Morven, known officially as Morven Museum & Garden, is a historic 18th-century house at 55 Stockton Street in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

, Mercer County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States. It served as the governor's mansion for nearly four decades in the twentieth century, and has been designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

for its association with Richard Stockton (1730-1781), a signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...

History

In 1701, Richard Stockton was granted by

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

which included the land where Morven now stands. His grandson Richard Stockton had on which, in the 1750s, he built the house that his wife

Annis Boudinot Stockton Annis Boudinot Stockton (July 1, 1736 – February 6, 1801) was an American poet, one of the first women to be published in the Thirteen Colonies. Living in Princeton, New Jersey, Stockton wrote and published her poems in leading newspapers and m ...

named "Morven", after a mythical Gaelic kingdom in Ireland. Commodore

Robert Stockton Robert Field Stockton (August 20, 1795 – October 7, 1866) was a United States Navy commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-p ...

(1795–1866) later lived in the house that was built on the property.

Robert Wood Johnson II Robert Wood "General" Johnson II (April 4, 1893 – January 30, 1968) was an American businessman. He was one of the sons of Robert Wood Johnson I, the co-founder of Johnson & Johnson. He turned the family business into one of the world's l ...

, chairman of the company

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

, leased the home after Bayard Stockton died during 1932. The house remained in Stockton family ownership until 1944, with 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. Edge transferred ownership of Morven to the state during 1954, several years before he died."Jersey Acquires Estate of Edge", ''The New York Times'', Jan. 28, 1954, p. 29 Morven served as New Jersey's first governor's mansion from 1944 until 1981, when it was donated to the

New Jersey Historical Society The New Jersey Historical Society is a historical society and museum located in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The Historical Society is housed in the former headquarters of the Essex Club. It has two floors of exhibition space ...

. In 1982,

Drumthwacket Drumthwacket ( ) is the official residence of the governor of New Jersey. The mansion sits at 354 Stockton Street in Princeton, near the state capital of Trenton. It is one of only four official governor's residences in the country not located ...

was designated as New Jersey Governor's Mansion and converted to the new official residence. Morven underwent research and restoration, and was opened as a museum in 2004.

Owners

*"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 Robert Field Stockton (August 20, 1795 – October 7, 1866) was a United States Navy commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-p ...

(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

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. With

References

External links