President's House | |
Location | Princeton, New Jersey |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°20′57″N74°39′37″W / 40.34914372914301°N 74.66019829757528°W |
Built | 1756 |
Architect | Robert Smith |
Architectural style | Georgian |
Part of | Princeton Historic District (ID75001143) |
NRHP reference No. | 71000504 |
NJRHP No. | 1740 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | July 17, 1971 [2] |
Designated NHL | July 17, 1971 [3] |
Designated CP | June 27, 1975 |
Designated NJRHP | July 17, 1971 |
The President's House, also known as the John Maclean House, or simply the Maclean House, in Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, was built to serve as the home of the President of the College of New Jersey, which later became Princeton University. It was completed in 1756, the same year as Nassau Hall. [4] United States Founding Father John Witherspoon lived here from 1768 through 1779, during which time he served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. George Washington occupied Maclean House in January 1777, during the Battle of Princeton and in 1783 while Congress met in Nassau Hall. [3]
It now serves as the home of the Alumni Association of Princeton University and houses 35 staff, hosts many alumni functions and showcases Princeton memorabilia and a library of Princetoniana. [5]
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971. [3] [6]
At least five Princeton presidents who occupied the President's House between 1756 and 1822 owned slaves who lived and worked in the house. [7] These presidents included Aaron Burr Sr., Jonathan Edwards, Samuel Finley, Samuel Stanhope Smith, and Ashbel Green. Slaves lived in the quarters on the second floor of the detached "Kitchen House" to the rear of the main building. [7]
After his death in 1766, Samuel Finley's personal property was auctioned off at the President's House. [8] [9] Advertisements for the estate sale described "two negro women, a negro man, and three Negro children" to be sold alongside livestock, furniture, and books. [7] [8] [9]
In 2017, the Princeton University Art Museum, in collaboration with the Princeton & Slavery Project, commissioned American artist Titus Kaphar to create a public art piece in front of the President's House. [10] [11] His sculpture Impressions of Liberty, unveiled in November 2017, depicts the face of Samuel Finley in relief, along with the figures of enslaved people sold at the house after his death. [10] [11]
The President's House is the first stop on the Stories of African American Life at Princeton walking tour. The house also appears on the Princeton University Art Museum's mobile tour of Art and Slavery at Princeton. [12] [13]
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.
John Witherspoon was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense realism, and while president of the College of New Jersey became an influential figure in the development of the United States' national character. Politically active, Witherspoon was a delegate from New Jersey to the Second Continental Congress and a signatory to the July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence. He was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration. Later, he signed the Articles of Confederation and supported ratification of the Constitution of the United States.
Nassau Hall, colloquially known as Old Nassau, is the oldest building at Princeton University in Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. In 1783 it served as the United States Capitol building for four months. At the time it was built in 1756, Nassau Hall was the largest building in colonial New Jersey and the largest academic building in the American colonies.
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."
Samuel Stanhope Smith was a Presbyterian minister, founding president of Hampden–Sydney College and the seventh president of the College of New Jersey from 1795 to 1812. His stormy career ended in his forced resignation. His words – "If reason and charity cannot promote the cause of truth and piety, I cannot see how it should ever flourish under the withering fires of wrath and strife" – epitomize his career.
The Cold Spring Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian church in Cold Spring, New Jersey, founded in 1714.
Oatlands Historic House and Gardens is an estate located in Leesburg, Virginia, United States. Oatlands is operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark. The Oatlands property is composed of the main mansion and 415 acres of farmland and gardens. The house is judged one of the finest Federal period country estate houses in the nation.
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Samuel Davies was an evangelist and Presbyterian minister. Davies ministered in Hanover County from 1748 to 1759, followed by a term as the fourth President of Princeton University, then known as the College of New Jersey, from 1759 to 1761. Davies was one of the first non-Anglican preachers in Virginia, and one of earliest missionaries to slaves in the Thirteen Colonies. He was a strong advocate for religious freedom, and helped to institute significant religious reforms in the colony. Davies was also a prolific writer, authoring several hymns and publishing a book of poetry. He advocated for providing religious education to slaves.
The Old Barracks Museum, also known just as the Old Barracks, is a historic building located at 101 Barracks Street in Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey. Built in 1758 to house soldiers of the British Army, it is the only remaining colonial barracks in the state and is one of the few tangible surviving elements of the 1776 Battle of Trenton. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 25, 1971 and listed as a National Historic Landmark on November 28, 1972, for its significance in military history. It is now a state-run historic site and museum.
The Princeton Battlefield in Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, is where American and British troops fought each other on January 3, 1777, in the Battle of Princeton during the American Revolutionary War. The battle ended when the British soldiers in Nassau Hall surrendered. This success, following those at the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, and the Battle of the Assunpink Creek the day before, helped improve American morale.
The William Trent House is a historic building located at 15 Market Street in Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey. It was built in 1719 for William Trent and is the oldest building in Trenton. He founded the eponymous town, which became the capital of New Jersey. It has served as the residence for three Governors. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places and listed as a National Historic Landmark on April 15, 1970, for its significance as an example of Early Georgian Colonial architecture.
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The Douglass House is a historic house currently located at the corner of Front and Montgomery Streets in the Mill Hill neighborhood of the city Trenton in Mercer County, New Jersey. It served as George Washington's headquarters prior to the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777. Listed as the Bright–Douglass House, it was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1936, when the house was located in Mahlon Stacy Park near the Delaware River. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1970, for its significance in architecture, military and social history. It was added as a contributing property to the Mill Hill Historic District on December 12, 1977.
The Princeton Historic District is a 370-acre (150 ha) historic district located in Princeton, New Jersey that was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It stretches from Marquand Park in the west to the Eating Clubs in the East, from the Princeton Cemetery in the north to the Graduate College in the south. The district encompasses the core parts of the campuses of the Princeton Theological Seminary and Princeton University. It also includes the business district centered on Nassau Street and many historic homes, both mansions in the western section and more humble dwellings in the Witherspoon/Jackson neighborhood. Notable churches within the district include Nassau Presbyterian Church, Trinity Episcopal, Nassau Christian Center, and the Princeton University Chapel. The district is home to seven of Princeton's nine, and New Jersey's fifty-eight, National Historic Landmarks, the largest concentration of such sites in the state.
The Oldwick Historic District is a 170-acre (69 ha) national historic district located along County Route 517, Church, King, James, Joliet and William streets in the Oldwick section of Tewksbury Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 14, 1988, for its significance in architecture, commerce, and industry. It includes 127 contributing buildings, 12 contributing structures, and one contributing site. The Kline Farmhouse, listed individually in 1984, also contributes to the district. Many of the buildings were documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey.
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