By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Staff Writer
While Princeton historic organizations celebrated the 350th anniversary of the founding of New Jersey with free events for the pubic on Saturday, local historians reflected on the dire need to preserve the state’s heritage for posterity.
As the 43rd Royal Artillery demonstrated why artillery was so important in the Battle of Princeton at the Princeton Battlefield, Jerry Hurwitz, president of the Princeton Battlefield Society, spoke about the fight to prevent the Institute for Advanced Study from building faculty housing.
"What it means (to participate in the 350th anniversary) is trying to save one of the most important battlefields in American history," Mr. Hurwitz said.
The Princeton Battlefield State Park is located at 500 Mercer Road and is the site of one of the fiercest battles of the American Revolutionary War. On Jan. 3, 1777, Gen. George Washington gained his first field victory over British regulars there. Today, the 75-acre park preserves a portion of the battlefield but in the lands adjacent to the state park are numerous artifacts.
The Institute for Advanced Study has proposed developing an area that the Battlefield Society considers the site of Washington’s counterattack at the Battle of Princeton, according to Mr. Hurwitz.
The state park is also home to the Thomas Clarke House, which was built circa 1772, and is in need of repair, both architecturally and structurally. The Clarkes, third generation of Quakers at Stony Brook, cared for the wounded of both sides of the war there, including Brigadier General Hugh Mercer, who died in the home.
The house is now furnished in the Revolutionary period and also contains several rooms of military artifacts and exhibits and a research library of 18th century military, political, and domestic subjects, according to Bill Marsh, a trustee of the Princeton Battlefield Society.
Mr. Marsh was collecting donations to preserve the Clarke House during the events on Saturday. He said the society needs to raise $340,000 to $500,000 for the restoration.
"Not only to repair the house and to buy new shutters but to do some archeology work and plant a Revolutionary War garden," he said.
For the members of the Princeton Battlefield Society, there is no replacement for this witnesses to the Battle of Princeton. By experiencing the house as it was constructed, visitors gain an appreciation for what it was like on that cold winter’s day at dawn, when suddenly an army began to march by the Clarke House and engage in a major battle.
"Where during that the first phase of that battle Mercer’s Brigade of 350 soldiers initiated an attack from the ridge right next to the Clarke House and then was routed, followed by the return of General Washington, from down the back road along which the house stood. Washington then reorganized the troops, urged them on, and initiated a new attack just outside of what is now the park, ultimately with great success," Mr. Hurwitz said.
Morven also offered free admission on Saturday to celebrate the 350th anniversary with a colonial chamber music concert and archaeology discovery day.
"It’s an honor and a privilege and also extremely entertaining," Morven docent and Princeton Battlefield Society member Kim Gallagher said. "(The 350th anniversary) forced me to learn a lot about New Jersey history. This required us all to take a very broad view and we’re just having loads of fun."
One of the things he learned when looking at the bigger picture of New Jersey history is "seeing how interconnected everything is."
"Morven is like a historical node," Mr. Gallagher said.
Prior to Drumthwacket, Morven served as the official residence of the governor of New Jersey until 1982. Morven docent Joe Wroblewski also told visitors that Princeton served as the nation’s capitol from June through September of 1783.
Mr. Wroblewski, who also serves on the state’s 350th Anniversary Historical Committee, said he remembers the state celebrating its 300th anniversary. At that time, he was a student at Trenton State College. He said New Jersey has played a pivotal role in the shaping of American life and culture and through the anniversary has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to recognize the countless contributions that the Garden State has made to the nation and the world.
According to the state’s New Jersey 350 website, "New Jersey began in 1664 as a royal gift. Charles II of England granted a sizeable parcel of land on the east coast of North America to his brother James, Duke of York. James in turn gave a piece of this real estate to two loyal noblemen, Sir George Carteret and John Lord Berkeley. The document that records this transaction, now housed at the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton, proclaims that ‘said tract of land is hereafter to be called by the name or names of New Cesarea or New Jersey.’ And so New Jersey was born."
