Palermo, New Jersey


Palermo is an unincorporated community in Upper Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States.
Palermo is located northeast of Cape May Court House.
The Palermo Air Force Station, closed in 1970, was located south of Palermo.

History

An early settler, Henry Young, arrived in New Jersey aboard a whaling vessel prior to 1700, and established a plantation extending west from Palermo.
The Friendship School in Palermo was built around 1830, and was restored in 1980. It is one of the oldest schools in Upper Township.
A post office was established in 1872.
The Ocean City Railroad constructed a line through Palermo, and a station was erected there in 1897. The line later became part of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines. The line is now abandoned.
In 1953, a proposed extension of the Garden State Parkway was to be constructed through Palermo. Several Upper Township farmers complained about the route, including one from Palermo who claimed "the parkway went through the center of his piggery". A commission was established to settle disputes between farmers and the Parkway Authority.