Approximately half the U.S. presidents have visited
By: Rachel Silverman
You might not know it, but Princeton has long been a hotbed of presidential activity.
Roughly half the U.S. presidents have visited Princeton at one time or another. Nineteen received honorary degrees from Princeton University and two Woodrow Wilson and Grover Cleveland lived here for extended periods of time.
An ongoing exhibit at the Historical Society of Princeton, "U.S. Presidents: Famous Faces in Princeton Places," showcases this rich political legacy.
According to curator Eileen Morales, the exhibit was devised two years ago by the museum’s five-member steering committee.
"Once we realized so many presidents came through town, it seemed like a really ripe subject for us," she said.
The extensive research that led to creation of the two-room exhibit included contacts with President Cleveland’s birthplace, the U.S. Senate and the Massachusetts Historical Society. The staff also conducted extensive research at Princeton University’s Mudd Manuscript Library.
Ms. Morales said U.S. presidents have come to Princeton for a variety of reasons.
Some early presidents, including George Washington, were involved in landmark Revolutionary War events the Battle of Princeton, for example. Others attended the Continental Congress in Nassau Hall, when Princeton briefly served as the country’s capital.
These early events set the stage for an increasingly important Princeton community.
"In the early years, Princeton was a really important stopping point between New York and Philadelphia," Ms. Morales explained. "It was a commercially vibrant town."
Thomas Jefferson passed through Princeton on several occasions, often taking breakfast or visiting the barber. John Adams attended a tavern in "Prince Town," according to a 1774 diary entry exhibited in the museum.
In later years, the university became a big draw for U.S. presidents.
Theodore Roosevelt attended an Army-Navy football game on the campus in December 1905. He sat with Navy midshipmen in the first half of the game, and Army cadets in the second half.
Woodrow Wilson was a student at the university, and then went on to serve as a professor there. His Princeton tenure continued as university president, taking up residence in Prospect House.
Grover Cleveland also spent many years in town, having retired here from the White House. A newspaper clipping in the museum illustrates the town’s reaction to the news.
"The announcement that President Cleveland has decided upon Princeton as his permanent home after the expiration of his term of office has set this ancient village agog with excitement," the newspaper reports.
John F. Kennedy, who briefly attended the university, revealed his reasons for applying in an admissions essay.
"Ever since I entered school, I have had the ambition to enter Princeton," he wrote in handwritten cursive. "To be a ‘Princeton Man’ is indeed an enviable distinction."
Under the future profession category, the young John Kennedy listed "banking" as his preferred choice. And, of course, he later transferred to Harvard.
Both Lyndon Johnson and George H.W. Bush were met by protests during their Princeton visits. During these times, residents used the presidential stopovers to voice opposition to wars in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, respectively.
In more recent history, Bill Clinton visited the campus twice, lunching at the Nassau Inn and slipping into Starbucks on Nassau Street.
Ms. Morales said museum-goers have responded well to these snapshots of Princeton’s presidential past.
"The reaction I’ve been hearing from people is that they’re surprised so many have come through, that it’s been such a Mecca, especially considering it’s such a small town," she said.
The exhibit, in Bainbridge House next to the Garden Theater on Nassau Street, is free and will continue through the summer.
At 2 p.m. Dec. 10, exhibit curator Kristen Turner will lead a free gallery talk through the collection.

