A 157-foot brick tower first lit on Halloween night 1859, where a Woman in White carrying a lantern has been reported on the spiral stairs and outdoor gallery for generations.
215 Lighthouse Ave, Cape May Point, NJ 08212
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Adults $12; children ages 3-12 $8; veterans $8; active military free; MAC members free.
Access
Limited Access
199-step spiral iron staircase to the watch room; no elevator. Grounds are accessible.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1859 · Third Lighthouse at Cape May Point · First-Order Fresnel Lens Intact · National Register of Historic Places · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction
The shallow, shifting shoals off Cape May Point sank enough ships in the early nineteenth century that Congress appropriated funds for a lighthouse in 1822. The first tower, completed in 1823, stood roughly 68 feet tall and proved inadequate in both height and construction — the masonry began to fail within a decade. A second lighthouse was erected in 1847, but it too was poorly built and sat too close to the encroaching shoreline. Both structures are now submerged.
The third and present tower was designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and built under the supervision of Lieutenant William F. Raynolds between 1857 and 1859. At 157 feet and 6 inches (165 feet above sea level), it could project its first-order Fresnel lens light far enough to warn ships rounding the tip of the Delaware Peninsula. The light was first lit on October 31, 1859 — a date that would later acquire obvious resonance in local ghost lore.
The lighthouse operated continuously under the U.S. Lighthouse Board and later the U.S. Coast Guard until 1946, when it was decommissioned as an active navigational aid. It remained in Coast Guard ownership until 1992, when New Jersey acquired the property. The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities had already begun opening it to climbers in 1988 and continues to manage it today, maintaining the original Fresnel lens and running interpretive programming.
The lighthouse is a New Jersey State Historic Site and contributing structure to the Cape May Point Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sources
The Woman in White at Cape May Lighthouse appears on both the interior staircase and the outdoor gallery. Witnesses describe a woman in a flowing white gown carrying a lantern; some accounts add a child in her arms. She is typically described as looking out toward the sea, as if searching, and disappears when approached or when observers look away and back.
The identity of the figure has never been established. No documented death of a lighthouse keeper's wife or child appears in the preserved service records at this site, leaving the legend without a named subject — which has not diminished its circulation. The ghost has become the most widely cited haunting in Cape May Point, repeated in local guidebooks, ghost tour scripts, and regional paranormal literature.
Secondary reports involve the staircase directly: multiple visitors over the years have described hearing footsteps on the iron spiral stairs while alone in the tower, the sound consistent with someone ascending or descending above or below them. The smell of pipe tobacco, associated in the tradition with nineteenth-century lighthouse keepers, surfaces in reports from the keeper's quarters at the base.
Notable Entities
Climb the 199-step iron spiral staircase to the watch room and gallery, with views of the Delaware Bay meeting the Atlantic. The keeper's quarters at the base contain interpretive exhibits on lighthouse history, lens technology, and the succession of towers at this site since 1823.
The lighthouse sits within Cape May Point State Park, operated by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry. The grounds include nature trails and beach access. The lighthouse exterior and surrounding grounds are freely accessible during park hours.
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