By Katie Wagner / Staff Writer
The Regional Planning Board of Princeton on Thursday night unanimously granted a waiver to the Historical Society of Princeton for the encroachment of a stream corridor that the Historical Society needed to implement its minor site plan for its Updike Farm facility on Quaker Road.
The Princeton Township Historic Preservation Commission in November approved the minor site plan, which calls for a new service driveway, a 24-space parking lot and a stormwater retention basin on the front 300 yards of the approximately 6-acre Updike Farm on Quaker Road.
The farm, which is located in the township’s Princeton Battlefield-Stony Brook Settlement Historic District, was acquired by the Historical Society for $1.25 million in April 2004. The society plans to relocate its administrative offices from its museum on Nassau Street to the farm and expand exhibit space in the museum. The farm includes a four-bedroom Federal style farmhouse, a large barn, a windmill and some sheds and garages.
The society will begin renovating the farmhouse this year, said Executive Director Erin Dougherty.
It previously presented its full conceptual plan for the property, which includes developing the back of the farm by renovating a large barn and constructing a new building. These proposals will need to be formally presented to the board as a major site plan application, Ms. Dougherty said.
The farm may have served as a cut-through for Gen. George Washington’s troops on their way to the Battle of Princeton. It was originally owned by the Clarke family and purchased by George Updike in the 1800s. The Historical Society bought the property from family heirs of Mr. Updike with the help of a $400,000 grant from New Jersey Green Acres and a $191,250 grant from Mercer County Open Space Preservation Board. The remainder of the $1.25 million purchase price was financed with loans.
