Edgar Arthur Draper Historical Marker in Cape May

We've been going down to the Jersey Shore several times a year for the past 30+ years. When it comes to my family's vacation time, we love spending it down at the Jersey Shore. Our favorite coastal towns in New Jersey are Ocean City, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Wildwood and Cape May. Yes, visiting south Jersey is the best in our book!

Every time we go down there we're on the lookout for new street art, outdoor wall murals, roadside oddities, and historical markers. When it comes to historical markers, thousands of people walk or drive by them and never give them a second thought. These markers are full of educational information, often times the information that we don't learn in history books.

We were shopping at the Washington Street Mall in Cape May, New Jersey when we stumbled upon the Edgar Arthur Draper historical marker. One thing that caught my eye was that Dr. Draper was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, our home state.

Here's the information on the marker.

Edgar Arthur Draper
1886 – 1956
Physician in Cape May for 40 Years

Born in Philadelphia May 12, 1886. Graduated Central High School 1906. Same year entered University of Pennsylvania in pre-medical studies. Accepted in Medical School of this University in 1908. Received degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1912, finishing second in his class. Interned at Mercy-Douglas Hospital and then started practice in Cape May in 1914. Continued until his death except for two years service in World War I. In 1917 commissioned 1st Lt. in U. S. Army Medical Corps. One of first negroes to be accepted. Served in U. S. and France. Discharged as major in 1919. Returned to Cape May. Died 1956.

If you're waymarking, you really need to look for this one. I had walked up and down the mall and then finally spotted it on Draper Walk (a walkway between two shops), which sits between Washington Street and Carpenter Lane...in the Washington Street Mall. Some people actually refer to the mall as the Cape May Mall.