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1954 Map of Cape May

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of Cape May
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1972
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1972

About this map

The southern tip of the New Jersey peninsula is defined by the heavy maritime and military presence of the mid-20th century. Large installations like the U S Naval Res and the U S Coast Guard Receiving Center dominate the shoreline, while the Cape May Canal carves a straight path from the Delaware Bay to the Intracoastal Waterway. This survey documents the expansion of inland residential areas like North Cape May and Erma, signaled by purple map revisions.

Logistics and transport are anchored by the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines railway and the nascent Garden State Parkway. Away from the developed beaches and the Boardwalk, the map reveals older communal anchors including the Township Sch and historic local congregations at Cold Spring Ch and Tabernacle Ch. From the Lookout Tower near the point to the labyrinthine wetlands of Jarvis Sound, the landscape transitions from a busy naval hub to a network of tidal creeks and shoals.