Cape May Pier Smashed

An ocean pier near Cape May, N. J. is nearly demolished by a barge carrying “210 tons of stone” propelled by the tide “for a distance of two miles” before it struck.

The ocean pier in front of Cape May, N. J., was almost totally demolished in sight of hundreds of people, who lined the boardwalk and beach strand. The barge Robert Campbell, belonging to the Breakwater Construction Company, of New York, loaded with 210 tons of stone for the Cape May harbor entrance, being built by the government, broke away from her moorings and before the strong northeast wind and high running tide was driven along the beach for a distance of two miles until it struck the pier. Piling after piling was battered sown by the action of the wind and wave surging the barge. The damage will amount to about $25,000.The opera house on the pier was nearly the first part of it to drop into the surf.

“Cape May Pier Smashed,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed March 21, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1893.