Slated to be focal point of land preservation.
By: David Campbell
Visitors to Greenway Meadows Park off Rosedale Road may have noticed that the historic barn nearby has undergone some radical changes of late.
These days the barn, which has been a part of the Princeton area’s once largely agricultural landscape for more than a century, is looking more like a beach house on stilts than what it will reopen as, hopefully, sometime this fall: the Johnson Education Center.
The barn is being renovated by regional land trust Delaware & Raritan Greenway with an eye toward preserving the structure’s historic character. The center will retain many of its original structural details including its hand-hewn timber frame.
The barn was originally built in the shape of a "U." The center courtyard featured a corn crib and watering trough supplied by a spring. The original structure had space for 18 cows, eight calf pens and a bull pen; standing stalls for 13 work horses; and eight box stalls for mares and foals. The hayloft had room to store about 200 tons of hay, the Greenway said.
Architect Jeremiah Ford III of Ford 3 Architects LLC is the designer, and E. Allen Reeves Inc. is the project’s contractor.
When completed, the center will serve as a focal point for land preservation in the state. Through it, the Greenway will offer programs and resources to municipalities, grassroots organizations and others to assist them in protecting and managing land. It will also serve as the Greenway’s new home. The land trust currently maintains offices at 1327 Canal Road in Franklin.
The groundbreaking kicking off renovations on the historic barn took place last fall. At a news conference on Wednesday, Greenway Executive Director Linda Mead said, "Our goal is land preservation," noting that the new educational center will help leverage more conservation deals and train people to be stewards of the lands they preserve.
"We look forward to being a good neighbor and becoming a valued partner in the Princeton community," Ms. Mead said.
Princeton Township Mayor Phyllis Marchand, who attended the press event, said, "To think that in just a couple of months this is hopefully going to be opened is just wonderful." Mr. Ford said: "I’m willing to predict this is going to become one of the most popular facilities in Princeton."
The barn is located on land that was once part of Edgerstone Farms, later the Robert Wood Johnson estate. The Johnson Education Center was named through a generous contribution from members of the Johnson family.
The roughly 60-acre property, now known as Greenway Meadows Park, was preserved in 2001 at a cost of $7.4 million. The Greenway spearheaded the land-preservation partnership, which included the state, Mercer County, the township and Princeton Borough and numerous private donors.
The Greenway completed the first phase of the $3.5 million capital campaign for the education center in October 2004, raising $2.7 million including the gift from the Johnson family. A campaign to complete the project will be launched in late 2005, with several named gift opportunities available, the Greenway said.

