Which name you use can say a lot about you. It can either date you, determine how local you are, or show if you’re a devotee of Waze or Google Maps for getting directions. Here’s a bit of local history to help untangle the road’s multiple labels.
Maritime Importance of Route 9
Depending on your direction of travel, the road is considered the beginning or end of Route 9 in New Jersey. According to one article from NJ.com, Rt. 9 is New Jersey’s liveliest highway, and when traveled in its entirety through the state provides the best representation of everything Jersey.
It starts, when traveling south, from the George Washington Bridge and ends at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. What many people don’t realize, however, is that Rt. 9 doesn’t end at the Delaware Bay at all but continues as a maritime route connected by none other than the Cape May-Lewes Ferry! In August 2021, the route received a second, official MARAD designation naming the Delaware Bay crossing as part of America’s M95 Marine Highway– the marine equivalent of I-95 on the coast.
Rt. 9 is part of US Highway history as it is one of only two US Highways connected by a maritime component, and the only one connecting a north-south route. The other, Rt. 10, is an east-west highway connected by the SS Badger over Lake Michigan.
The Sandman Connection
If you’re a local history buff, you may know the name of Charles Sandman, Jr. Born in Philadelphia in 1921, Sandman grew up and was quintessential Jersey. When he graduated from then Cape May High School, he returned to Philadelphia to get his BA from Temple University, but subsequently got his law degree from Rutgers Law School in Newark. He then served in the Army Air Corps in WWII, and was held as a prisoner of war for seven months in Germany.
At age 33 Sandman started his political career, and was elected to three consecutive 4-year terms as the NJ State Senator from Cape May. In the early 1960s, he became a passionate advocate for a ferry to connect South Jersey to southern Delaware helping pave the way to create the current Cape May-Lewes Ferry system that began in 1964.
Soon thereafter, in 1965, Sandman resigned his state post to become the US Congressman for District 1 in NJ and a member of the House Judiciary Committee. There, he received national fame becoming best known as the most prodigious defender of President Richard Nixon during impeachment hearings. Sandman only revoked his support after the revelation of the famous “smoking gun” tape. He ended his career as a chief judge of the family court in Cape May County.
When he died in 1985 at age 64, Sandman’s obituary appeared in The New York Times and Washington Post in addition to state and local newspapers throughout the region. In honor of all Sandman did for South Jersey and the Ferry, the portion of Rt 9 from the Railroad tracks near Rt. 109 to Bayshore Road was renamed Sandman Boulevard in 1986. A historical marker was placed on the road renaming the segment as Sandman Boulevard.
Several online beach guides from KnowThisPlace.com to Delmarvabeachguide.com list the Ferry’s address as 1200 Sandman Boulevard, but that address was never technically correct as the segment of Rt. 9 from Bayshore Road to the Ferry staging lanes and parking lots is Lincoln Boulevard. The Ferry’s local address has always been 1200 Lincoln Boulevard in line with post office norms, but mail addressed to 1200 Sandman Boulevard is still delivered as everyone knows what the sender intended.
DRBA Widens Road
Because of its importance as the main access road to the ferry, the Delaware River & Bay Authority (DRBA) has always handled the road’s maintenance all the way from the Ferry to the Rt. 9/Rt.109 intersection. When the DRBA funded new road construction in 2012, it made local news (see headline above), and the historical marker was saved in a DRBA warehouse to protect it from ongoing construction work.
Related Story: The Road to the Ferry: Lewes
When the road reopened, the sign remained in storage. At the Ferry’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2014, county and DRBA officials agreed to relocate and rededicate the marker in a place with higher visibility and placed it on the Ferry campus adjacent to the terminal in Cape May. It continues to stand there today welcoming visitors to the Ferry grounds with an updated plaque noting its original position.
The picture on the top of this page shows the Sandman family, many of whom still live and work in Cape May County, in attendance at the rededication ceremony.
The Ferry Road Nickname
Given all of the history, it’s clear the road needs no other names but — if you travel around Cape May — it’s not unusual to hear people talk about Ferry Road. It’s basically a nickname referring to the access road from Bay Shore to the Ferry aka Lincoln Boulevard. It’s possible locals started using it because the other three names — Lincoln, Sandman and Rt. 9 — were causing some confusion and the name Ferry Road clearly delineates it as the road that takes you to the Ferry. Where or when this name started is really not known.
