1907 photo from Chapman University
Frank Mt. Pleasant Library
Special Collections and Archives
On April 16, 2023 Connecticut divers discovered the wreckage of the experimental submarine, Simon Lake XV, built in 1907, in the hopes of winning a competition for a U.S. Navy contract, according to NavSource. The boat didn't win so he then tried renovating it for minesweeping, salvage and rescue tasks, renaming it the Defender. No one ever bought the vessel but it was still popular among some and was even visited by Amelia Earhart in 1929, said Richard Simon, the diver whose crew found the vessel. The submarine was equipped with wheels to move along the ocean floor and a door that gave divers the option to exit the vessel underwater, Simon told the Associated Press. Eventually, it sat docked in New London before it was abandoned and later scuttled in Long Island Sound by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1946, NavSource Naval History reported.
From Connecticut Public Radio by Pat Eaton-Robb/Associated Press April 19, 2023
The Mays Landing campus is located at 5100 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing on 541 acres. There are16 academic buildings with classrooms, computer labs, science labs, and faculty and administrative offices. There are buildings for the gymnasium (E Building), library (D Building), student center (G Building), college administration (J Building) and Rutgers University at Atlantic Cape (Q Building).
Many of the buildings on campus have been named for historical leaders and educators from South Jersey.
The building and road names were selected by the Atlantic County Historical Society and approved by the Atlantic Community College Board of Trustees on April 26, 1966. The campus roads were given names from the Lenape. Unalachtigo Road, the left fork at building U (Security) is named for the South Jersey subdivision of the Lenni Lenape of New Jersey. The other road to the Black Horse Pike, Atsiunk Road is derived from Atsion (Indians Nearby) the unincorporated village in Wharton State Park, where the Samuel Richards mansion is located. The section of road from Building L (Maintenance) to Parking Lot 2 was named Tuckahoe Road, for Wild Tuckahoe which grows from the roots of certain trees and used as flour by the Lanape in Upper Township, Cape May to make cornbread. The main road through campus from Tuckahoe Road to the Black Horse Pike is Absegami Road, named for the Atlantic County subdivision of the Lenni Lenape. From the Atlantic County Historical Society and the Westfield, New Jersey High School history of New Jersey site http://westfieldnj.com/whs/history/Counties/AtlanticCounty/absecon.htm, and from the Atlantic Community College Board of Trustees minutes of the meeting on April 26, 1966.
Frankie Williams Way was named for State Police Trooper Frankie Williams who died responding to a call about an erratic driver on Route 55 in Millville on December 5, 2016. Williams had enlisted in the New Jersey State Police just 10 months before the accident and served with the Woodstown and Port Norris Stations, while living in Egg Harbor Township.
William J. Spangler, library director from 1966 to 1984, established an endowment for the college to be used to beautify the campuses. The proceeds from the fund are used annually to purchase flowering plants, trees, and other plantings. In addition, funds are used to enhance public areas with artwork, sculptures, and walkways. Projects to beautify the campus have included new plantings outside of Daniel Leeds and Richard Somers Halls, patios and tables at the entrances to Building D, the Cat sculpture in the library, art gallery pedestals, the Japanese garden by the Academy of Culinary Arts, Building M, butterfly bushes in the courtyard outside of Building H, the Ruth Lee Health Building, and trees in front of Parking Lot 4.
Plaque recognizing the contributions of William Spangler, dedicated April 26, 2022.
A Building (Simon Lake Hall) : Classrooms and faculty offices
A1 Thomas E. Brown Greenhouses
B1 Building (Silas Morse Hall): Faculty Offices
B2 Building (Charles B. Boyer Hall): Innovation Center - eSports Lounge
Esports Subject Guide
Cybersecurity Subject Guide
B3 Building (Samuel Richards Hall): Classrooms
C Building (Walter Edge Hall) : Cafeteria, dance studio, and the Walter Edge Theater
D1 Building (Daniel Leeds Hall) : William J. Spangler Library including tutoring rooms, study rooms, computer labs, and the Atlantic Cape Art Gallery
D2 (Richard Somers Hall) : Administration offices
E Building (Jonathan Pitney Hall) : Gymnasium
F Building (Central Power Plant)
G Building (Student Center) : Classrooms, student services, student lounge, game room, and radio station
H Building (Ruth Lee Allied Health Building) : Classrooms, labs
I Building (Roads and Grounds)
J Building (Administration)
K Building
L Building
M Building : Academy of Culinary Arts
Q Building (Rutgers University)
R Building
S Building (S.T.E.M.) : Classrooms, science labs, air traffic control simulation lab
T Building
U Building (Security and Public Safety)