Council members want entire length of road in Lawrence included in application for state and national Register of Historic Places
By: Lea Kahn
History and the historic King’s Highway — also known as Route 206 — do not stop at Franklin Corner Road, according to Deputy Mayor Doris Weisberg and Township Councilman Rick Miller.
The two Township Council members are upset the King’s Highway Ad Hoc Committee has not included the southern portion of Route 206 in the nomination for inclusion on both the state and national Register of Historic Places.
The 10-mile stretch of Route 206 and Route 27 proposed for nomination starts at Franklin Corner Road in Lawrence Township and ends at Raymond Road in South Brunswick Township. It includes Main Street in the village of Lawrenceville.
The five towns that line Route 206 and Route 27 — Lawrence, Princeton Borough, Princeton Township, Franklin and South Brunswick townships — have been asked to contribute $3,000 each to cover the cost of preparing the nomination.
Deputy Mayor Weisberg and Mr. Miller said money is not the issue. Although Township Council has been reluctant to contribute money because only a portion of Route 206 has been included, the council might be willing to put up more money if the rest of Route 206 is added, they said. In the meantime, some residents have indicated they would pick up the township’s tab.
But such gestures do not erase the concerns.
“We are a township. The lower part is as historic as the north part,” Deputy Mayor Weisberg said. “This is a historic road that goes straight to Trenton. History doesn’t stop at Franklin Corner Road. It goes right down to where we fire the cannon (at Notre Dame High School during the annual Col. Hand march to Trenton).
“There has always been this mythical north/south line (separating northern Lawrence Township from southern Lawrence Township). To do something to reinforce it makes my blood boil. For some reason, an arbitrary line was drawn,” she said.
Route 206 is a connector between Princeton and Trenton, both of which were the sites of historic battles during the American Revolutionary War, Deputy Mayor Weisberg said. Gen. George Washington’s troops marched along Route 206, she added.
Although some folks have pointed to the 18th-century houses that line Route 206 north toward Princeton, it is the road itself that is historic — not the houses that “adorn” it, Deputy Mayor Weisberg said.
Councilman Rick Miller, liaison to the township’s Historic Preservation Advisory Committee (HPAC), also is unhappy the King’s Highway Ad Hoc Committee has not included all of Route 206 in the nomination.
The HPAC supported the nomination of the King’s Highway in a 1997 resolution, Mr. Miller said. The resolution meant for the entire road to be included, he said, but the King’s Highway Ad Hoc Committee “ignored” the HPAC resolution.
“It was not politically expedient for the King’s Highway Committee to include more of Lawrence,” Mr. Miller said. “They got what they wanted, and they don’t care about the true integrity of the road or its historic significance.
“Route 206 from Franklin Corner Road to Fackler Road already is in a historic district. Only a very little piece from Bristol-Myers Squibb to the Princeton Township line will be helped (by being included in the state and national Registers of Historic Places). It does a lot for Princeton, but not for Lawrence,” he said.
Although some historic preservationists have said that the southern portion of Route 206 should not be included because the roadway has been altered, Mr. Miller said that Route 206 near the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. entrance has been “dramatically” altered.
“I think the King’s Highway Committee people have not opened their eyes,” Mr. Miller said, pointing to the improvements and road widening that has taken place at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. entrance.
The councilman said he favors undertaking a “Phase 2” study of the King’s Highway for listing on the state and national registers. He said he would like Trenton and the towns north of Kingston to participate and make all of the King’s Highway a “true, historic roadway.” It is the roadway, not the houses that line it, that is historic, he added.
Mayor Gregory Puliti said he would like to see all of Route 206 included in the nomination. He also cited the annual Col. Hand march, which commemorates American patriot Col. Edward Hand’s holding action against the British troops after the Battle of Trenton.
“I’m not opposing (the nomination being prepared by the King’s Highway Ad Hoc Commission), if the citizens want to pay for it. If public money is being used, then I would like to see the rest of Route 206 included,” Mayor Puliti said.
If the King’s Highway Ad Hoc Committee’s effort succeeds, it will mark the first time that a road has been nominated as a primary historic resource in New Jersey, according to Princeton Township officials who are leading the effort. There are 73 roads in 36 states listed on the state and national Registers of Historic Places.
The first Colonial road in New Jersey, the King’s Highway/Route 206 was an important stagecoach route through the state, and it was the first postal route across the state. It became part of the Lincoln Highway, which was the first transcontinental road in the United States.
According to Princeton Township officials, preservation of the King’s Highway and its scenic views has become increasingly important over the past few years — especially since traffic has increased and road improvements have threatened to change its historic character.