Editing West Cape May, New Jersey (section)

==History==
[[Image:WestCapeMayMunicipalComplex.JPG|thumb|left|West Cape May Volunteer Fire Company]]
The borough's history goes back to the time of the [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. Several buildings in the borough date to the Colonial period. The area has a rich agricultural history which continues to be celebrated each year with a summer farmers' market, and strawberry, tomato and lima bean festivals. It has been known as the "Lima Bean Capital of the World." The Lima Bean Festival is an annual event held in West Cape May, New Jersey, the "[[Lima Bean]] Capital of the World", and is the world's only such celebration. It is held annually on the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend in Wilbraham Park.<ref>[http://www.capemay.com/capemayarchives/2000/LimaBeanFestival.html America's Best (and only) Lima Bean Festival], accessed March 7, 2007</ref>

West Cape May, once known as Eldredge, is one of the four jurisdictions that comprise [[Cape Island]] in Cape May County. West Cape May was incorporated as a borough by an act of the [[New Jersey Legislature]] on April 17, 1884, from portions of [[Lower Township, New Jersey|Lower Township]], based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier. The borough was reincorporated on April 11, 1890, and again on May 4, 1897.<ref name=Story/>

The Borough has reported ties to the [[Underground Railroad]].<ref>Degener, Richard. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AC&p_theme=ac&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=100CC1B0B5BA0827&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "Photo Exhibit Brings West Cape May's Past to Light"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', December 28, 2003. Accessed October 17, 2012. "It has Mayflower descendants, a link to the Underground Railroad, buildings that go back to the 17th century and a factory where women once beat gold into sheets with hammers.Who says West Cape May has to live in the shadow of Cape May's rich historical past?"</ref>

From 1881 to 1931, the Hastings Goldbeating Company was located in the Borough employing women to pound one-inch strips of gold into gossamer-thin sheets used for decorative arts. Women continued to do the "booking" of gold leaf sheets until 1961. A plaque indicating the location of the factory can be found on Goldbeaten Alley. It was this business, along with real estate speculation and subdivision of the land, that led to the Borough's incorporation in 1884.<ref>Montet, Margaret. [http://www.nj.com/shore/blogs/index.ssf/2011/07/post_1.html "Trolleying West of Cape May City"], [[NJ.com]], July 15, 2011. Accessed October 17, 2012. "So back to Goldbeaten Alley: from 1881 to 1931 workers at the Hastings Goldbeating Company cut gold bars into thin slices and then beat them paper-thin."</ref>

===Historic sites===
The historic core of the Borough was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] along with sections of the [[Cape May, New Jersey|City of Cape May]] in 1976.<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/dep/hpo/1identify/nrsr_lists/Cape%20May.pdf Cape May County: New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places], [[New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection]] Historic Preservation Office, December 30, 2019. Accessed March 13, 2020.</ref>

[[Whilldin-Miller House]] was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 12, 2003. The original timber frame two-story house remaining in the rear was built by Joseph Whilldin about 1715, while the front portion of the house was built in 1860, making it one of the oldest remaining houses on Cape Island.<ref>Tischler, Susan. [http://www.capemay.com/blog/2004/10/which-house-is-the-oldest-house-on-cape-island/ "Which house is the oldest house on Cape Island?"], CapeMay.com, October 1, 2004. Accessed October 25, 2015. "Let's move on to our other property in question – The Whilldin-Miller House, AKA Daniels on Broadway Restaurant, at 416 South Broadway.The property is actually located in West Cape May and was built by Joseph Whilldin somewhere around 1711-1718 with an expanded addition built by Jonas Miller in 1860."</ref>