HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
+ 1 further entry on record
George Allen's 1863 Cape May seaside estate
720 Washington Street, Cape May, NJ 08204
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Upscale Cape May bed and breakfast and wedding venue; rates and packages vary seasonally.
Access
Limited Access
Historic mansion with stairs and gardens
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1863 · Samuel Sloan design · Allen family seaside estate · 1990s preservation success story · Cape May National Historic Landmark district
The Southern Mansion at 720 Washington Street in Cape May was built in 1863-64 by Philadelphia industrialist George Allen as a seaside estate. The house was designed by nationally known Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan, who used drawings of a 'Southern Mansion' from his own pattern books as the basis for the design.
The Allen family used the mansion as a country estate for 83 years. George Allen had no biological children, but his niece Esther, daughter of his sister of the same name, was married at the estate in a large Victorian wedding. Esther Dougherty exchanged vows with Frederick Stovell at the property on October 4, 1905.
In 1946 the last of Allen's direct relatives, Esther Mercur, died, and her husband Ulysses sold the property with all its furnishings for $8,000. The new owners converted it into a boarding house, painted the originally earth-toned exterior white, and partitioned the interior into many small rooms. By August 1994 the house had been purchased for restoration, and over the next eighteen months the Mansion and grounds were brought back. The Southern Mansion reopened in spring 1996 as a B&B and continues to operate as a prestigious Cape May inn.
Sources
Cape May tradition identifies Esther, the niece of George Allen who was married at the estate in 1905, as the most active presence at the Southern Mansion. Guests have reported a strong floral perfume drifting through rooms, the rustling of a petticoat in the hallways, laughter, and brief glimpses of a well-dressed woman dancing in the parlor. The owner of the inn has publicly described Esther as a spirit who 'wants to party,' a framing repeated in regional travel writing.
One guest room in the house is reported by sensitive visitors as carrying lingering tension. The owners have suggested that a death may have occurred in that room. The accounts are documented in Cape May Magazine, New Jersey Haunted Houses, and the South Jersey magazine archives.
Notable Entities
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