Official Site of The State of New Jersey

First constructed as a single-family dwelling in 1704, the Cresse section of the Cresse-Holmes House has retained the characteristics of the period including exposed, hand-hewn, decorated framing members. The home and property were sold in 1776 to John Holmes, and the main block of the house was constructed circa 1830 by his descendant, Robert Morris Holmes. John and Robert Holmes are each known to have owned slaves, and it has been postulated that the Cresse section of the house functioned as slave quarters from 1778 until 1815 and 1819, when they were manumitted, and before the house was joined with the main block in 1830. The property was sold to the Cape May County Historical and Genealogical Society in 1976, and the house has served as a historic house museum since.  

The 2023 Trust grant will help fund the preparation of a Preservation Plan for the Cresse-Holmes House and contributing structures.  

The 2022 Trust grant helped fund revisions to existing State and National Register nominations.   The amended nomination 1) renamed the house from the John Holmes House to the Cresse-Holmes House, 2) expanded the boundary to include the nearby cemetery, thereby creating the Cresse-Holmes House Historic District, and 3) provided detailed architectural descriptions of the Cresse-Holmes House and all contributing and non-contributing resources within the historic district.