Wildwood

Wildwood is a resort city located in Cape May County, New Jersey, situated on Five Mile Beach, a barrier island along the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the South Jersey region, the city falls within the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area and the broader Philadelphia–Wilmington–Camden combined statistical area, also known as the Delaware Valley. The year-round population of Wildwood numbers over 5,300, but grows to as many as 250,000 or more during peak tourist season in the summer. Famous for its free, wide beaches, a 1.8-mile boardwalk, and a spectacular collection of mid-century Doo Wop architecture, Wildwood is one of the most recognizable destinations on the Jersey Shore and a defining piece of New Jersey's cultural identity.

History

Early Settlement

The Delaware Indians, specifically the Lenni Lenape, were among the earliest inhabitants of the region now known as the Wildwoods, occupying the Five Mile Beach area on August 28, 1609, when Henry Hudson sailed the Half Moon into Delaware Bay. The area remained largely unexplored by Europeans until 1664, when Charles II conveyed the land to the Duke of York. A number of land claimants followed until 1717, when the West Jersey Society passed the title to four investors who used it primarily as farmland.

Fishermen and their families began building small houses on the north end of the island in the mid- to late 1800s. They became the island's first permanent residents, naming their small community "Anglesea," which would later become North Wildwood. These immigrants from Norway and Sweden were skilled fishermen who used Wildwood as a seasonal base, drawn to the abundant fisheries off the coast of New Jersey.

An entrepreneur named Frederick Swope purchased land on Five Mile Island in 1879 as a real estate venture. Three years later, he formed the Anglesea Improvement Company, began selling lots to investors, and built summer cottages for wealthy Philadelphia families. To bring visitors to the island, he constructed a railway spur connecting Anglesea to the main West Jersey railroad line.

Incorporation and Development

Wildwood's emergence as a tourist destination gained real momentum in 1892, when entrepreneur Phillip Baker purchased a tract of land, envisioning the transformation of the island from a quiet fishing outpost into a bustling seaside resort. The company spearheaded construction of the iconic Wildwood boardwalk, with the first section opening in 1894. Hotels and guesthouses soon followed, attracting a growing influx of tourists seeking a coastal escape along the Jersey Shore.

Wildwood was originally incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 1, 1895, from portions of Middle Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day. On January 1, 1912, Wildwood was incorporated as a city, replacing both Wildwood borough and Holly Beach City. By 1903, the railroad system had improved sufficiently for passengers to connect from Philadelphia, Cape May, and other South Jersey towns, riding to Anglesea and switching to a train that would continue on to Wildwood and Holly Beach.

Wildwood was the first city in New Jersey to have a female mayor, Doris W. Bradway, who was ousted in a 1938 recall election.

Rock and Roll Heritage

For generations of families whose summer vacations were spent along the Southern Jersey Shore, the Wildwoods were the epicenter of the East Coast's post-World War II cultural explosion. The resort became a birthplace of rock and roll music and a host to most of the top entertainers of the day.

"Rock Around the Clock," often credited as the first rock and roll record, was first performed on Memorial Day weekend in 1954 at the HofBrau Hotel in Wildwood by Bill Haley & His Comets. The fact that it was first performed in Wildwood inspired the city to claim itself as the birthplace of rock and roll. Other famous artists who performed in various venues throughout the Wildwoods include Chubby Checker, Fats Domino, Bobby Rydell, and Diana Ross. The first national broadcast of Dick Clark's American Bandstand occurred in the Starlight Room on the Wildwood Boardwalk.

Although not officially segregated like southern towns, there were clearly two Wildwoods during this era. On the west side of the railroad tracks, running along New Jersey Avenue from Davis Avenue to Schellenger Avenue, lay a significant African American neighborhood where, in summer, music echoed from clubs including the Club Esquire, the Savoy, the Golden Dragon, and the High Steppers Club. The list of performers who played at venues throughout the city includes world-famous names such as Count Basie, Ethel Waters, Dizzy Gillespie, and Ella Fitzgerald.

A building boom began in the 1950s, due in part to the construction and completion of the Garden State Parkway in 1955, which made the resort dramatically more accessible to day-trippers and vacationers from throughout the region.

Doo Wop Architecture

Wildwood served as the proving ground for a distinctive new architectural form that added an exotic aura to the legions of motels that sprang up along Five Mile Island. Like the music of the time, the architecture has become known nationally as the Doo Wop style, and the Wildwoods are considered the Doo Wop Capital of the World.

Wildwood is home to over 200 motels built during the Doo Wop era of the 1950s and 1960s, in an area recognized by the state of New Jersey as the Wildwoods Shore Resort Historic District. The term "doo-wop" was coined by Cape May's Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts in the early 1990s to describe the unique, space-age architectural style, also referred to as the Googie or Populuxe style. Along the streets were hundreds of motels in mid-century modern style, featuring neon lights, space-age imagery, angular shapes, and fake palm trees.

In June 2006, Wildwood's Doo Wop-style motels were placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's annual Eleven Most Endangered List, described as "irreplaceable icons of popular culture." The real estate boom of the early 2000s brought developers to town, and they tore down many motels to make room for larger condominiums and hotels. Over 100 motels were destroyed in the five years between 2001 and 2006. The Wildwood Doo Wop Preservation League has since taken action to help save and restore these historic buildings. The Caribbean Motel in Wildwood Crest and the Chateau Bleu Motel in North Wildwood are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Boardwalk and Attractions

Wildwood's most notable features are its beach and 1.8-mile (2.9 km) boardwalk, home to the Morey's Piers amusement complex and the Raging Waters and Ocean Oasis water parks. The boardwalk also features a trolley called the "Tramcar," which runs from end to end.

The award-winning Wildwood beaches are the widest on the Jersey Cape, drawing tens of thousands of vacationers each summer day to frolic in the water and on the white sand. Wildwood is one of only five municipalities in the state that offer free public access to oceanfront beaches monitored by lifeguards, joining Atlantic City, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and Upper Township's Strathmere section. Wildwood was ranked the best beach in New Jersey in the 2008 "Top 10 Beaches Contest" sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium.

The Wildwoods collectively welcome over 9 million visitors a year, making the area the number one family resort at the Jersey Shore. Each June, thousands of recently graduated high school seniors come to Wildwood for Senior Week. Wildwood is also home to the New Jersey Firefighter's Convention, held annually every September since the 1970s, known for its parade featuring fire company apparatus from across the state.

The Wildwoods are also home to the historic 1874 Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, which was designed by Paul J. Pelz, the architect who later designed the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The area also contains the Wildwoods' Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, the only permanent Vietnam Memorial replica in the Northeast, an exact half-size black granite replica of the official Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Geography and Demographics

The city of Wildwood proper constitutes the center of the island communities collectively known as The Wildwoods, a collective term describing four communities on the island sharing the Wildwood name, as well as Diamond Beach and a portion of Lower Township. The city and surrounding communities derive their name from the wild flowers historically found in the area.

As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's year-round population was 5,157, a decrease of 168 (−3.2%) from the 2010 Census count of 5,325, which in turn reflected a decline of 111 (−2.0%) from the 5,436 counted in the 2000 Census. In 2023, Wildwood had a median age of 47.7 and a median household income of $51,996.

The most common employment sectors for residents of Wildwood are Accommodation & Food Services (610 people), Retail Trade (420 people), and Construction (264 people), reflecting the city's deeply seasonal, tourism-driven economy.

Wildwood draws vacationers and tourists primarily from New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and even nearby parts of Canada, particularly Ontario and Quebec, during the summer months.