City of Princeton history

By 1815 the number of students had gradually increased and work began on a building for the seminary.

In 1816 the house was purchased by Colonel Erkuries Beatty.

The Marquis de Lafayette is known to have spent the night of July 15 in the house on his tour of the United States in 1825.

Princeton has a rich history of being on the right path and its prosperity has been intertwined with transportation since its first settlers arrived in the early 1830’s.

The original settlement was named Greenfield and later named Princeton after its first survey in 1832.

Organized by Samson Peters, a preacher in the Trenton AME Church, the congregation met in a frame house on Witherspoon Street until 1835 when the first church building was constructed.

James Vandeventer, merchant, and longtime Princeton resident, purchased the house and moved it to its present location in 1875.

Built by Robert Smith as a residence for the presidents of the College, it was used as such until the acquisition of Prospect House in 1878.

Born in this house in 1898 at 110 Witherspoon Street, Paul Robeson became one of Princeton’s best known residents.

Palmer’s plan, which he announced in February of 1929, called for the creation of a new municipal center in the heart of Princeton.

In 1930 he agreed to spend part of each year at the newly founded Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, an academic center where scholars could pursue their research free from the pressures of teaching.

Princeton's central business district, across Nassau Street from Princeton University, is the heart of the Princeton Region; and Palmer Square, built in 1936, is a focal point for leisurely strolling, shopping, and dining.

Forrestal Campus established on United States Route 1; “Project Matterhorn” research in nuclear fusion begins there; in 1961 its name is changed to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)

The house was the private residence of three owners, Charles Smith Olden, Moses Taylor Pyne, and Abram Spanel, before being purchased by the State of New Jersey in 1966.

Intended for use as the official residence of the Governor, it was not until 1981 that funds were raised by the New Jersey Historical Society to begin to accomplish the task.

University Center for the Creative and Performing Arts established (renamed the Lewis Center for the Arts in 2007), with a mandate to enhance the role of the arts in the University and community