Tusculum is a country estate on Cherry Hill Road in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, built in 1773 for John Witherspoon, president of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration 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 the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. It is named after the Roman town of

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

, which was home to the country villa of

Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

. In 1793, the property was made available for purchase as a result of John Witherspoon's declining age, and was sought after by many refugees. The property was often visited by George Washington and his wife, Martha, during Witherspoon's tenure as president of Princeton University. In 2013 the home was sold for $5.5 million.

References

National Register of Historic Places in Mercer County, New Jersey Houses in Princeton, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Houses completed in 1773 1773 establishments in New Jersey {{NewJersey-NRHP-stub

See also

References