Historic Cold Spring Village Barrier islands help create the inland waterway that extends all along the Atlantic coast, and in 1692 when Cape May County was organized, John Peck, a whaler who used the northernmost beach along the county’s coast to render blubber from whales, had the distinction of having the island named Peck’s Beach in his honor. Just prior to the Civil War in 1864, a man named Parker Miller built a house where Wards Pastry now stands in Ocean City, New Jersey. Miller was an agent for marine insurance companies, and he lived on Peck’s Beach so that he could report shipwrecks, keep away scavengers, and do his best to insure that the marine merchants were kept happy. Twenty years later a group of Methodist ministers left the town of Pleasantville and sailed to Peck’s Beach to examine they property they intended to purchase for a Christian retreat. The Reverends S. Wesley Lake, Ezra B. Lake, James E. Lake and William H. Burrell went ashore in the area that one day would be Second Street to kneel and pray for God’s blessing beneath a cedar tree on September 10, 1879. On October 20th of that same year the Honorable Simon Lake and William B. Wood joined with the other four to celebrate the incorporation of their association. Peck’s Beach was renamed Ocean City one month later, and five years later in 1884 Ocean City officially became a borough, and in 1897 the Borough of Ocean City became the city of Ocean City. From its beginning Ocean City was formed to be a place where families and individuals could come to enjoy sunshine, sea air, swimming, sandy beaches, and good times. All of those things still flourish today, and that’s why Ocean City, New Jersey is America’s Greatest Year-Round Family Resort. Close Window

Historic Cold Spring Village
Historic Cold Spring Village is an Early American open-air living history museum located three miles north of Cape May, New Jersey, nestled between route 9 and Seashore Road (Route 626.) It’s a 22 acre re-creation of an agricultural town that serves as a window into the daily lives of ordinary Americans of the 1800s, with twenty-five restored, historic buildings from throughout Cape May and Cumberland Counties. Discover a variety of trades and crafts such as blacksmithing, basket weaving, printing, pottery, spinning and a one-room school, as well as a working farm. The trades and crafts persons are dressed in period clothing and welcome the opportunity to talk with visitors about the buildings and their particular specialty. Throughout the summer, the Village offers family and children’s activities on select weekdays and weekends. On the weekend of June 3rd and 4th, the Village will hold its “Open House Sampler Weekend” from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Admission and parking are free. On Memorial Day Weekend (May 27th and 28th) the Village will be hosting a Craft Show. Crafters from throughout the Mid-Atlantic region will be demonstrating and selling their wares, from 10 am to 4:30 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. The grounds will be open, but the buildings will be closed. Admission and parking are free. The weekend of June 10th and 11th the Village will host a Celtic Weekend, highlighting the culture of Scotland and Ireland. The Village officially begins its 25th season on Saturday, June 17th, 2006 from 10 am to 4:30 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Starting Tuesday, June 20^th, the Village will be open Tuesday through Sunday until Sunday, September 3^rd. After Labor Day it will be open the weekends of September 9th – 10^th, and 16^th– 17^th. Children’s Activities In July and August there are different activities for children of all ages. New this year, on Thursday and Friday afternoons in July, children aged 7 – 11 can sign up for a Village Camp. Call (609) 898-2300 ext. 12 for further information about the summer camp. 12 and 13 year olds are encouraged to apply for the Junior Apprentice Program which runs on Tuesday afternoons in July and August Families who visit the Village on weekdays during July and August may join in the games and crafts of the early 19th century at the Cape May Point Jail. Different early 19^th century craft projects are also offered each day. Themed Weekends Family Fun Weekend (July 15th and 16th) offers a variety of hands-on crafts, various performances, activities and demonstrations. Foodways and Folklife (July 22nd and 23rd) highlight demonstrations of early 19th century-style open-hearth cooking and beehive oven baking and the tools associated with these tasks. Two weekends are dedicated to the “Hands On and Homespun” theme. On the weekends of August 5th and 6th and September 2nd and 3rd there will be interactive activities in the historic buildings. There are four weekends for those who are interested in the military side of life. The Confederate Encampment (June 17th and 18th). Featuring Company E, 17^th Virginia Volunteers in a recreated infantry camp of the Army of Northern Virginia. Company D, 12^th New Jersey Volunteers will recreate a camp in the field of the Army of the Potomac on the weekend of July 29^th and 30^th: Union Encampment The annual Revolutionary War Encampment, September 9^th and 10^th will feature members of Lamb’s Artillery, Morgan’s Rifle Corps and Helms’ Company, and the 2nd New Jersey Regiment. The military weekends end on September 16th and 17th with the popular Civil War Weekend. Union, Confederate and civilian reenactors will be camped in the Village. Recreated battles will take place both days at 2pm. Artillery demonstrations will take place both days. Other themed weekends include: The Quilt Weekend, June 24th and 25^th. A vintage baseball game is one of the highlights of the Independence Day Celebrations, weekend on July 1st and 2^nd. On July 8^th and 9^th and August 12^th and 13^th, Historic Cold Spring Village will again be hosting two Antique Show and Sale weekends. Railroad Weekend, August 19th and 20th, finds many fascinating working displays of model Railroads. A Classic and Antique Car Show, August 26th and 27th, features vintage cars from local and regional car clubs. For the hungry, Historic Cold Spring Village features The Nathaniel Douglass House, home to an ice cream parlor, while across the street the Howard Norton House serves as the Village Bakery. The Grange Restaurant, listed on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places, features lunch and dinner at reasonable prices. Tasty hamburgers, hot dogs and soda can be found at the Pavilion Food Stand. For souvenirs of your visit to Historic Cold Spring Village, the Country Store features a variety of goods. The Village Craft Shop, housed in the octagonal Walter P. Taylor building, is home to a wide array of unique handcrafted Early American-style objects, such as pottery, ironware and brooms made by Village artisans. Fall, Winter and Spring Events As well as the Junior Apprentice program, Historic Cold Spring Village has distance learning programs which run from October 1st through April 30^thwith programs on early 19th century life for school children. Historic Cold Spring Village, winner of a NJ Governor’s Conference on Tourism Pinnacle Award for Excellence in Tourism, and a Smithsonian Magazine/ Travelers Conservation Foundation Sustainable Tourism Award for Historic Preservation, is a non-profit educational organization administered by the HCSV Foundation. Admission is $8.00 for adults, $7.00 for seniors (62 and over), and $5.00 for children ages 3 to 12; children under 3 are admitted free. Unlimited free admission is available with membership in the Friends of Historic Cold Spring Village. Annual individual memberships are $20.00, joint memberships (2 adults) are $35.00 and family memberships, which include two adults as well as children 12 and under, are $45.00. For information on Village programs, activities, special events or employment opportunities, call (609) 898-2300, ext. 0 or visit the Village website at www.hcsv.org.
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Children’s Activities

Themed Weekends

Fall, Winter and Spring Events