News

CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY – June 6, 2025 – The City of Cape May in collaboration with the New Jersey Historical Commission will unveil the first New Jersey Black Heritage Trail historical marker at 720 Franklin St. Cape May, New Jersey on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at 1pm.

The marker will recognize the Franklin Street School and the determination of Cape May’s Black community to provide equal educational opportunities to their children. The festivities will also recognize the nearby Macedonia Baptist Church/Harriet Tubman Museum of New Jersey as an accepted site on the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail and feature reflections from former Franklin Street School students. The public is invited to attend the ceremony, but registration is requested. Registration information can be found at https://bit.ly/franklinstreetschoolunveiling. 

Signed into law by Governor Murphy on September 7, 2022, the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail legislation calls for the NJHC to establish a Black Heritage Trail that will “highlight Black heritage sites through historical markers and a trail-like path that connects the stories of Black life and resiliency.” 

Since 2022, sixty-one nominated sites have been selected for the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail. In addition to the Franklin Street School and the Harriet Tubman Museum of New Jersey, other sites include: the Charles J. Muth Museum of Hinchliffe Stadium, the New Jersey home of Negro Leagues baseball when African American baseball players were excluded from Major League teams, Red Bank’s T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center, home of one of the most influential American journalists and newspaper publishers of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, and the Dr. James Still Historic Office and Education Center, home of the “Black Doctor of the Pines” who was born to formerly enslaved freedom seekers in Washington Township. 

The trail is intended to be a living trail inviting visitors and passersby to engage with the sites’ art and history. Each historical marker will be 30x42 inches with black letters against a white background with gold trim. The markers will be mounted on a 7-foot pole. A square 6x6-inch aluminum plate will be attached to most marker poles with a QR code that leads visitors to the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail website. On select markers, including the Franklin Street School, visitors will find a 5x10-inch aluminum plate with a Virtual Museum QR code. The New Jersey Black Heritage Trail Virtual Museum invites viewers to learn more about Black history and heritage sites in New Jersey through photographs, documents, and other related information. No application is required to access the Virtual Museum, but visitors will need to scan the QR code and follow the on-screen prompts to activate the experience. 

New Jersey Black Heritage Trail sites are selected through a community-driven process. Each year, the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail reviews nominations from the public as well as staff recommendations. The final selections are approved by the New Jersey Historical Commission. 

As part of the legislation, the Historical Commission will work in cooperation with other state agencies, each of which has a unique role in implementing the project. This includes the Division of Travel and Tourism, New Jersey’s leading voice for promoting the importance of tourism as essential to the state’s economy, image, and overall quality of life; the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, which is charged with preserving, protecting, and promoting the state’s historic resources; and the New Jersey Black Heritage Foundation, which prioritizes broadening and diversifying statewide participation in and appreciation for Black arts, history, and culture. 

About the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail

Under the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail, the New Jersey Historical Commission will work in cooperation with other state agencies, such as the Historic Preservation Office, the Division of Travel and Tourism, as well as local governments, owners or operators of Black heritage sites, and others to identify a series of sites. The bill also names the New Jersey Black Cultural and Heritage Initiative Foundation as a principal collaborator, due to its mission which includes broadening, deepening, and diversifying statewide participation in and appreciation for Black arts, history, and culture

Cape May City Congratulates April 2025 Employee of the Month Esther Chico

CAPE MAY, NJ – In an effort to recognize the hard-working personnel of the City of Cape May, Manager Paul Dietrich continues a city-wide recognition program to honor “employees of the month”. The objective is to recognize employees who show exemplary individual achievement, contribution, and performance in their jobs. These individuals consistently exhibit a positive and supportive attitude and make contributions beyond the usual expectations of their employment.

Peers can nominate each other, building a stronger comradery amongst the workforces. Management, Department Heads, and Supervisors are not eligible to be nominated, allowing recognition to solely focus on the hard-working City employees that make the City a success daily.

Under the authorization of the City Manager, the Employee of the Month Committee consists of voluntary Supervisors from each Department who will review nominations and select the winner for each month.

City Manager Paul Dietrich recognized Esther Chico as the City’s April 2025 Employee of the Month during the May 6^th Council Meeting.

Have you ever wondered who that friendly face in the Tax Collector’s Office is? It’s Esther Chico! The City’s April 2025 Employee of the Month. Esther previously spent 7 years working as a Shift Manager at McDonald’s, but it was when she moved to Sturdy Savings Bank as a Senior Teller that the City noticed her. She worked with the bank for almost a year because she became a City employee. And we are pleased to have her!

Esther brings a sparkling personality to not only the Tax Collector’s Office, but to all of City Hall, especially as a translator when needed. Her colleagues recognized her for being a caring, sweet individual who goes the extra mile. On one of the very cold Spring days, Esther encountered a visitor who was out of breath from walking to City Hall from Beach Ave. Esther took the time to conversate with the guest, continuously asking if they needed assistance or if they wanted to call someone for help. Esther assisted the guest with calling her husband who said he would pick her up. So Esther made sure to walk the guest to meet her husband.

It's care and concern like this that makes Esther a shining example of what the City needs in their employees. Esther goes above and beyond, is also willing to help others, and is also working hard to learn more. The City and its guests are lucky to have her!

The public is encouraged to participate in upcoming Q&A sessions to determine the best location for the Jacob Jones Memorial in Cape May:

The meetings on June 2nd and 3rd will be focused on exploring alternative site options that meet criteria for appropriateness and align with the following Purpose Statement for the Jacob Jones Memorial Monument project:

To co-create and curate the design, construction, ceremonial use, and national awareness of an impressive, accessible, and poignant public memorial for the fallen of the USS Jacob Jones that connects us to and amplifies Cape May’s role in America’s history, 

In a way that moves all participants to deeply value with humility, gratitude, and reverence the loss of these particular lives here, 

So that engaging this memorial serves to help all of us reflect upon, appreciate, and be inspired by how the loss of the Jacob Jones symbolizes all conflicts and forgotten heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend America’s fragile freedom. 

1. Thursday, 29 May: 11:30-1:00 in Council Chambers Jacob Jones Memorial Monument Public Forum Notes.pdf 
2. Monday, 02 June: Zoom session from 6-7:30pm at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7178778038?omn=84969934527
3. Tuesday, 03 June: 11:30-1:00 in Council Chambers

Location Options: Jacob Jones First Location and Jacob Jones Second Location

CAPE MAY, NJ – A monument to honor U.S. Navy sailors who gave their lives during the Second World War’s “Battle of the Atlantic” is being planned for a prominent location in Cape May, N.J.

Cape May is the chosen location because the destroyer the USS Jacob Jones, the first US warship to be attacked by a German U-Boat following Germany’s declaration of war against the United States, was sunk just miles off Cape May’s shoreline. A total of 131 Jacob Jones officers and crew perished.

                At a meeting on Tuesday (4/15), Cape May City Council expressed support for the project, which is being proposed by a group of local leaders that has been working on a project plan and preliminary design of the monument since last summer.

                “We are very grateful to Mayor Mullock and members of Council for their ongoing support of this project, which will be a striking and poignant tribute to the fallen, honoring the countless brave Americans who made ‘The Ultimate Sacrifice’ during the battle for control of the Atlantic,” said Myles Martel, founding member of the Jacob Jones Memorial Committee. “It is fitting that we dedicate such an important monument here on the shores so close to the location where World War II vividly and frighteningly came to the American coast.”

The proposed location of the planned monument is a site on Beach Avenue near Howard Street.

“We are grateful to this committed and enthusiastic group of local leaders who are pursuing this project, which will dramatically further Cape May’s reputation for heritage and patriotism. We anticipate that the memorial will draw visitors from across the country,” said Cape May Mayor Zachary Mullock.

               Martel said donations to fund the project will be raised through a nationwide campaign currently being established.

              The Jacob Jones was the first U.S. destroyer deployed in the “Battle of the Atlantic” to patrol German U-Boats. On Feb. 18, 1942, it was attacked off the Cape May coast just days after it began its mission and less than three months after the declaration of war with Germany. At the time of the Jacob Jones sinking, America’s East Coast was particularly vulnerable as Germany significantly disrupted supply routes between North American and Europe.

               Martel said that the Jacob Jones attack had a major impact on U.S. military strategy. “Headlines across the nation carried the news of the tragic deaths of the crew and resulted in an understanding the of the urgent need for improved coastal defense, military preparedness and resilience,” he said.

               “This monument can help ensure that future generations understand the price of freedom, the risk of our nation being exposed to a foreign adversary and the enduring strength of the American spirit. In reverently telling the story of the brave sailors of the Jacob Jones, we will honor and elevate the national recognition of all those who gave their lives in the ‘Battle of the Atlantic’ to preserve our precious freedom,” said Martel.

               Leading the design of the monument is John Boecker, a Yale University-trained architect who is a Cape May resident and a founding partner of 7group, a firm that focuses on green buildings, regenerative practice, and design that integrates with the local environment.

               Boecker presented a preliminary design concept for the monument at the Council meeting on April 15th. He said the design will continue to evolve based on a variety of factors, including input from community members as well as fabrication and construction parameters.

For more details on the project, visit www.JacobJonesMemorial.org

Credit: Naval History and Heritage Command 

# # #

Click HERE to view resolution 67-01-2025.