The Candlelight Inn is a beautifully maintained Queen Anne Victorian home built at the turn of the century by Leaming and Sarah Rice. When the home was first built, it was a block and a half to the beach which came up to Atlantic Avenue. With very little built around the home, we imagine there were fabulous ocean views. Today the walk to the ocean has expanded to three blocks due to changes in the shoreline.
Leaming and Sarah raised five children in the home. Leaming was the Cape May County Engineer at the time and many of his maps are featured in local museums and tourist attractions such as the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse. Leaming died in 1947 and Sarah died one year later almost to the day. Their son William followed in his father’s footsteps and also served as the county’s engineer. He and his adult siblings lived in the home for many years. William and his wife Reba owned this J.H. Daverman & Son architectural style home until their deaths. It was purchased from their estate and converted into a Bed and Breakfast in 1985.