Princeton Battlefield
Princeton Battlefield
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A map of the boundaries of the historic district, covering the battlefield, Stony Brook village, and surrounding farms
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Location | Princeton, New Jersey |
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Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Area | 681 acres (276 ha) |
Part of | Princeton Battlefield / Stony Brook Village Historic District (#89000761) |
NRHP Reference # | 66000466[1] |
NJRHP # | 1751, 1752, 1753[2] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[1] |
Designated NHL | January 20, 1961[3] |
Designated NJRHP | May 27, 1971; May 12, 1972; April 10, 1989 |
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.[4][5] This success, shortly after Washington's crossing of the Delaware River and capturing the troops at the Old Barracks in Trenton, helped improve American morale.
Part of the battlefield is now a state park, while other portions remain under threat of development.[1]
Contents
Princeton Battlefield State Park
Princeton Battlefield State Park is a 681-acre (276 ha) state park located in Princeton. The park preserves part of the site of the Battle of Princeton (January 3, 1777), which was a victory for General George Washington's revolutionary forces over British forces. The park is maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, and is located on Mercer Road (Princeton Pike), about 1.5 miles south of Princeton University and 3.8 miles north of Interstate 295/95.[6]
Highlights of the park include the Princeton Battlefield site; the Clarke House Museum; the site of the Mercer Oak, a tree which stood in the middle of the battlefield until recent years; the Ionic Colonnade designed by Thomas U. Walter (fourth Architect of the U.S. Capitol); and a stone patio marking the grave of 21 British and 15 American soldiers killed in the battle. A poem was written for the site by Alfred Noyes, Poet Laureate of England.
The park's hiking trails lead to the Delaware and Raritan Canal and to the 588-acre (2 km2) adjacent property of the Institute for Advanced Study.
The Princeton Battle Monument is located in town near Princeton University on non-adjacent park property at Stockton Street and Bayard Lane.
Clarke House Museum
The Thomas Clarke House Museum was built in 1772 by the third generation of Quakers at Stony Brook. The house is furnished in the Revolutionary period and contains military artifacts and battle exhibits, as well as a research library.
During the battle Hugh Mercer was brought to the Clarke House and treated unsuccessfully by Benjamin Rush.
Princeton Battlefield / Stony Brook Village Historic District
In 1989 the National Register of Historic Places designation of the Battlefield was expanded to form the Princeton Battlefield / Stony Brook Village Historic District.[7] Princeton's original settlers were Quaker farmers along the Stony Brook immediately to the south and west of the battlefield. The Stony Brook Meeting House and Cemetery was well established at the time of the revolution and in full sight of the battle. The meetinghouse and associated farms are part of the contiguous preserved area that includes the battlefield.[8]
Gallery
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Historic American Buildings Survey Nathaniel R. Ewan, Photographer April 24, 1936 WEST ELEVATION - Stony Brook Quaker Meetinghouse, Quaker Road, Princeton, Mercer County, NJ HABS NJ,11-PRINT,5-1.tif
The Stony Brook meetinghouse in 1936 from the Historic American Buildings Survey
See also
References
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- ↑ New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection, Trenton, NJ (2014). "Princeton Battlefield State Park."
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Princeton Battlefield. |
- Pages with broken file links
- Historic districts in Mercer County, New Jersey
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- American Revolutionary War sites
- National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey
- Historic districts in Princeton, New Jersey
- State parks of New Jersey
- Parks in Mercer County, New Jersey
- Museums in Princeton, New Jersey
- American Revolutionary War museums in New Jersey
- Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums
- National Register of Historic Places in Mercer County, New Jersey
- New Jersey Register of Historic Places