A Victorian bed-and-breakfast at 805 Stockton Avenue in Cape May, built in 1883 as a double home for the Page family and converted into the Bedford Inn in 1966.
805 Stockton Avenue, Cape May, NJ 08204
Research updated September 2026
Age
Adults only; the inn does not accommodate children.
Cost
$$$
Overnight room rates vary by season. Rooms and suites available; see bedfordinn.com for current pricing.
Access
Limited Access
Historic Victorian structure with multiple floors and staircases; limited accessibility.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1883 · Cape May National Historic Landmark District · Victorian Resort Architecture
Cape May's Victorian architecture dates largely from the 1880s and 1890s, after the 1878 fire that leveled much of the earlier resort district forced a rapid rebuild. The resulting concentration of Victorian structures, largely intact today, earned the town its National Historic Landmark designation.
In 1870, Philadelphia stockbroker Joseph French purchased 801 Stockton Avenue and later built a double home at 805-807 Stockton Avenue for his children's families, part of the same building wave that gave Cape May its distinctive Victorian character. Known at the time as a "Mother-Daughter" house, it remained in the Page family until 1921, when Annie Page sold both sides to unrelated buyers.
In 1966, two Indiana couples bought and converted the building into a summer rental, naming it the Bedford Inn. The Fords managed it until 1975, when they sold it to the Schmucker family, who ran it as a Victorian bed-and-breakfast for nearly 30 years. Archie Kirk bought and updated the property in 2005, and new owners took over in 2019. The Bedford Inn is now part of The Queen Victoria Bed & Breakfast family.
Sources
The inn operates as a classic Cape May B&B in the 1883 Victorian building at 805 Stockton Avenue. Guests are within walking distance of the beach and the Washington Street pedestrian district.
Some links on this page may earn HauntBound a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial picks are independent. Full disclosure
See current room rates and availability at Bedford Inn.
Check rates and bookRates come from booking partners, so a small property may not be listed. Book direct with Bedford Inn
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Free Guide
12 verified stops, rated for families, mapped in order. Free.
One email to confirm, then the guide link. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cape May, NJ
William Weightman Sr., managing partner of Powers & Weightman and the man who introduced quinine to the American market as an anti-malarial, built a summer cottage at the corner of Franklin and Washington Streets in Cape May around 1850. In 1881 he had it moved to an ocean-view lot, but the farmers he hired discovered the structure was too large to move intact. They cut it in half, moved the sections separately, and found they could not reconnect them. The two buildings were enclosed separately, creating the two adjoining structures that now house the B&B.
Cape May, NJ
The Chalfonte Hotel was built in 1875–1876 by Henry Sawyer, a Union Army colonel who was a prisoner of war at Libby Prison during the Civil War. Sawyer operated it as a boarding house before it became a hotel; it is now described by the National Park Service as 'the oldest and most ornate large hotel in Cape May.' The hotel is a contributing property to the Cape May Historic District (NRHP 1970) and has been operated since 2008 by Robert and Linda Mullock.
Cape May, NJ
Congress Hall opened in 1816 as a boarding house on the Cape May beachfront, becoming one of the earliest seaside resorts in the United States. A replacement wooden hotel burned in the Great Fire of 1878 and was rebuilt in brick within a year. Four sitting presidents — Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Ulysses S. Grant, and Benjamin Harrison — vacationed here, with Harrison using it as an informal summer White House in 1890 and 1891.