The President's House, also known as the John Maclean House, or simply the Maclean House, 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 nin ...

, 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 Delawa ...

, United States, was built to serve as the home of the President of the College of New Jersey, which later became

Princeton University 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 ...

. It was completed in 1756, the same year as

Nassau Hall Nassau Hall, colloquially known as Old Nassau, is the oldest building at Princeton University in Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. In 1783 it served as the United States Capitol building for four months. At the time it was built ...

. United States

Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

John Witherspoon John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense real ...

lived here from 1768 through 1779, during which time he served as a delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

and signed the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

occupied Maclean House in January 1777, during the

Battle of Princeton The Battle of Princeton was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought near Princeton, New Jersey on January 3, 1777, and ending in a small victory for the Colonials. General Lord Cornwallis had left 1,400 British troops under the comman ...

and in 1783 while Congress met in Nassau Hall. It now serves as the home of the Alumni Association of Princeton University and houses 35 staff, hosts many alumni functions and showcases Princeton memorabilia and a library of Princetoniana.Home Page of the Princeton University Alumni Association
/ref> It was declared 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 liste ...

in 1971. and

Slavery at the President's House

At least five Princeton presidents who occupied the President's House between 1756 and 1822 owned enslaved people who lived and worked in the house. These presidents included Aaron Burr Sr., Jonathan Edwards, Samuel Finley, Samuel Stanhope Smith, and

Ashbel Green Ashbel Green (July 6, 1762 – May 19, 1848) was an American Presbyterian minister and academic. Biography Born in Hanover Township, New Jersey, Green served as a sergeant of the New Jersey militia during the American Revolutionary War, and w ...

. Enslaved people lived in the slave quarters on the second floor of the detached "Kitchen House" to the rear of the main building. After his death in 1766, Samuel Finley's personal property was auctioned off at the President's House. Advertisements for the estate sale described "two negro women, a negro man, and three Negro children" to be sold alongside livestock, furniture, and books. In 2017, the

Princeton University Art Museum The Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) is the Princeton University gallery of art, located in Princeton, New Jersey. With a collecting history that began in 1755, the museum was formally established in 1882, and now houses over 113,000 works ...

, in collaboration with the Princeton & Slavery Project, commissioned American artist

Titus Kaphar Titus Kaphar is an American contemporary painter whose work reconfigures and regenerates art history to include the African-American subject. His paintings are held in the collections of Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, Yale University Art G ...

to create a public art piece in front of the President's House. His sculpture ''Impressions of Liberty'', unveiled in November 2017, depicts the face of Samuel Finley in relief, along with the figures of enslaved people sold at the house after his death. The President's House is the first stop on th
Stories of African American Life at Princeton
walking tour. The house also appears on the Princeton University Art Museum's mobile tour o
Art and Slavery at Princeton

References

External links

* * * {{NRHP in Mercer County, New Jersey Houses completed in 1756 National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey Historic American Buildings Survey in New Jersey Houses in Princeton, New Jersey Princeton University buildings National Register of Historic Places in Mercer County, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Historic district contributing properties in Mercer County, New Jersey Homes of United States Founding Fathers

Slavery at the President's House

See also

References

Further reading

External links