Morven (Princeton, New Jersey)

Morven, known officially as Morven Museum & Garden, is a historic 18th-century house at 55 Stockton Street in Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It served as the governor's mansion for nearly four decades in the twentieth century, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Morven
Morven in 2006
Location55 Stockton Street,
Princeton, NJ
Coordinates40°20′50.97″N 74°40′1.03″W
Built1730
Architectural styleGeorgian
Part ofPrinceton Historic District (ID75001143)
NRHP reference No.71000503 [1]
NJRHP No.1738[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJanuary 25, 1971
Designated NHLJuly 17, 1971[3]
Designated NJRHPSeptember 11, 1970

History

In 1701, Richard Stockton purchased, from William Penn, the 5,500-acre (22 km2) property. His grandson Richard Stockton (1730–1781) had 150 acres, on which, in the 1750s, he built the house that his wife Annis Boudinot Stockton named "Morven", after a mythical Gaelic kingdom in Ireland.

Commodore Robert Stockton (1795–1866) later lived in the house that was built on the property. Robert Wood Johnson II, chairman of the company Johnson and Johnson, leased the home after Bayard Stockton died during 1932.[4]

In 1944, New Jersey Governor Walter E. Edge purchased Morven from the Stockton family. The sale was subject to the condition that Morven would be given to the state of New Jersey within two years of Edge's death.[5] Edge transferred ownership of Morven to the state during 1954, several years before he died.[6]

Morven served as New Jersey's first governor's mansion from 1944 until 1981. In 1982, Drumthwacket was designated as New Jersey Governor's Mansion. Morven was adapted as a museum.

Owners
  • "The Builder" Richard Stockton (c.1665-1709) from 1701 to 1709
  • Honorable John Stockton (1701-1758) from 1709 to 1758
  • "The Signer" Richard Stockton (1730–1781) from 1758 to 1781
  • "The Duke" Richard Stockton (1764-1828) from 1781 to 1828
  • Commodore Robert Field Stockton (1795–1866) from 1828 to 1866
  • Major Samuel Witham Stockton (1834-1899)
  • Walter E. Edge from 1944 to 1954
  • Governor's Mansion from 1954 to 1981
  • Museum since 1982

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
  2. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places — Mercer County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection — Historic Preservation Office. April 5, 2013. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  3. "Morven". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2008-06-23. Archived from the original on 2009-02-25.
  4. "Edge Buys Historic Mansion at Princeton; Governor Will Later Give it to New Jersey", The New York Times, Nov. 11, 1944, p. 15
  5. Edge, Water Evans, A Jerseyman's Journal, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1948
  6. "Jersey Acquires Estate of Edge", The New York Times, Jan. 28, 1954, p. 29

See also
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