Before the region was settled by Europeans, the Kechemeche tribe of the Lenape Native Americans inhabited South Jersey, and traveled to the barrier islands during the summer to hunt and fish. On August 28, 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson entered the Delaware Bay and stayed one day on land, north of what is now Cape May Point. In 1630, representatives of the Dutch West India Company purchased a tract of land along the Delaware from indigenous people, and additional land in the county was purchased 11 years later. Due to the large number of whales in the region of Cape May, Dutch explorers founded Town Bank around 1640 as a whaling village in what is now Lower Township. It was the first European settlement in Cape May County. The village once functioned as the court house for the county, along with Coxehall, built by Dr. Daniel Coxe to be a center for a manorial style of government. The sole remaining section of the original structure, which was moved several times during its history, is now preserved as Coxe Hall Cottage at Historic Cold Spring Village, a 19th century living history museum in Lower Township.