relations.

Topic: Lënapehòkink (pronounced Lenape-hoking) is the name of the land of our (Lenape) ancestors, encompassing all of New Jersey, and parts of Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New York. Ty “Dancing Wolf” Ellis will be speaking about contemporary Lenni-Lenape culture, inaccuracies previously taught in schools, and the importance of language and customs that are deeply rooted within the Lënapehòkink landscape.

04/23/2026

Can anyone identify this beautiful house? We are looking for the names of the families who owned it, as well as where it is located. Thanks!

Address

504 N Route 9, Cape May Court
House, NJ
08210

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 2pm
Wednesday 10am - 2pm
Thursday 10am - 2pm
Friday 10am - 2pm

Telephone

+16094653535

Website

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