Mercer Hill Historic District

02/25/2026

Frog Hollow news ~ on the Springdale Golf Club with the Princeton Graduate College beyond

12/10/2015

Happy Holidays from the Mercer Hill Historic District Association! Here is a photo from the Historical Society of Princeton's wonderful photograph collection showing "a view of Mercer Street from Trinity Church" in the 1880s in the snow. The 1830s houses in this image are from left to right: partial view of No. 34 Mercer Street, No. 36 Mercer Street and No.40-42 Mercer Street at the corner with Alexander Street. Alexander Street was still originally named Canal Street (as it was a direct route down to the D&R Canal). Canal Street became Alexander Street in honor of Rev. Archibald Alexander (first professor of the Princeton Theological Seminary) around 1900. Enjoy!

09/25/2015

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota. As an undergraduate at Princeton University in 1914, Fitzgerald once lived at 15 University Place - a Gothic Revival Victorian house overlooking Holder Hall. His first novel, written in 1920 was This Side of Paradise and is mostly set in Princeton. In the chapter entitled “Spires and Gargoyles,” Fitzgerald’s main character Amory Blaine (based on Hobey Baker) describes Holder Tower from the view of his room on University Place – “He liked knowing that Gothic architecture, with its upward trend, was peculiarly appropriate to universities…the quiet halls with an occasional late-burning scholastic light held his imagination in a strong grasp, and the chastity of the spire became a symbol of this perception….”

06/09/2015

Please plan ahead: Starting June 13 University Place will be temporarily closed due to road work for three to four weeks!

10/08/2014

Is there a benefit to bury lines? What are your thoughts? http://www.towntopics.com/wordpress/2014/10/01/photography-exhibition-at-library-argues-for-change-in-utility-wiring/

INSIGHT FOR SORE EYES: Offering a strange if grotesque beauty, the above ground power and telephone lines at the intersection of Lover’s Lane and Mercer Street in Princeton are a sight that most of us take for granted. Photographer Alan Chimacoff hopes to change that and prompt those who view his wo…

04/25/2014

Mercer County Historic listings http://www.mercerhillhistoricdistrict.com/?p=26

A list of the many historic districts in our surrounding area on the New Jersey site.

04/24/2014

More information about a builder named Stedman http://wp.me/p4uwI8-i

https://www.princeton.edu/ssp/joseph-henry-project/steadman-houses/

04/04/2014

New Database of Shade Trees http://wp.me/p4uwI8-d

A new database has been release according to an article in Town Topics. We should be thanking the volunteers to the Shade Tree Commission and arborist Greg O’Neil. At this time the site lists street trees only. You can access information about the… [ 125 more words. ]

10/01/2013

Richard Stockton, the Signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born October 1, 1730 in Princeton, NJ. Richard built Morven on land given to him by his parents, John and Abigail Stockton. He lived there with his wife Annis Boudinot Stockton and their 6 children. He was a lawyer and member of Congress. Richard died February 28, 1781. Many generations of Stocktons lived continuously at Morven until it became the home of Robert Wood Johnson and later the NJ Governors Mansion from 1954-1981. Stockton's lovely home is now a State Museum with beautiful gardens.

07/04/2013

Annis Boudinot Stockton was born July 1, 1736 in Darby, Pennsylvania to Elias Boudinot, a successful silversmith and merchant, and Catherine Williams. About 1757/58, Annis married Richard Stockton, an attorney and later one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. She was a poet and the only woman elected as an honorary member of the American Whig Society. Annis also gave a July 4 celebration at her historic home, Morven, in Princeton in 1783 - many, if not all of the members of the Continental Congress meeting in Princeton were invited to Morven for the celebration.

06/27/2013

4 Mercer Street, otherwise known as the Town Topics Building, is still under renovation. The Town Topics, a local newspaper now located on Witherspoon Street, was located here from 1950 - 2004. Renovations to be completed this fall...hopefully!

05/19/2013

Detail from the portrait of Samuel Witham Stockton by John Potter Cuyler (1890s?). This portrait is part of the NJ State Museum Collection and a copy can be found in the excellent book Memory, Myth & Reality by Constance M Greiff and Wanda S Gunning, 2004.