About This Place
Morven is the historic Stockton family estate on Stockton Street in Princeton. Built in the 1750s by Richard Stockton Sr. and expanded by his son Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the property served as the family home until it was donated to the State of New Jersey in 1954. It served as the official governor's residence until 1981 and was opened as a museum in 2004.
The grounds include formal gardens that trace their origins to the designs of Annis Boudinot Stockton, who cultivated the estate's landscape in the colonial period.
Revolutionary Significance
Morven was occupied and damaged by British forces during the occupation of Princeton in late 1776. The troops used it as a headquarters, destroyed furnishings and books, and slaughtered livestock. Annis Boudinot Stockton buried the family's important papers in the garden before fleeing, saving documents that would otherwise have been lost. The house was gradually restored after the war and served the Stockton family for several more generations.
The name "Morven" comes from the realm of Fingal in the Ossian poems by James Macpherson, reflecting the literary sensibility of Annis Boudinot Stockton. The property's evolution from colonial estate to governor's residence to museum mirrors the broader transformation of Princeton from a colonial village to a center of education and governance.
Location
55 Stockton St, Princeton, NJ 08540
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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