Morven (Princeton, New Jersey)

United States historic place

Morven

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

U.S. National Historic Landmark

U.S. Historic district
Contributing property

New Jersey Register of Historic Places

Morven in 2006

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Location| 55 Stockton Street,
Princeton, New Jersey, United States
Coordinates| 40°20′50.97″N 74°40′1.03″W﻿ / ﻿40.3474917°N 74.6669528°W﻿ / 40.3474917; -74.6669528
Built| 1730
Architectural style| Georgian
Part of| Princeton Historic District (ID75001143)
NRHP reference No.| 71000503 [1]
NJRHP No.| 1738[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP| January 25, 1971
Designated NHL| July 17, 1971[3]
Designated NJRHP| September 11, 1970

Morven, known officially as Morven Museum & Garden, is an historic 18th-century house at 55 Stockton Street in Princeton, New Jersey. It served as the governor's mansion for nearly four decades in the 20th century, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark for its association with Richard Stockton (1730-1781), a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.

## History

[edit]

In 1701, Richard Stockton was granted 5,500-acre (2,200 ha) by William Penn which included the land where Morven now stands. In the 1750s, his grandson, also named Richard Stockton, had 150 acres (61 ha) on which he built the house that his wife Annis Boudinot Stockton named "Morven", after a mythical Gaelic kingdom in Ireland.

Commodore Robert Stockton (1795–1866) later lived in the house that was built on the property. Robert Wood Johnson II, chairman of the company Johnson & Johnson, leased the home after Bayard Stockton died during 1932.[4]

The house remained in Stockton family ownership until 1944, when it was purchased by New Jersey Governor Walter E. Edge. The sale was subject to the condition that Morven would be given to the state of New Jersey within two years of Edge's death.[5] Edge transferred ownership of Morven to the state during 1954, several years before he died.[6]

Morven served as New Jersey's governor's mansion from 1944 until 1981, when it was donated to the New Jersey Historical Society.[7] In 1982, Drumthwacket was designated as New Jersey Governor's Mansion and converted to the new official residence.[7] Morven underwent research and restoration, and was opened as a museum in 2004.

## Owners

[edit]

* "The Builder" Richard Stockton (c.1665-1709) from 1701 to 1709
* Honorable John Stockton (1701-1758) from 1709 to 1758
* "The Signer" Richard Stockton (1730–1781) from 1758 to 1781
* "The Duke" Richard Stockton (1764-1828) from 1781 to 1828
* Commodore Robert Field Stockton (1795–1866) from 1828 to 1866
* Major Samuel Witham Stockton (1834-1899)
* Walter E. Edge from 1944 to 1954
* Governor's Mansion from 1954 to 1981
* Museum since 1982

## Architecture

[edit]

Morven is a 2-1/2 story brick building, with a gabled roof and end chimneys. Two-story wings extend to either side of the main block. A Greek Revival porch extends across the center three bays of the main block's five-bay facade. The interior has an atypical central hall plan. The staircase, normally in the center hall in these plans, is instead placed crosswise in a rear hall which also provides access to the wings. To the right of the central hall is the Gold Room, a parlor, while the main dining room is on the left. The left wing housed servant quarters and the kitchen, while the right wing housed the library and a family room. The interior styling is consistent with late 18th and early 19th century architectural fashions.[8]

## See also

[edit]

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Mercer County, New Jersey
* Westland Mansion, patterned after Morven

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
2. ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places — Mercer County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection — Historic Preservation Office. April 5, 2013. p. 8\. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
3. ^ "Morven". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. June 23, 2008. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009.
4. ^ "Edge Buys Historic Mansion at Princeton; Governor Will Later Give it to New Jersey", The New York Times, Nov. 11, 1944, p. 15
5. ^ Edge, Water Evans, A Jerseyman's Journal, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1948
6. ^ "Jersey Acquires Estate of Edge", The New York Times, Jan. 28, 1954, p. 29
7. ^ a b Nieto-Munoz, Sophie (January 3, 2021). "Former N.J. First Lady Debby Kean dies at 76". NJ.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
8. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Morven". National Park Service. Retrieved April 19, 2021. With accompanying pictures

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Morven (Princeton).

* Official Website

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Princeton, New Jersey

Historic districts|

* Princeton Historic District
* Stony Brook Village
* Jugtown
* King's Highway
* Kingston Mill
* Mountain Avenue

Former municipalities|

* Borough of Princeton
* Princeton Township

Public schools|

* Princeton Public Schools
* Princeton High School
* Witherspoon Street School for Colored Children (defunct)
* Princeton Charter School

Independent schools|

* Hun School
* Lewis School
* Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart
* Princeton Day
* Princeton Friends
* Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science
* St. Paul's
* Stuart Country Day

Colleges and universities|

* Princeton University (people)
* Princeton Theological Seminary
* Westminster Choir College
* Evelyn College for Women (defunct)

Other education|

* Institute for Advanced Study
* Princeton Community Japanese Language School
* Princeton Public Library
* Princeton University Art Museum
* Witherspoon Institute

Places of worship|

* Miller Chapel
* Nassau Christian Center
* Nassau Presbyterian
* Princeton United Methodist
* Princeton University Chapel
* Stone Hill Church
* Stony Brook Meeting House
* Trinity Episcopal

Parks and recreation|

* Delaware and Raritan Canal
* Herrontown Woods Arboretum
* Jasna Polana
* Lake Carnegie
* Marquand Park
* Mountain Lakes Preserve
* Princeton Battlefield

Economy|

* Nassau Street
* Palmer Square
* Elements
* Hoagie Haven
* Nassau Club
* Nassau Inn
* Peacock Inn
* Princeton Record Exchange
* Triumph Brewing
* Princeton Shopping Center
* Tiger Transit

Performing arts|

* Alexander Hall
* Garden Theatre
* McCarter Theatre
* Princeton Symphony Orchestra
* Williamson Voices

Media|

* I Grew Up in Princeton
* Comedy Minus One
* Princeton Community Television
* Princeton Packet
* Town Topics

Other landmarks|

* Albert Einstein House
* Drumthwacket
* Joseph Henry House
* Donald Grant Herring Estate
* Maclean House
* Maybury Hill
* Mercer Oak
* Morven
* Nassau Hall
* Princeton Battle Monument
* Princeton Cemetery
* Princeton Railroad Station
* Prospect House
* Tusculum
* Cottage Club
* Washington Oak
* Westland Mansion

Princeton addressed landmarks
outside the municipality|

* American Boychoir School (defunct)
* Chapin School
* Educational Testing Service
* Forrestal Village
* MarketFair Mall
* Princeton Airport
* Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center (formerly located on Witherspoon Street, now in neighboring Plainsboro)
* Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
* Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
* St. Joseph's Seminary (in Plainsboro; defunct)
* Sarnoff Corporation
* Terhune Orchards
* Washington Road Elm Allée
* Wilberforce School

See also: Princeton University and National Register of Historic Places listings in Mercer County, New Jersey

* v
* t
* e

National Register of Historic Places in Mercer County, New Jersey

Landmarks|

* Abbott Farm Archeological Site
* Westland Mansion
* Albert Einstein House
* Joseph Henry House
* Lawrenceville School
* Maybury Hill
* Morven
* Nassau Hall
* Old Barracks
* Maclean House
* Princeton Battlefield
* Prospect House
* William Trent House
* Washington Crossing State Park

Districts|

* Bear Tavern Road--Jacob's Creek Crossing Rural Historic District
* Berkeley Square Historic District
* Delaware and Raritan Canal
* Drake Farmstead/Brookdale Farm
* Harbourton Historic District
* Jugtown Historic District
* King's Highway Historic District
* Kingston Mill Historic District
* Lake Carnegie Historic District
* Lawrence Township Historic District
* Mill Hill Historic District
* Mountain Avenue Historic District
* Pleasant Valley Historic District
* Princeton Historic District
* Riverview Cemetery
* State House Historic District
* Stockton Street Historic District
* Titusville Historic District
* Trenton Ferry Historic District
* Windsor Historic District

Places of
worship|

* First Presbyterian Church of Trenton
* First Presbyterian Church of Pennington
* Penns Neck Baptist Church
* Sacred Heart Church
* St. Michael's Church
* Trenton Friends Meeting House

Houses|

* John Abbott II House
* Abbott-Decou House
* Anderson-Capner House
* Baker-Brearley House
* Bow Hill
* Charles Brearley House
* Gen. Philemon Dickinson House
* Douglass House
* Drumthwacket
* William Green House
* Green-Reading House
* John D. Hart House
* Hart-Hoch House
* Donald Grant Herring Estate
* Highfields
* House at 379 West State Street
* Hunt Farmstead
* Rudolph V. Kuser Estate
* Ichabod Leigh House
* Mansion House
* Mercer Street Friends Center
* Old Ryan Farm
* Isaac Pearson House
* Joseph Phillips Farm
* John Rogers House
* Samuel Sloan House
* Smith-Ribsam House
* Israel Stevens House
* Joseph Stout House
* Tusculum
* University Cottage Club
* Colonel John Van Cleve Homestead
* Jeremiah Vandyke House
* Isaac Watson House
* John Welling House
* John White House
* Jeremiah Woolsey House

Commercial
buildings|

* Adams and Sickles Building
* American Cigar Company
* Broad Street National Bank
* Henry Clay and Bock & Co. Ltd. Cigar Factory
* Golden Swan-True American
* Hopewell Station
* In and Out Social Club
* Thomas Maddock's Sons Company
* New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles Building
* Old Eagle Tavern
* Pennington Railroad Station
* Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Freight Station
* Princeton Railroad Station
* Roebling Machine Shop
* John A. Roebling's Sons Company, Trenton N.J., Block 3
* Somerset Roller Mills
* Stokely-Van Camp Industrial Complex
* Trenton Bath House
* West Trenton Station

Public
buildings|

* Bellevue Avenue Colored School
* Carver Center
* East Trenton Public Library
* Higbee Street School
* Mott School and Second Street School
* Trenton War Memorial
* Trenton City Hall
* U.S. Post Office and Courthouse
* Witherspoon Street School for Colored Children

Sites|

* Archeological Site No. 1-18th Century Vessel (28ME196)
* Crosswicks Creek Site III
* Mount Rose Distillery
* Princeton Ice Company
* Washington Road Elm Allée

Structures|

* Hog Island Cranes
* Morrisville–Trenton Railroad Bridge
* Trenton Battle Monument
* Trenton City/Calhoun Street Bridge

Former|

* Princessville Inn

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Mercer County, New Jersey and List of National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey
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