1850s
Cape Island City incorporated in 1851. Start of the resort’s heyday: renovation of Congress Hall, building of the Mount Vernon Hotel (1852) with a projected capacity of 3500 and an actual capacity of 2100 when it burned down in 1856
Lighthouse 1859
A new lighthouse is built.
1860s
First railroad to Cape Island completed in 1863 Cape Island City granted charter under name of City of Cape May (1868)
1869
Opening of Stockton Hotel (1869).
1870s
Building of Physick Estate and Chalfonte Hotel Great fire of 1878 destroys 35 city acres, including Congress Hall. Congress Hall is rebuilt in 1878-79
1880s-1890s
Cape May rivals Atlantic City
1890s-1900s
Failed development of East Cape May Hotel Cape May opens in 1908 only to close six months later Cape May progressively eclipsed by Atlantic City as the primary
resort destination
resort destination
1910s-1930s
Lack of development preserves eighteenth and nineteenth-century buildings Hotel Cape May is used by the Navy during World War I, then reopens in 1920 as a hotel, becoming the Admiral Hotel in 1931.
