Morven | |
Location | 55 Stockton Street, Princeton, New Jersey, United States |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°20′50.97″N74°40′1.03″W / 40.3474917°N 74.6669528°W |
Built | 1730 |
Architectural style | Georgian |
Part of | Princeton Historic District (ID75001143) |
NRHP reference No. | 71000503 [1] |
NJRHP No. | 1738 [2] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | January 25, 1971 |
Designated NHL | July 17, 1971 [3] |
Designated NJRHP | September 11, 1970 |
Morven, known officially as Morven Museum & Garden, is an historic 18th-century house at 55 Stockton Street in Princeton, New Jersey. It served as the governor's mansion for nearly four decades in the 20th century, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark for its association with Richard Stockton (1730-1781), a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.
In 1701, Richard Stockton was granted 5,500-acre (2,200 ha) by William Penn which included the land where Morven now stands. In the 1750s, his grandson, also named Richard Stockton, had 150 acres (61 ha) on which he built the house that his wife Annis Boudinot Stockton named "Morven", after a mythical Gaelic kingdom in Ireland.
Commodore Robert Stockton (1795–1866) later lived in the house that was built on the property. Robert Wood Johnson II, chairman of the company Johnson & Johnson, leased the home after Bayard Stockton died during 1932. [4]
The house remained in Stockton family ownership until 1944, when it was purchased by New Jersey Governor Walter E. Edge. The sale was subject to the condition that Morven would be given to the state of New Jersey within two years of Edge's death. [5] Edge transferred ownership of Morven to the state during 1954, several years before he died. [6]
Morven served as New Jersey's governor's mansion from 1944 until 1981, when it was donated to the New Jersey Historical Society. [7] In 1982, Drumthwacket was designated as New Jersey Governor's Mansion and converted to the new official residence. [7] Morven underwent research and restoration, and was opened as a museum in 2004.
Morven is a 2-1/2 story brick building, with a gabled roof and end chimneys. Two-story wings extend to either side of the main block. A Greek Revival porch extends across the center three bays of the main block's five-bay facade. The interior has an atypical central hall plan. The staircase, normally in the center hall in these plans, is instead placed crosswise in a rear hall which also provides access to the wings. To the right of the central hall is the Gold Room, a parlor, while the main dining room is on the left. The left wing housed servant quarters and the kitchen, while the right wing housed the library and a family room. The interior styling is consistent with late 18th and early 19th century architectural fashions. [8]
Princeton is a borough in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of which are now defunct. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 30,681, an increase of 2,109 (+7.4%) from the 2010 census combined count of 28,572. In the 2000 census, the two communities had a total population of 30,230, with 14,203 residents in the borough and 16,027 in the township.
Richard Stockton was an American Founding Father, lawyer, jurist, legislator, and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Richard Stockton was a lawyer who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate and later served in the United States House of Representatives. He was the first U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, holding that office from 1789 to 1791, and ran unsuccessfully for vice president in the 1820 election as a member of the Federalist Party, which did not nominate a candidate for president.
Aaron Burr Sr. was a Presbyterian minister and college educator in colonial America. He was a founder of the College of New Jersey and the father of Aaron Burr (1756–1836), the third vice president of the United States.
Robert Field Stockton was a United States Navy commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-powered navy. Stockton was from a notable political family and also served as a U.S. senator from New Jersey.
Drumthwacket is the official residence of the governor of the U.S. state of New Jersey at 354 Stockton Street in Princeton, New Jersey, near the state capital of Trenton.
Annis Boudinot Stockton was an American poet, one of the first women to be published in the Thirteen Colonies. Living in Princeton, New Jersey, Stockton wrote and published her poems in leading newspapers and magazines of the day and was part of a Mid-Atlantic writing circle. She was the author of more than 120 works, but it was not until 1985, when a manuscript copybook long held privately was given to the New Jersey Historical Society, that most of them became known. Before that, she was known to have written 40 poems. The copybook contained poems that tripled the amount of her known work. A complete collection of her works was published in 1995. She is featured in the permanent exhibit at Morven Museum & Garden in Princeton, NJ.
Princeton Cemetery is located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the Nassau Presbyterian Church. In his 1878 history of Princeton, New Jersey, John F. Hageman refers to the cemetery as "The Westminster Abbey of the United States."
John Potter Stockton was a New Jersey politician who served in the United States Senate as a Democrat. He was New Jersey Attorney General for twenty years, and served as United States Minister to the Papal States from 1858 to 1861.
Westland Mansion was the home of Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, from his retirement in 1897 until his death in 1908. The house is located in the historic district of Princeton, New Jersey, and is a National Historic Landmark also known as the Grover Cleveland Home.
Alfred Hoyt Bill (1879–1964) was an American writer. His non-fiction mostly dealt with American history while his fiction was set in different periods of British and French history.
Stony Brook Meeting House and Cemetery are historic Quaker sites located at the Stony Brook Settlement at the intersection of Princeton Pike/Mercer Road and Quaker Road in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The first Europeans to settle in the Princeton area were six Quaker families who built their homes near the Stony Brook around 1696. In 1709 Benjamin Clark deeded nine and three-fifths acres in trust to Richard Stockton and others to establish a Friends meeting house and burial ground.
Brick Academy is the nickname for a Federal-style brick building built in 1809 to meet the growing needs of the Basking Ridge Classical School located in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. That school existed prior to 1799, at least 10 years before the construction of this building in 1809. The brick building was constructed for the elementary school run by local Presbyterian pastor, Rev. Robert Finley. This was about halfway through Rev. Finley's time at Basking Ridge. During the time he ran the school, attendance grew from fewer than 12 to an average near 25 students, and sometimes as high as 40 students. Students came from near & far, mostly from prominent families. The school was a high end preparatory school for boys who generally continued on to the College of New Jersey, later, known as Princeton University. In 1817, Rev. Finley quit Basking Ridge to briefly become president of the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. By 1828, the "Brick Academy" corporation was formed and the building continued use as a private, then public school in 1853, before being used for other purposes.
Lucius Horatio Stockton was an American lawyer who served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1798 to 1801. His rise to this position was relatively swift: he was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1791; he became counsellor in 1794; and in April 1797, he was appointed sergeant-at-law.
Samuel Witham Stockton was an American lawyer, diplomat and public servant who served as Secretary of State of New Jersey from 1794 to 1795.
The Belcher–Ogden Mansion; Benjamin Price House; and Price–Brittan House Historic District is a 0.75-acre (3,000 m2) historic district located on East Jersey Street in Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 28, 1986, for its significance in architecture and exploration/settlement. It is located near Boxwood Hall and is in the heart of colonial Elizabethtown, the first English-speaking settlement in what became the Province of New Jersey.
The King's Highway Historic District covers the portions of US 206 and Route 27 in New Jersey that connect Lawrenceville with Kingston through Princeton. This historic roadway dates to colonial times and was a portion of the King's Highway that was laid out by order of Charles II of England to connect Boston with Charleston. It is lined with many institutions and sites that have played an important role in the History of the United States, including Princeton University and the Princeton Theological Seminary.
The Walter Lowrie House is located at 83 Stockton Street in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, and is the official residence of the president of Princeton University. The mansion was built in 1845 by Commodore Robert F. Stockton for his son John P. Stockton, both senators from New Jersey. Prior to being a senator the younger Stockton had served as the Attorney General of New Jersey and later as ambassador to Italy. Commodore Stockton was the son of Richard Stockton, another New Jersey Senator, and grandson of Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The latter Richard Stockton built Morven in the 18th century, which sits a short distance up Stockton Street. His grandfather's home, known as the "Barracks" is found at 32 Edgehill Street, the street which fronts the gate to the Walter Lowrie House property. It was built in the 17th century and gained its name from having served as a barracks in either the French and Indian War or the American Revolution.
Richard Stockton was a justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi from 1822 to 1825, and Attorney General of Mississippi from 1825 to 1827.
The John Reading Farmstead is a historic house located at 76 River Road by the South Branch Raritan River in Raritan Township, near Flemington in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It was built in 1760 for John Reading, former governor of the Province of New Jersey, 1757–1758. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 21, 1978, for its significance in agriculture, architecture, politics, and exploration/settlement.