South Cape May, New Jersey

South Cape May was a borough that existed in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, from 1894 to 1945. First settled in 1840, it contained a Lucy-type elephant named Light of Asia.

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	14		—
1910	7		−50.0%
1920	10		42.9%
1930	6		−40.0%
source: [1]1910-1930[2]

American oystercatcher on the beach at South Cape May Meadows

The borough was formed on August 27, 1894, from portions of Lower Township, based on the results of a referendum held six days earlier.[3]

The borough was badly wrecked by the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane, which hit in September of that year.[4] After the hurricane, the borough was dissolved as of April 30, 1945, and returned to Lower Township.[5]

The remaining land not underwater is part of a bird sanctuary (South Cape May Meadows and Cape May Wetlands State Natural Area).[6]

References

1. Wm. C. Hunt, Chief Statistician for Population. "Fourteenth Census of The United States: 1920; Population: New Jersey; Number of inhabitants, by counties and minor civil divisions" (ZIP). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
2. "Fifteenth Census of the United States : 1930 - Population Volume I", United States Census Bureau, p. 715. Accessed December 5, 2011.
3. Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 115. Accessed October 16, 2012.
4. Cape May History, accessed February 11, 2007 Archived February 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
5. Burcher, Joseph G. Remembering South Cape May: The Jersey Shore Town that Vanished into the Sea, p. 94. Arcadia Publishing, 2010. ISBN 9781614232148. Accessed September 12, 2019. "Seven months after the hurricane, on April 30, 1945, the borough of South Cape May officially ceased to exist and the land became part of Lower Township."
6. South Cape May Meadows, The Nature Conservancy. Accessed September 12, 2019. "Situated at the southwest tip of the Cape May peninsula, the South Cape May Meadows Preserve includes more than 200 acres of critical habitat in the globally renowned birding hot-spot of Cape May, New Jersey.... Established in the 1840s, South Cape May was once a Victorian resort town boasting modest vacation cottages until a storm surge washed much of the town away during the 1950s. Today, remnants of the town lie offshore, scattered on the ocean floor."