The John Hand Black and White House is a national historic landmark house in Cape May - a National historic landmark city. It is oldest house in Cape May. Circa 1690 John Hand led a group of Mayflower Settlers to Cape May from Montauk NY. He brought his and 30 other families to Cape May. They settled on this part of Washington Street because it was the highest point on the island and ideal for farming and whaling. They established the City of Cape May and the first tax records on this house are dated 1710. This is John Hand’s Farm House. This house has been carefully restored by the owners of the popular Cape May vacation house “The Whalers Cottage”. The Black and White House is beautiful, w/ 5 large Bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and 5 star amenities on the inside. It is a perfect place for an exceptionally comfortable beach getaway with a real sense of history. The first floor begins with a beautiful, spacious outdoor front porch with plenty of room for gathering and overlooking historic Washington Street. It is also well lit for that relaxing book at the end of a great day in Cape May. Enter the house from the porch and you will see the original 1700 fireplace anchoring the great room with plenty of comfortable seating and a 65” intelligent flat screen TV. The great room flows openly to the kitchen with brand new appliances, granite counter tops and seating for 12 at the table. You will notice a slight “lean” and the ceilings are a little lower in this part of the house because we were just a little shorter back then! Off the kitchen is a bathroom and separate laundry room with washer and dryer. Finally, the 1st floor master has a king-sized bed, attached full bathroom w/walk in shower and walk in closet
The second floor has 4 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. The 2nd floor master has a king - sized bed, attached full bathroom with walk in shower and a walk-in closet. The next bedroom on the second floor also has a King-Sized bed with a large closet. The hallway bedroom has a Queen Size bed and a large closet. The final bedroom is a kid’s paradise (but adults will be fine too) and has 1 full bed, 1 twin bed, bunk beds and a loft which includes futons and a 50” intelligent flat screen for gaming. The house sleeps 12 comfortably. Rounding out the upstairs is a full bathroom with both a tub and a walk-in shower. A long hallway has nook seating for reading and relaxing as well. This hallway also has that fun “lean” which is not from too much wine! All of the bedrooms have 42” intelligent flat screen TV’s. It also has upgraded HD Cable and WiFi throughout. The house is decorated in a black and white theme with plenty of accent color to capture what it was like long ago and also to just have fun with a cool theme to hang out in on vacation or just for the weekend.
In addition to the open front porch the house has a large back yard back patio. There is abundant outdoor seating and a gas grill. The Black and White Barn in the back yard was originally built in the late 1800’s and has been restored along with the house. Inside you will find 7-9 bikes , 9-10 chairs, umbrella and a wagon to easily get to and from the beach and town. The driveway has 5 parking spots and one on the street. It's a little snug on the driveway so please park the cars and use the bikes or your feet!
The House is convenient to everything. 10-15 minute walk to both the beach and town (5-minute bike ride). Less than 5-minute walk to Physick Estate and Cape May Tennis Club. At the beginning of the season 8 Beach Tags will be in the house. For clarity these tags belong to our family and we allow use for our guests. If you lose them please replace them with a full season tag as a courtesy to us or the next guest. We will not replace tags lost during the season. Also we do not provide linens and towels we do have pillows and blankets if you choose to use them. As no Cape May owners provide linens and towels multiple great services are available on line with delivery and pick up services. Pillows and blankets can be rented as well. Linens are required to sleep on our beds please for cleanliness and consideration of the next guest.
