Henry Hudson

• Surely, early American settlers did not envision that Wildwood would become a cherished location for the close to 250,000 people who come to visit its shoreline during the summer months. But the English navigator Henry Hudson may have given an early glimpse of the opulence that Wildwood has to offer when he wrote in his journal that the area was "a pleasant land to see." As he and his crew set sail in search of the Northwest Passage upon his ship the "Half Moon," Hudson ventured into Delaware Bay and observed and recorded the splendor of the Wildwood landscape.
  
  

Early Settlement

• The Lenni Lenape Indians are considered the first inhabitants of Wildwood, New Jersey. The tribe was forced out by early European settlers seeking the rich sources of food that the sea had to offer. The Cape May Department of Tourism explains that by the 1870s, the Wildwood area became a strong farming and fishing community largely occupied by Swedish fisherman, who named the area "Anglesea."
  
  

Early Transportation

• By 1874, the land known as Anglesea began to expand, with the addition of a bridge and railroad system that connected Anglesea to Cape May. The Anglesea Land Company worked on the rail and train station. The station would later be named Burleigh Station, in 1883, after the late John J. Burleigh, who was an important train operator with the Pennsylvania Railroad. The addition of a rail system made for a more luxurious and quicker form of transportation to and from the settlement of Anglesea.
  
  

The Birth of a Vacation Destination

• In 1890, a round-trip fare from Philadelphia, by rail, would set travelers back a meager $1.00. The birth of tourism in the Wildwoods happened on May 30th of that year when investors advertised a Decoration Day Celebration, introducing the first grand hotel opening in the area. Known as the Hotel Dayton, its grand opening was filled with so much anticipation that even President Benjamin Harrison was present for the ceremony.
  
  

The Renaming

• The creation of the Holly Beach City Improvement Company in the late 1800s set the wheels in motion for the building of beach resort communities that would later serve vacationers from across the country and around the world. In 1910, the city of "Wildwood" was first named, later followed by West Wildwood in 1920. The other three municipalities -- Wildwood Crest, Diamond Beach and Wildwood North -- would be named shortly thereafter.