Lawrence officially opened a new pedestrian and bicycle connection this month, providing walkers, joggers and cyclists better access to the Delaware & Raritan Canal towpath near the historic Brearley House.
The new connector just behind the Brearley House will eventually link a nearby segment of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail and the Brandywine Princeton Pike Corporate Center to the towpath.
The new section allows easier access to the towpath from Meadow Road, the drive leading to the Brearley House. Work on the Lawrence Hopewell Trail in the old nursery section of the nearby Dyson Tract is expected to be completed in October.
”Lawrence Township deserves much credit for sticking to its schedule and getting these important parts of the trail done before year’s end,” said LHT Co-President Eleanor Horne, Educational Testing Service vice President and resident of Lawrence Township. “We are getting closer to the day when cyclists on the LHT will easily jump on the D&R Towpath and, depending on which way they turn, go all the way to Maine or Florida on finished trail.”
Ms. Horne stated that the new connector feeds into the existing Brearley-Great Meadow Trail, which offers users a direct route to the towpath.
The trail in Dyson’s old nursery will form a loop constructed of environmentally compatible stone dust. A small parking lot will also be developed in the nursery so families can access the area without having to cross busy roadways on bicycles. No trail work is slated in the near term on the northern portion of the Dyson Tract closest to Province Line Road because a study is being conducted on dredge fill deposited there from Colonial Lake. The township is also reviewing ways to make the current bicycle route along Princeton Pike safer for users.
”We are grateful to Mayor Holmes, Lawrence Councilwoman and LHT liaison Pam Mount, the other members of council, Manager Rich Krawczun, the Lawrence Township Public Works Department and the Lawrence Historical Society – which takes such great care of Brearley House – for cooperating and working together to make this happen,” said Lawrence Hopewell Trail Co-President Becky Taylor in a statement. “And we cannot forget the generosity of Bristol-Myers Squibb for underwriting the LHT work in Dyson and also the help we are receiving from Brandywine.”
Ms. Taylor said Lawrence Township was awarded a $200,000 grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb last January to address the Dyson Tract segment and help complete the multi-purpose Lawrence Hopewell Trail bicycle and pedestrian path linking Hopewell and Lawrence townships. She also praised Brandywine for agreeing to build a portion of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail through its Princeton Pike Corporate Center that will tie into the new connector.
The Corporate Center leg of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail is envisioned to incorporate the connection to the towpath and access to the historic Brearley House, the Georgian Quaker farmhouse built in 1761 for James Brearley. Members of the Brearley family, distinguished citizens of New Jersey before and after the Revolution, lived in the house for over 150 years. In 1978, Lawrence Township bought the property and then worked with the Lawrence Historical Society to restore the house.
Since joining forces in 2002 with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Educational Testing Service, Hopewell Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Department of Transportation, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and a wide array of local organizations to form the nonprofit Lawrence Hopewell Trail, Lawrence Township has been a partner in the design and promotion of the trail and has finished the following segments:
• Lawrence Village Park — Paved trail leads from Yeger Drive through the park, down Craven Lane and through the Village of Lawrenceville to the corner of Gordon Avenue and Main Street (Route 206).
• Keefe Road Segment — Paved 600 feet segment that links Village Park with Mercer County Park Northwest, where trail segments can now be accessed by the public.
• Lawrence Main Street Segment —Trail takes existing streets and roads to the Lawrenceville School.
Other partners have completed two major segments of the trail in Lawrence Township. They are: Lawrenceville School – The trail winds through the campus of this private school to an exit onto Lewisville Road in Lawrence Township. Educational Testing Service– Residents and visitors can enjoy about 1.2 miles of paved trail through the park-like campus off of Rosedale Road.

