C
ape May was emerging from a deep economic depression in 1875, the year the Chalfonte was being built. The post-Civil War building boom bubble burst in 1873. Large banks failed and money was scarce. But Henry Sawyer, a Civil War hero and local developer, was not deterred – there was regular train service from Philadelphia, and Grant Street Summer Station was under construction. Sawyer anticipated his new hotel would be a full house. The Cape May Wave newspaper announced 8
PROUD PROPRIETOR Chalfonte builder Henry Sawyer published more ads than any other hotel owner in the local newspaper. This vintage clipping was found by Cape May print shop owner Heidi Cummings. FACING THE FUTURE Opposite page: A young Henry Sawyer could not have imagined the adventures that lay before him, taking him on to the nation’s bloodiest battlefields. Donlin collection
in April, 1875 that local builder Charles Shaw would be erecting “a rooming cottage” for Sawyer. By June the cottage was finished. Work continued to erect a twin of the first building and the two were joined, with a central double entry and a cupola on top. The new Chalfonte stood handsome and imposing in its eclectic Victorian style at Howard Street and Sewell Avenue, two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. Across the street a sprawling lawn set the stage for the favorite Victorian games of cricket and croquet. Sawyer advertised his new Chalfonte in the Wave every week. His ad was the largest in the paper, showing off his new hotel and trumpeting its amenities. The plan was to attract