Historic Cold Spring Village is a 19th century outdoor living history museum located three miles
north of Victorian Cape May, New Jersey on Route 9. Here visitors may experience the sights, sounds and aromas of yesteryear - the blacksmith working over a fiery forge, the potter turning pots on the foot-powered kickwheel, the horse-drawn carriage as it rumbles over the clamshell roads or the baker as she removes freshly-baked bread from the beehive oven. Come and spend a few hours or a day with our Villagers; they will enlighten you with the way Cape May Countians lived during the 1800's. The Village is dedicated to preserving the crafts, trades, lifestyles and architecture of a small South Jersey rural community.
Cold Spring was a thriving town during the early 19th century. It received its name from the fresh spring of sparkling water that bubbled up through the salt marshes. A brief drive by carriage from Cape Island brought early tourists to a small shed where a bottle could be lowered into the clear pool. There was said to be no source of fresh water south of the spring. Cold Spring also had an importance economically as it was the site of the first tidal grist mill. Rather than depend upon a mill pond for power, the tidal mills operated on water trapped when a creek or stream was at high tide, thus ensuring a source of daily power.
By 1840, Cold Spring was an important stop on the stage coach run from Millville to Cape May. The community boasted two churches. two stores. forty homes and a tavern. There was regular commerce between Philadelphia and the towns of southern Cape May County. Commodities such as molasses, lard, deer skins, cedar rails, tar, shingles, fish, furs, flax, bees wax, wheat and rye were bought and sold daily.
Although little remains of the original hamlet of Cold Spring, Historic Cold Spring Village is a recreation of a similar town consisting of over twenty antique buildings from Cape May and Cumberland County that have been moved and restored on a twenty-two acre site. They house working craftspeople, the Country Store, a bakery, ice cream parlor and the well-known Old Grange Restaurant .
Sheep are in abundance waiting for a friendly pat or a handful of corn; carriage rides are available for a minimal fee.
The daily lives of ordinary Americans of the 1800's are depicted at the Village. As the season begins, there is much work to be done. Gardens are planted with traditional varieties of vegetables, herbs and plants for dyeing wool. The townspeople's lives are still governed by the seasons, mucn as they were during the 19th century. The time for planting crops was delermined by the phases of the moon as indicated by the indispensable Farmer's Almanac which states "when the moon shifts, and the sign is in the arm, plant limas. Beans have to come on and set, and under some signs they'll fall off." The woodwright continues to fell timber when the sap is rising while the blacksmith's tasks vary with the seasonal needs of the individual farmers and homemakers.
Throughout the season, visitors may share in this bygone era by becoming directly involved in specific crafts. Across from the ice cream parlor is the Lewis Corson Gandy Barn; home of the Village broommaker who turns sorghum into practical household brooms and winter rye into hats. With his help, try your hand at straw-braiding and be sure to note the grand ladies' bonnets and gentlemen's hats "manufactured" from the finished braid.
Adjacent to the barn is the farmyard housing the Village calves and chickens. Down the lane from the bakery stands the Spicer-Leaming House. Reputed to be the second oldest house in lower Cape May County, this circa 1702 building once stood on a knoll at Schellenger's Landing. Visit with the woman of the house as she discusses life in the 1850's. Observe her practice the domestic art of 'open-hearth cooking and beehive oven baking with samples for the guest who arrives at the right time! Several exciting craft shop changes were planned for 1996 including the addition of a Bookbinder's Shop and the renovation of the newest building, the Reverend David Gandy House, circa 1790, as the Viilage Print Shop. During your trip to Cold Spring, be sure to stop in and visit all the craftspeople who willingly talk about their occupations. And finally, after enjoying a hearty meal at the Old Grange Restaurant, ice cream at the Nathaniel Douglass House or baked goods from the Howard Norton Bakery, rest in the rocking chairs on the porch of the Country Store.
Once revived, then you will find a wide array of hand-crafted wares inside the late 1700's building. Along with products made by Village artisans, you will also discover a wide sampling of typical country store fare including quilts, books, jellies and jams, penny candy, cards and candles.