Check out this old photo!
Cold Spring was a thriving town during the early 1800s. It is named for the freshwater spring that bubbled up through the salt marshes. A brief carriage ride from Cape Island (now Cape May) brought early tourists to a small shed where they could lower a bottle into the clear pool to collect water. It was said to be the southernmost source of fresh water on the Cape. By the mid-1800s, Cold Spring boasted two churches, two stores, forty homes and a tavern. There was regular commerce between Philadelphia and the towns of southern Cape May County.
Although little remains of the original hamlet of Cold Spring, Historic Cold Spring Village recreates a similar town consisting of 27 antique buildings from Cape May and Cumberland Counties that have been moved and restored on the 30-acre site. Though no longer providing fresh water for drinking, the spring itself is preserved at the site, located in a gazebo along the railroad tracks by the Route 9 side to the Village.
#coldspring #capeisland
