Editing Cape May County, New Jersey (section)

==History==
===Etymology===
[[File:Cape May, New Jersey 1777.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.1|A 1777 map depicting Cape May County, the scene of the [[Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet]] on June 29, 1776, in the [[American Revolutionary War]]]]
Before Cape May County was settled by Europeans, the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] [[Kechemeche]] tribe of the [[Lenape]] people inhabited [[South Jersey]], and traveled to the barrier islands during the summer to hunt and fish.<ref name="Story">{{cite book|author=John P. Snyder|url=http://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf|title=The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968|publisher=Bureau of Geology and Topography|year=1969|location=Trenton, New Jersey|access-date=March 26, 2018|archive-date=June 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605161833/http://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="his">{{cite news|title=History of the Ten Villages of Upper Township: The Island Village of Strathmere, Part 1|author=Robert F. Holden|url=http://www.shorenewstoday.com/upper_township/history/history-of-the-ten-villages-of-upper-township-the-island/article_0054a943-a234-5873-a079-99bf01a3956d.html|newspaper=The Gazette of Upper Township|date=August 9, 2017|access-date=March 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313092417/http://www.shorenewstoday.com/upper_township/history/history-of-the-ten-villages-of-upper-township-the-island/article_0054a943-a234-5873-a079-99bf01a3956d.html|archive-date=March 13, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="och">[http://www.ocnj.us/History/ A Brief History of Ocean City New Jersey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421084652/http://www.ocnj.us/History/ |date=April 21, 2018 }}, Ocean City, New Jersey. Accessed December 23, 2017.</ref> During the 17th century, the area that is now Cape May County was claimed as part of [[New Netherlands]], [[New Sweden]], the [[Province of New Jersey]] under the British crown, and later [[West Jersey]].<ref name="Story"/> On August 28, 1609, English explorer [[Henry Hudson]] entered the [[Delaware Bay]] and stayed one day on land, north of what is now [[Cape May Point, New Jersey|Cape May Point]].<ref name="getnj">{{cite book|title=Historic Roadsides of New Jersey|year=1928|author=The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey|at=GetNJ.com|access-date=March 28, 2018|url=http://www.getnj.com/historicroadsides/capemay.shtml|archive-date=August 22, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070822231824/http://getnj.com/historicroadsides/capemay.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> As early as 1666, the southern tip of New Jersey was known as ''[[Cape May|Cape Maey]]'', named after Dutch explorer [[Cornelius Jacobsen May]], who sailed the coastline of New Jersey from 1620 to 1621.<ref>{{cite web|series=Historical Background Maps|title=Coastal Charts|publisher=Princeton University|access-date=April 22, 2018|year=2014|url=https://library.princeton.edu/njmaps/background/coastal_charts.html|archive-date=October 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026025811/https://library.princeton.edu/njmaps/background/coastal_charts.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1630, representatives of the [[Dutch West India Company]] purchased a {{convert|16|mi2|km2|abbr=on}} tract of land along the Delaware from indigenous people, and bought additional land 11 years later.<ref name="getnj"/> Due to the large number of whales in the region of Cape May, Dutch explorers founded Town Bank around 1640 along the Delaware Bay as a whaling village. It was the first European settlement in what is now Cape May County, and was populated by descendants of [[Plymouth County, Massachusetts|Plymouth County]].<ref name="getnj"/><ref name="proposed"/>

===History===
In 1685, the court of Cape May was split from [[Burlington County, New Jersey|Burlington County]], which at that time encompassed all or nearly all of South Jersey.<ref name="Story"/> In 1690, a settlement began at [[Cape Island]] (now [[Cape May, New Jersey|Cape May]]). As whaling declined due to overpopulation, Town Bank diminished in importance in favor of Cape May, and was largely washed away by 1750.<ref name="proposed">{{cite report|page=5|url=https://capemaycountynj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/422|format=PDF|title=Cape May County Comprehensive Plan|year=2005|publisher=Government of Cape May County|access-date=March 27, 2018|archive-date=July 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721170520/http://capemaycountynj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/422|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=August 1, 2012|title=Bizarre History of Cape May --Town Bank was once touted as a whaling town|newspaper=The Gazette of Cape May|access-date=March 27, 2018|url=http://www.shorenewstoday.com/cape_may/history/bizarre-history-of-cape-may---town-bank-was/article_839d4948-b3c8-5293-9ea7-bfa7fff78fc5.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328102548/http://www.shorenewstoday.com/cape_may/history/bizarre-history-of-cape-may---town-bank-was/article_839d4948-b3c8-5293-9ea7-bfa7fff78fc5.html|archive-date=March 28, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Government of Cape May County|title=Lower Township|access-date=March 27, 2018|url=http://capemaycountynj.gov/394/Lower-Township|archive-date=March 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328041606/http://capemaycountynj.gov/394/Lower-Township|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1692, Cape May County was designated as one of the original four counties of West Jersey, defined as the land from the most northerly portion of [[Great Egg Harbor Bay]] to a point {{convert|20|mi|km|abbr=on}} east of the mouth of the [[Maurice River]] (called [[West Creek (New Jersey)|West Creek]]), south to the tip of Cape May. The limits of the county were adjusted over the next two centuries, mostly the portion near [[Maurice River Township, New Jersey|Maurice River Township]].<ref name="Story"/> The first water mill in the county was constructed in 1699 in [[Cold Spring, New Jersey|Cold Spring]]. Nearby, the First Baptist Church was built in 1712, and the first [[Cold Spring Presbyterian Church]] was built in 1718. Both churches, as well as nearby private homes, functioned as the center of early county government.<ref name="getnj"/>

In 1744, the county chose Romney Marsh – later [[Cape May Court House, New Jersey|Cape May Court House]] – near the county's center to become the county seat. The first jail and courthouse were built in 1764.<ref name="survey"/><ref name="getnj"/> The county's population was around 1,000 in 1750, isolated from the rest of New Jersey by forests.<ref name="survey"/> Cape May grew independently as America's oldest [[Seaside resort|bathing resort]] by 1765, leading to the city's current motto "The Nation's Oldest Seashore Resort".<ref name="getnj"/><ref name="strat"/> Amid the British blockade of the Delaware Bay in the [[American Revolutionary War]], two British ships pursued and attacked the American [[brig]] ''[[Nancy (1775)|Nancy]]'', which fled to the coast at [[Turtle Gut Inlet]] (located in [[Wildwood Crest, New Jersey|Wildwood Crest]] today). The ''Nancy'' was abandoned and sabotaged, killing at least 30 British sailors when the brig exploded after they boarded.<ref>{{cite web|title=Revolutionary War Sites in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey|author=Al Frazza|publisher=Revolutionary War New Jersey|access-date=March 28, 2018|url=http://www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com/new_jersey_revolutionary_war_sites/towns/wildwood_crest_nj_revolutionary_war_sites.htm|archive-date=March 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329054218/http://www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com/new_jersey_revolutionary_war_sites/towns/wildwood_crest_nj_revolutionary_war_sites.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet]] on June 29, 1776, was the only Revolutionary War battle fought in the county.<ref name="war"/>

Cape May County was split into three [[township (United States)|townships]] on February 21, 1798 – [[Lower Township, New Jersey|Lower]], [[Middle Township, New Jersey|Middle]], and [[Upper Township, New Jersey|Upper]]. The three townships were previously established as [[minor civil division|precincts]] on April 2, 1723.<ref name="Story"/><ref name="proposed"/> During the [[War of 1812]], British forces raided farms in the county for food and fresh water. In retaliation, residents dug canals to the ocean, making the water no longer drinkable.<ref name="war">{{cite web |url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/nj2/chap3.htm |title=Southern New Jersey and the Delaware Bay: Historic Themes and Resources within the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430064535/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/nj2/chap3.htm |archive-date=April 30, 2012 }}</ref> In 1827, [[Dennis Township, New Jersey|Dennis Township]] was created from portions of Upper Township,<ref name="Story"/> 101 years after its namesake [[Dennisville, New Jersey|Dennisville]] was founded in 1726.<ref name="getnj"/> The oldest independent [[Borough (New Jersey)|borough]] in the county was [[Cape May, New Jersey|Cape Island Borough]] in 1848, which became the city of Cape May in 1869.<ref name="Story"/> Over the next 60 years as transport to the region improved, most of the current municipalities in the county were created.<ref name="Story"/> Sea Grove, later renamed Cape May Point, was founded in 1875. In 1879, [[Ocean City, New Jersey|Ocean City]] was founded as a religious retreat.<ref name="proposed"/> [[Sea Isle City, New Jersey|Sea Isle City]] was founded in 1882, followed by [[West Cape May, New Jersey|West Cape May]] in 1884. In 1885, Anglesea (renamed [[North Wildwood, New Jersey|North Wildwood]] in 1906) and Holly Beach (later a part of [[Wildwood, New Jersey|Wildwood]]) were founded.<ref name="Story"/> A land development company established [[Avalon, New Jersey|Avalon]] in 1887. In 1891, [[Woodbine, New Jersey|Woodbine]] was founded on the mainland as an agriculture settlement for [[History of the Jews in Russia|Russian Jews]] who fled religious persecution.<ref name="proposed"/> From 1894 until 1945, [[South Cape May, New Jersey|South Cape May]] existed as an independent borough until it was largely destroyed by the [[1944 Great Atlantic hurricane]].<ref name="Story"/><ref>{{cite news|date=August 6, 2010|newspaper=New York Times|title=Remembering a Town Swallowed by the Sea|author=Richard Pérez-Peña|access-date=March 28, 2018|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/07/nyregion/07metjournal.html|archive-date=March 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329120836/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/07/nyregion/07metjournal.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1906, the eastern coastal boundary of Cape May County was established at a point {{convert|3|nmi|mi km|lk=in}} east of the coast.<ref name="Story"/> The last municipalities to be established were Wildwood Crest (in 1910), [[Stone Harbor, New Jersey|Stone Harbor]] (in 1914), and [[West Wildwood, New Jersey|West Wildwood]] (in 1920).<ref name="Story"/> In 1928, [[North Cape May, New Jersey|North Cape May]] was founded, but was dissolved in 1945 after it failed to attract development following the [[Great Depression]].<ref name="Story"/><ref name="making">{{cite book|title=Cape May County, New Jersey: The Making of an American Resort Community|author=Jeffery M. Dorwart|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=1992|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=anseU09GDTkC&q=%22north+cape+may%22+1945&pg=PA235|isbn=9780813517841}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], [[Cape May Canal]] was built to connect the Delaware Bay and Cape May Harbor, completed in March 1943.<ref name="gaz12">{{cite news|title=Bizarre History of Cape May --Cape May Canal's history runs deep|date=June 27, 2012|newspaper=The Gazette of Cape May|access-date=March 28, 2018|url=http://www.shorenewstoday.com/cape_may/history/bizarre-history-of-cape-may---cape-may-canal/article_414f38d3-a67f-5e0b-a4ad-d72d81fdeb30.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329054127/http://www.shorenewstoday.com/cape_may/history/bizarre-history-of-cape-may---cape-may-canal/article_414f38d3-a67f-5e0b-a4ad-d72d81fdeb30.html|archive-date=March 29, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> The completion of the [[Garden State Parkway]] in 1955 brought hundreds of thousands of tourists, as well as a larger year-round population.<ref name="making"/> Since the 1970s, the mainland has become more developed, due to the high cost of building on the barrier islands. Commercial development concentrated along [[U.S. Route 9 in New Jersey|U.S. Route 9]] in [[Rio Grande, New Jersey|Rio Grande]], Cape May Court House, and [[Marmora, New Jersey|Marmora]].<ref name="strat"/> Concurrent with the [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 Presidential election]], Cape May County residents voted in favor to create a new state of South Jersey along with five other counties in a nonbinding referendum.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Asbury Park Press|author=Erik Larson|title=South Jersey voted to secede from NJ|date=March 5, 2016|access-date=April 19, 2018|url=https://www.app.com/story/news/history/erik-larsen/2016/03/05/south-jersey-votes-secede-nj/81323914/}}</ref>