About This Place
Bainbridge House is a Georgian-style house built around 1766 on Nassau Street in Princeton. It is the birthplace of Commodore William Bainbridge, a naval hero of the War of 1812, and served as the headquarters of the Historical Society of Princeton for many years. The house was standing during the Battle of Princeton and the period when Congress met at Nassau Hall.
The building is one of the few surviving colonial-era structures on Nassau Street.
Revolutionary Significance
The house was built by Robert Stockton, a member of the extended Stockton family. Its location on Nassau Street placed it at the center of colonial Princeton life and within the area occupied by British forces during the winter of 1776-1777. The house witnessed the passage of troops, the sound of cannon during the battle, and the arrival of the Continental Congress in 1783. Its survival provides a tangible link to the built environment of revolutionary Princeton.
Location
158 Nassau St, Princeton, NJ 08542
Open in Google Maps →
Events at This Location
1776
Witherspoon Signs the Declaration of IndependenceJohn Witherspoon, Richard Stockton, James Madison
1776
College of New Jersey Closes for the WarJohn Witherspoon, James Madison
1776
Capture of Richard StocktonRichard Stockton, Annis Boudinot Stockton
1776
Annis Stockton Buries Family Papers at MorvenAnnis Boudinot Stockton, Richard Stockton
1776
British Occupation of PrincetonCharles Mawhood, John Witherspoon, Thomas Olden
1776
British Damage Nassau Hall During OccupationJohn Witherspoon
1776
1777
1777
Night March from Trenton to PrincetonGeorge Washington, Hugh Mercer
1777
Battle of PrincetonGeorge Washington, Hugh Mercer, Charles Mawhood
1777
Mercer and Mawhood Clash at Clarke FarmHugh Mercer, Charles Mawhood
1777
Washington Rallies Troops at PrincetonGeorge Washington, Hugh Mercer
1777
Cannonade of Nassau HallGeorge Washington
1777
1777
Death of General Hugh MercerHugh Mercer, Benjamin Rush
1783
Witherspoon Rebuilds the College After the WarJohn Witherspoon
1783
Congress Flees Philadelphia MutinyElias Boudinot
1783
Continental Congress Meets at Nassau HallElias Boudinot, George Washington
1783
Congress Thanks Washington at PrincetonGeorge Washington, Elias Boudinot
1783
Treaty of Paris Announced at PrincetonElias Boudinot