History

In 2004, the Historical Society of Princeton acquired the historic Updike Farmstead in Princeton Township. The farmstead now consists of six acres of land, a farmhouse, barns, chicken coops, other outbuildings and a windmill. The property lies in a State and National Historic District and Princeton Township's Battlefield Preservation District. The farm is along the route followed by Continental troops on their way to engage British soldiers at the neighboring Thomas Clarke farm at Princeton Battlefield.

Benjamin Clarke, an original Stony Brook settler, first owned the land as part of a 1200 acre parcel he purchased in 1696. The property remained in the hands of his descendents for over 150 years. George Furman Updike acquired the farm in 1892. The Historical Society purchased the remaining six-acre farmstead from his family. Funding assistance came from the New Jersey Green Acres Program and the Mercer County Open Space Preservation Board.

Plans for rehabilitation of the farmstead buildings and their adaptive reuse (including collections storage and staff offices) and placement of interpretive signage for public tours of the property are in development by the Historical Society and Watson & Henry, an internationally recognized architectural firm. Acquisition of the farmstead allows the Historical Society to expand Bainbridge House capacity for exhibitions and will grant greater access to its collections both on view and in storage. Bainbridge House and the Updike Farmstead together will help tell the stories of Princeton Borough and Princeton Township.

Progress

Raise the Roof: Work Moves Forward on the Updike Farmstead

One merely has to look “up” at the Updike Farmstead to see progress! The farmhouse’s new slate roof has been completed, thanks to $30,000 in funds received from the New Jersey Cultural Trust. On the heels of this early success, HSP received word in March 2007 that it would receive a New Jersey Historic Trust grant for the farmhouse in the amount of $605,825. This matching grant will support the construction and restoration that will take place following contract bidding in 2008.

As HSP moves ahead with rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the farmstead, great care has been taken to properly document the site. In May and June, Watson & Henry Associates conducted a historic survey of the site’s large barn. Michael Henry, Principal Engineer/Architect with the firm, reported several revelations. Dendrochronology, or analysis of the tree rings of the timbers, precisely dates barn construction to 1892—the year George Updike purchased the farm. And the interior of the barn holds the physical evidence of a progression of uses as farm economics changed, including indications of a late 19th-century frame-mounted thresher.  “This barn,” notes Henry, “tells the story of farming activity and economy through a multitude of details and evidence, all set in the dramatic, cathedral-like space of the barn interior.”

As part of the transformation process, the HSP must also make sure that plans for the site comply with township guidelines. Towards that end, it is pursuing plan approvals from Princeton Township’s Historic Preservation Commission. In early November, HSP will submit a “minor site plan,” which will address new driveways, parking, landscaping features, and more.