Angel of the Sea, Bed and Breakfast Revenue

About Angel of the Sea, Bed and Breakfast

The Angel of the Sea was built circa 1850 as a summer cottage for William Weightman Sr., a Philadelphia chemist who, as managing partner of Powers & Weightman, introduced quinine to the United States as an anti-malarial drug. Built as a single structure, the house originally stood on the corner of Franklin and Washington Streets where the Cape May Post Office now stands. In 1881, Mr. Weightman decided that an ocean view from the broad porches of his cottage would be appreciated by family, friends and guests. To accomplish this goal he hired a number of local farmers to move the house to a piece of property on the corner of Ocean and Beach Avenues, near where the Marquis de Lafayette now stands. The farmers discovered the house was too large to move as one unit. Not wanting to lose the winter work, they decided to cut the house in half, move it in sections and then reconnect it after the move. Their task took all winter long, pulling the sections on rolling tree trunks with mule and horse power! Unfortunately, after both halves of the house were moved to the new location, the farmers discovered that although their mules and horses were quite adequate for "pulling" the house, they proved totally ineffective in "pushing" it back together. Summer was close upon them, and Mr. Weightman would soon be returning to Cape May. The farmers enclosed the sides where the cut had been made, renovated as best they could and hurried back to their farming chores. The results of their efforts are the two buildings as they stand today. The house remained in the Weightman family until Mr. Weightman's death in 1905. During the next 50 or so years the Weightman Cottage, as it was called, was used as a hotel, guest house and, during one period, a restaurant. In 1962 a powerful Nor'easter ripped through New Jersey and devastated the city of Cape May. The structures were moved (this time on flatbed trucks) to their present location on Trenton Avenue.

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