The Kingston Mill Historic District is a historic district in

Kingston, New Jersey Kingston is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) along the border of South Brunswick Township in Middlesex County and Franklin Township in Somerset County, and also located relatively near Princeton in Mercer Count ...

. It is roughly bounded by the Millstone, River, and Princeton-Kingston Roads in the townships of

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 ni ...

in Mercer County, South Brunswick in Middlesex County, and

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

in Somerset County. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on April 10, 1986 for its significance in engineering, exploration/settlement, industry, and transportation. The district includes 16 contributing buildings and 2 contributing structures. With

History and description

In 1683, Henry Greenland built the first tavern here for travelers between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. The current Kingston Mill, also known as the Kingston Gristmill, was built in 1888, the third one at this site. In 1755, Jacob Skilman built a gristmill and sawmill here on the

Millstone River The Millstone River is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002. The Millstone River begins in western Monmouth County and flows westward throu ...

. The mill was burned in 1776 by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. The district also includes the Greenland–Brinson–Gulick farm, four nearby houses, and the Kingston Bridge, an 18th-century stone arch bridge over the river. It was one of the first settlements in

, preceded only by the Quaker community along the Stony Brook.

Gallery

File:KINGSTON MILL HISTORIC DISTRICT, PRINCETON BOROUGH, MERCER COUNTY, NJ.jpg, The Kingston Mill (1888), built to replace one built in 1755, from the Kingston Bridge File:Kingston Bridge, Kingston, NJ - south view.jpg, The Kingston Bridge (1798), built to replace one demolished by

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 ...

's troops to prevent British pursuit File:Kingston Bridge, Kingston, NJ - milestone.jpg, The mile marker from 1798, showing the distance to Philadelphia (45 miles) and New York City (50 miles)

References

External links

{{NRHP in Somerset County, New Jersey Grinding mills in New Jersey Historic districts in Princeton, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Mercer County, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Somerset County, New Jersey Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey

History and description

Gallery

See also

References

External links