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Historic House

Bainbridge House

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

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Events at This Location

  1. 1776

    Witherspoon Signs the Declaration of Independence

    John Witherspoon, Richard Stockton, James Madison

  2. 1776

    College of New Jersey Closes for the War

    John Witherspoon, James Madison

  3. 1776

    Capture of Richard Stockton

    Richard Stockton, Annis Boudinot Stockton

  4. 1776

    Annis Stockton Buries Family Papers at Morven

    Annis Boudinot Stockton, Richard Stockton

  5. 1776

    British Occupation of Princeton

    Charles Mawhood, John Witherspoon, Thomas Olden

  6. 1776

  7. 1776

  8. 1777

  9. 1777

    Night March from Trenton to Princeton

    George Washington, Hugh Mercer

  10. 1777

    Battle of Princeton

    George Washington, Hugh Mercer, Charles Mawhood

  11. 1777

    Mercer and Mawhood Clash at Clarke Farm

    Hugh Mercer, Charles Mawhood

  12. 1777

    Washington Rallies Troops at Princeton

    George Washington, Hugh Mercer

  13. 1777

    Cannonade of Nassau Hall

    George Washington

  14. 1777

  15. 1777

    Death of General Hugh Mercer

    Hugh Mercer, Benjamin Rush

  16. 1783

  17. 1783

  18. 1783

    Continental Congress Meets at Nassau Hall

    Elias Boudinot, George Washington

  19. 1783

    Congress Thanks Washington at Princeton

    George Washington, Elias Boudinot

  20. 1783

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