Cape May

Formed January 1, 1692 (8^th county)

Cape May County (95,266), Cape May Court House* (5,573), Ocean City (11,235)                

The 1926 red brick courthouse replaced 1717, 1774 and 1849 versions.  It is on Main Street between Church and Mechanic streets.  Main Street is United States Highway 9 in the town.  Edwards & Green are the architects of this Classical Revival building.  The structure has been enlarged and features columns  The county was organized on January 1, 1692 from Burlington County as the 8^th county.  The county and county seat are named for the cape on the Atlantic Ocean.  Cape May Court House has always been the county seat. 

Cape May County government consists of an executive, a sheriff, an administrator and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Nineteen Superior Court Judges serve Cape May and Atlantic counties and a prosecutor serves Cape May County (judicial.)  The county is in the southeast corner of the state on the Atlantic Ocean.  Newark, New Jersey is northeast and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is northwest of the county.  The county center is 2.9 miles North of Cape May Court House.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Atlantic County and the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware and Cumberland County. 

The area of the county is 255 square miles.  It is 14 out of 21 in the state.  It ranks 20 out of 21 in population in the state.  It has a density of 373.6 persons per square mile making it 16 out of 21 in the state.  Cape May County has 35.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 9 comes from the northeast, Atlantic County, and terminates.  The county looks like a funnel pointing southwest.  Cape May Court House is located in the southeast quarter of the county.  Ocean City is in the northeast corner of the county.  Cape May Court House is the county seat and Ocean City is the largest city.  Cape May Court House is unincorporated and is 0.1% of the county population.  Ocean City is 11.8% of the county population.  This county is in the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Cape May Court House (unincorporated)