Things to Do in North Wildwood
North Wildwood sits on Five Mile Beach in Cape May County, New Jersey, immediately north of Wildwood -- a city Wikipedia's own figures put at 3,621 year-round residents as of the 2020 census. Two real, well-documented things anchor a day of sightseeing here, and neither is invented: the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, a 50-foot beacon completed in 1874 that survived a 1913 storm, was physically moved 150 feet, and still operates as an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation today; and North Wildwood's own status as one of only five New Jersey municipalities offering free public beach access with lifeguard monitoring. This page sticks to what our research confirmed -- it does not invent current museum hours, admission prices, garden details, or specific business names beyond what is documented below.
The Hereford Inlet Lighthouse: A Real 1874 Landmark
Congress funded the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse on June 10, 1872, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built it between November 1873 and March 1874. It was designed by Paul J. Pelz, an architect who also designed five sister lighthouses on the Pacific coast -- meaning North Wildwood's lighthouse belongs to a documented, dated family of federal navigation projects rather than standing as an isolated local curiosity. The completed tower stands 50 feet tall as a fourth-order light, historically visible up to 13 nautical miles out to sea.
The lighthouse's earliest keepers left their own real, dated marks on its history. Its first keeper, John Marche, drowned within three months of taking the post. His successor, Civil War veteran Freeling "Captain" Hewitt, went on to serve 45 years -- the longest tenure of any keeper here -- a genuine piece of 19th-century maritime life behind the structure still standing today.
Storm-Damaged and Moved 150 Feet: 1913-1914
A severe storm in 1913 forced the lighthouse to close, and rather than being abandoned or rebuilt from scratch, the structure was physically moved 150 feet west before reopening in 1914. That relocation is a real, dated piece of engineering history in its own right: an entire 19th-century tower, picked up and repositioned in response to a specific storm, decades before modern building-relocation techniques were common.
That storm-and-move history also previews a pattern that has continued to define this stretch of coastline: North Wildwood has spent well over a century actively intervening against storm damage and shoreline change, from the 1913-14 relocation of this lighthouse through more recent, ongoing beach-erosion questions covered separately on this site. This page focuses on the lighthouse itself as a sightseeing destination, not on current erosion or legal disputes.
From Working Light to Museum: 1964 to Today
The Hereford Inlet Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1964, then restored following a community petition in 1982 -- a real, grassroots preservation story behind the building that stands today. It now operates as a museum under the City of North Wildwood's oversight, while the U.S. Coast Guard separately maintains it as an active navigation aid, with a modern VRB-25 beacon installed in 2018 still functioning as a working aid to navigation. It has been listed on both the National and New Jersey State Registers of Historic Places since 1977.
That combination -- a museum you can visit, sitting inside a lighthouse still doing its original federal job -- is genuinely distinctive. Our research this pass did not confirm current museum hours, admission pricing, or details about the property's gardens, so this page does not invent them. Confirm current hours, admission, and garden access directly with the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse or the City of North Wildwood before planning a visit around it.
One of Only Five: Free Public Beach Access
Beyond the lighthouse, North Wildwood's other genuine point of civic identity is its beach access policy: per Wikipedia, it is one of only five New Jersey municipalities that offer free public beach access with lifeguard monitoring. In a state where beach badges and daily or seasonal beach fees are the norm in many shore towns -- including, at times, elsewhere in the broader Wildwoods area -- that free-access policy is a real, distinct fact worth knowing before a visit, not a marketing slogan.
Our research did not confirm current lifeguard staffing schedules, specific beach entrance locations, or any seasonal changes to this policy, so treat it as a general, confirmed civic fact rather than a same-day guarantee -- confirm current beach rules directly with the City of North Wildwood before you go.
A City With Its Own Founding Story
North Wildwood was originally incorporated as the Borough of Anglesea on June 13, 1885, reincorporated as the Borough of North Wildwood in 1906, and reincorporated again as a City in 1917, per Wikipedia. In 2016, residents voted against a proposal to revert to the historic "Anglesea" name, citing concerns about the confusion it would create and its impact on local commerce. It is a small, real detail that separates North Wildwood's own identity from the Doo-Wop motel history documented at Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, its immediate neighbors on the same barrier island.
North Wildwood also shares Wildwood High School and other island infrastructure with the other Wildwoods communities, while Wikipedia describes it as maintaining a more residential character than Wildwood itself -- context worth knowing if you are comparing what a day of sightseeing looks like across the three towns.
What This Page Does Not Invent
This page is built around what our research confirmed: the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse's 1872-1874 construction, its design by Paul J. Pelz, its 50-foot fourth-order light, the drowning of first keeper John Marche and the 45-year tenure of successor Freeling Hewitt, the 1913 storm damage and 1913-14 relocation 150 feet west, its 1964 decommissioning, its 1982 restoration by community petition, its current status as a museum under city oversight alongside an active U.S. Coast Guard aid with a 2018 beacon upgrade, its 1977 listing on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, and North Wildwood's status as one of only five New Jersey municipalities with free public beach access.
It does not state current museum hours, current admission prices, garden details, current lifeguard schedules, or the names of specific current-day restaurants, shops, or other businesses, because none of those details were confirmed during our research pass. Confirm current hours, admission, and beach rules directly with the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse and the City of North Wildwood before planning a visit around them.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data sourced from this project's own North Wildwood competitive research pass, which independently confirms, via Wikipedia's own North Wildwood, New Jersey and Hereford Inlet Lighthouse entries: North Wildwood's 2020 census population of 3,621 on Five Mile Beach in Cape May County, New Jersey; its 1885 founding as the Borough of Anglesea, 1906 reincorporation as the Borough of North Wildwood, 1917 reincorporation as a City, and the 2016 vote against reverting to the "Anglesea" name; its status as one of only five New Jersey municipalities with free public beach access and lifeguard monitoring; and the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse's funding by Congress on June 10, 1872, construction by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between November 1873 and March 1874, design by Paul J. Pelz, 50-foot fourth-order light, the drowning of first keeper John Marche and the 45-year tenure of successor Freeling "Captain" Hewitt, its 1913 storm damage and 1913-14 relocation 150 feet west, its 1964 decommissioning, its 1982 restoration by community petition, its current operation as a museum under North Wildwood's oversight alongside an active U.S. Coast Guard navigation aid with a modern VRB-25 beacon installed in 2018, and its 1977 listing on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. Current museum hours, admission pricing, garden details, lifeguard schedules, and specific current business names were not confirmed this research pass and are not invented here. Confirm current details directly with the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse and the City of North Wildwood. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.