Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainCape May County's oldest house, built circa 1722 for the Hildreth family, now sells ornaments and Christmas decor — and is said to be watched over by spinster Hester Hildreth, who died here in 1949.
3137 US Route 9 South, Rio Grande, NJ 08242
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
No admission fee; a gift shop — purchase optional.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ground-floor retail space in a historic colonial structure.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1722 · Oldest standing house in Rio Grande / Cape May County · Hildreth family colonial homestead · Revolutionary War-era mantelpiece
The Hildreth House sits on US Route 9 in Rio Grande, in the southernmost county of New Jersey. The Cape May County Historical Museum places its construction at approximately 1722, making it the oldest standing structure in the municipality. A fire of unknown date destroyed one of the building's original three sections, reducing the surviving footprint. The structure stood on adjacent land for roughly 140 years before being moved to its current lot.
The Hildreth family was among Cape May County's earliest European settlers, and the house stayed in family hands for more than two centuries. By the mid-twentieth century, the last residents were two spinster sisters — Hester Hildreth and her sister Lucy. Hester died in the house in 1949; Lucy died in 1954. After the family line ended, the property passed out of Hildreth hands.
In 1978, Winterwood Gift & Christmas Shoppe opened in the building, operating as one of New Jersey's larger year-round Christmas retail destinations. The shop preserved several original elements, including a mantel said to have been carved by a Revolutionary War soldier — a detail cited repeatedly in local accounts of the building's history. The structure is recognized locally as a piece of early Cape May County settlement history.
Sources
The paranormal reputation of the Hildreth House centers on a single figure: Hester Hildreth, who died in the house in 1949 after spending her entire life there. The ghost is commonly called 'Hestor' in local accounts, a slight variation in spelling that appears consistently in the press coverage.
A December 2010 feature in Cape May Magazine documented the shop's haunted reputation, citing reports from staff of flickering lights with no electrical explanation, objects that moved from where they had been placed, and footsteps in empty sections of the building. Apparitions have also been reported — figures glimpsed near the old mantelpiece and in the rear rooms of the colonial structure.
The shop's own website acknowledges the ghost, treating Hester as a benign presence who never fully vacated the house she spent her life in. Cape May Magazine described the experiences as consistent over the decades since Winterwood opened in 1978, with multiple employees across different years reporting similar phenomena.
Notable Entities
Browse the gift and Christmas decor shop inside the 300-year-old colonial building. The mantel was reportedly carved by a Revolutionary War soldier. Staff members have noted unexplained activity attributed to 'Hester,' the last Hildreth spinster to die in the home.
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The Hildreth House at 3108 Route 9 South in Rio Grande was built in 1772, making it one of the oldest surviving structures in Cape May County. The Hildreth family owned and occupied the property for generations. Hester Hildreth, the last family member to live there, died in 1948 after the family line of unmarried women had maintained the house for the final decades of Hildreth family ownership. The building was later sold and eventually repurposed as Winterwood, a year-round Christmas and gift shop that has operated in the historic structure for decades.