Historic Cold Spring Village

Historic Cold Spring Village At A Glance...

• The largest open-air living history museum in New Jersey: 27 restored buildings on more than 30 acres.
• Coxe Hall Cottage, built around 1691, is the oldest known surviving building in Cape May County, with the most ornate carved corner posts in the state.
• Watch a blacksmith, printer, bookbinder, tinsmith and potter at work in their 1800s shops.
• Lantern-lit ghost walks around the Village on fall Friday nights.
• Cold Spring Brewery, New Jersey's first non-profit brewery, pours in an 1804 barn at the Village gate.
• Todays Sunrise: 7:08 am,   Sunset: 6:22 pm  
• New Jersey Southern Shore Region Cape May County

• Activities:

  • Walking

  Amenities:

  • Restrooms/Bathrooms
  • Parking Lot(s)
  • Picnic / Sitting Area
  • Benches
  • Restaurant On Premises

  Trails:

  • Walking Paths

  Park Type:

  • Historic Area

  Attractions:

  • Museum / Gallery
  • Animals

  Rules/Regulations:

  • Entrance Fee Required
  • Must be Leashed

Contact / Location

A Brief History

Almost every building in the Village was moved here from somewhere else in Cape May County and restored. The Cold Spring Grange Hall, built in 1912 as the meeting hall of Cold Spring Grange #132 and listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, is the only building in the Village standing on its original site; it now houses the Cold Spring Grange Restaurant.

The oldest is Coxe Hall Cottage, built around 1691 and the oldest known surviving building in Cape May County. It was probably part of Coxe Hall, the manor of West Jersey proprietor Dr. Daniel Coxe, where rents were paid, church services held and court convened, and its carved corner post heads are the most ornate in the state. Others include the Dennisville Inn, a Federal-style tavern and stagecoach stop built in 1836, the c.1850 Marshallville School, a one-room schoolhouse, and Cold Spring Brewery, an 1804 English-style barn from Upper Township restored in 2014.

Programs / Education

The Village runs school programs, a lecture series and junior apprenticeships for young people, along with group tours and do-it-yourself crafts and activities.

Things to See & Do

The Trades

Watch the smith at the J. Finley Blacksmith Shop, built around 1886. The Woodworking Shop shows off a velocipede wood cutting machine and shingle making, and shelters the carriage for horse and wagon rides. Early presses run in the Village Print Shop, the Bookbindery demonstrates binding, the tinsmith makes lanterns and candleholders, the Pottery Shop and its kiln show hand-made pottery of the late 1700s and early 1800s, and basket weaving goes on at the D. Taylor Shop's shady porch. At the Corson-Hand House it is fiber arts, and at the Spicer Leaming House a 19th-century housewife demonstrates the domestic arts.

For Kids

The Family Activity Area in the old Cape May Point jail has 1800s games and a take-home craft. The Village's 8-acre farm complex, by the Corson Gandy Barn, is home to Levi the horse and the calves.

Village Map

The Village's interactive map gives the history of each building, with Google 360 tours of many of them.

Special / Seasonal Events

Fall at the Village

Fall weekends bring Revolutionary War and Civil War encampments, the All Things Corn Festival and Spinning and Wheels in September, and in October the Harvest Moon Music Festival at Cold Spring Brewery, the Lower Township Rotary Pumpkin Festival and Ghoul Spring Village, the Village's Halloween event, over two weekends. For 2026: Harvest Moon Music Festival October 3, Rotary Pumpkin Festival October 10, Ghoul Spring Village October 16-17 and 23-24, a Candlelight Walk November 14, and the Cold Spring Holiday Celebration December 12.

Ghost Walks

A lantern-lit ghost walk around the Village, with stories of the paranormal activity that staff and visitors have reported over the years. Walks start at Cold Spring Brewery at 8 PM on Fridays and are limited to 25 people; book at the brewery or online. For 2026 they run every Friday from August 28 through October.

Through the Year

Themed weekends start in May with the Jersey Cape Sea Glass and Coastal Arts Festival and continue all summer, among them Down on the Farm, Hands on History weekends, Early American Trades, a Yesteryears Carnival, The Fabric of History, a Seafarers and Maritime Celebration, Foodways and Folklife, and Becoming Cape May. Weekends can change, so check the events page.

Picnics / Lunches / Eating

Picnicking is not allowed, and outside food may not be brought into the Village. Inside the gates, the Bakery in the Ezra Norton House serves treats and casual lunch items, the Ice Cream Parlor has ice cream and sodas, the Country Store sells coffee, cold drinks, sweets and baked goods, and the Village Eatery is open when the museum is. A free 30-minute retail pass from the gatehouse lets you shop without paying admission.

Outside the gates, at the Seashore Road entrance, the Cold Spring Grange Restaurant and Cold Spring Brewery need no admission. You can order food from the Grange or a delivery service and eat it in the brewery.

Admission & Guidelines

A standard ticket is good for one day. For 2026, admission is $14 for adults and $10 for children 3 to 12, and children under 3 are free. Village members get in free, except at special fundraising events, and active duty military with ID are free. Veterans get 10% off with a military ID or Cape May County veteran's photo ID, and AAA and WHYY members get a discount with their card. Special events have their own prices and tickets, listed on the events page. Tickets are non-transferable.

Friendly dogs are welcome on the Village grounds on a leash, but only service dogs may go into the buildings, and dogs must not bother the livestock. Smoking and vaping are not allowed anywhere on the grounds. Personal photos and video are encouraged, but tripods, lights and ladders are not allowed, and commercial or posed photo shoots need approval from the office. Strollers and wheelchairs are not available to rent.

Hours / Season of Operation

The Village is open for its spring and summer season. After Labor Day it switches to weekends: for 2026, it is open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 AM to 4 PM from September 7 through October 4, and then for special events through the fall. The Village office, on the second floor of the Welcome Center, is open Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 4 PM.

Parking

There is plenty of free daytime parking, with spaces for larger vehicles, RVs and campers included. Overnight parking and camping are not allowed.

Directions

The Village sits between Seashore Road (Route 626) and Route 9, three miles north of Cape May City and four miles south of Rio Grande. It has two entrances, 735 Seashore Road, at Cold Spring Brewery and the Cold Spring Grange Restaurant, and 720 US Route 9.

From the north on the Garden State Parkway, follow the Parkway south to Exit 0 and merge onto Route 109 North. Bear right into the jughandle for Route 9 South, continue straight onto Route 9 South, turn right onto Seashore Road, then turn right into the Village. From Route 47, turn right at the traffic light at the Rio Grande Post Office onto Railroad Avenue (Route 626), which becomes Seashore Road, and the entrance is on your left.

The Cold Spring Bike Path runs close by, Cape May Winery and Vineyard is a short drive away, and the beaches and birding of Cape May Point State Park and Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area are about 15 minutes south and west.

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