Drumthwacket | |
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 Interactive map showing the location of Drumthwacket | |
| Location | 354 Stockton Street Princeton, New Jersey 08540 |
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| Coordinates | 40°20′21″N74°40′29″W / 40.33917°N 74.67472°W /40.33917; -74.67472 |
| Built | 1835 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival Colonial Georgian |
| NRHP reference No. | 75001142[1] |
| NJRHP No. | 1744[2] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 10, 1975 |
| Designated NJRHP | May 8, 1975 |
Drumthwacket (/ˈdrʌmˌθwækɪt/DRUM-thwak-it[3]) is theofficial residence of thegovernor of the U.S. state ofNew Jersey at 354 Stockton Street inPrinceton, New Jersey, near the state capital ofTrenton.
Themansion was built in 1835 and expanded in 1893 and 1900. It was sold with its surrounding land to the state in 1966. Drumthwacket was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on June 10, 1975 for its significance in agriculture, architecture, commerce, landscape architecture, and politics.[4] It was designated the governor's mansion in 1982.
The estate is administered by theNew Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. It serves as the executive residence and is also a historic house museum.
The land that Drumthwacket is built on was once owned byWilliam Penn, theQuaker proprietor of theProvince of Pennsylvania and founder ofPhiladelphia. William Olden bought it in 1696 and built a small white homestead called Olden House.
In 1799,Charles Smith Olden was born there. Olden gained wealth working at a mercantile firm in Philadelphia and laterNew Orleans before returning to Princeton, where he began to build Drumthwacket in 1835. The name probably comes from SirWalter Scott's 1819 novelA Legend of Montrose, whose comic character Dugald Dalgetty islaird of Drumthwacket.[5] Modern sources sayDrumthwacket derives from twoScottish Gaelic words[specify] meaning "wooded hill".[6][5] Olden began his involvement in politics as a gentleman farmer and businessman, as treasurer and Trustee of theCollege of New Jersey, as a state Senator, and as governor in 1860, the first to live at Drumthwacket. The original structure consisted of a center hall with two rooms on each side, including the2+1⁄2-story center section and largeportico with sixIonic columns.[5]
In 1893, financier, industrialist, and Princeton University benefactorMoses Taylor Pyne purchased Drumthwacket from Olden's widow. Pyne was responsible for major expansions of the home, turning it into a magnificent estate, "surpassing anything previously built in Princeton".[5] Pyne added two wings on each side of the house in 1893 and 1900, both designed by Raleigh C. Gildersleeve and including a paneled library. Pyne also added park-like landscaping, greenhouses, bridle paths, a dairy farm, and formal Italian gardens.[5]
Pyne died in 1921, and his granddaughter Agnes Pyne sold the property to Abram Nathaniel Spanel in 1941.[5] Spanel was an industrialist and inventor who had immigrated from Russia as a child. He founded theInternational Latex Corporation, which became the International Playtex Corporation. Many of Spanel's staff lived at Drumthwacket, and many of his patented inventions were conceived in the Music Room.[5]
In 1966, the Spanels sold the estate to New Jersey with the intent that it be used as the governor's official residence, to replaceMorven, the old governor's mansion. However, it took 15 years for the estate to be used as an official residence, with the New Jersey Historical Society raising enough funds in 1981.
In 1982, the Drumthwacket Foundation, a non-profit organization responsible for preserving, restoring, and curating the house and its grounds, was established by New Jersey First LadyDeborah Kean.[5][7] In addition to establishing the Drumthwacket Foundation, Kean also oversaw the conversion of the mansion into the state executive residence.[7][8] Kean renovated much of the public and ceremonial rooms in the mansion. Before the renovation, much of Drumthwacket was furnished with older, donated furniture, much of which was unsuited for the home's new ceremonial role.[8] Debby Kean replaced those furnishings with higher quality,antique furniture and decor needed for the formal residence.[7][8][9] Despite her work, GovernorThomas Kean and Deborah Kean chose to live at their own home inLivingston, New Jersey, rather than Drumthwacket.[10]
GovernorJim Florio, who was in office from 1990 to 1994, and First LadyLucinda Florio were the first gubernatorial couple to live at Drumthwacket.[10][11] Lucinda Florio also oversaw major renovations and played a key role in its conversion into a modern governor's residence.[10][11][12] Florio focused much of her work on Drumthwacket's private living quarters, which had been largely untouched by her predecessor.[10] Florio and the Drumthwacket Foundation replaced the mansion's antiquatedheating system, installed new plumbing anddrinking water systems, and repaired unevenhardwood floors.[10] Closets and storage spaces, which were absent from bedrooms in homes from the era, were added.[10] Florio also acquired curtains and other window treatments, which were missing from many of Drumthwacket's windows.[10] Additionally, beginning in 1990, Florio restored theItalianate gardens on the 11-acres grounds surrounding Drumthwacket using private donations.[10][13][14] The gardens were originally created in 1905 by the mansion's previous owner,Moses Taylor Pyne, but had fallen into disrepair by the 1990s.[12][10][14] In 1990, Lucinda Florio hosted a small wedding reception for her father at the home.[10]
There are 12 private rooms upstairs used by the first family and six public rooms on the main floor that are the site of many official functions. An annual Garden Club holiday display is a tradition at the property.[17]
Drumthwacket is open for guided tours on most Wednesdays, except for August, the day beforeThanksgiving, and several other dates. The tour includes the six public rooms used by the governor for meetings and receptions, as well as thesolarium, center hall,dining room,parlor, music room,library, and governor'sstudy. Guided tours are conducted byvolunteer docents. Visitors can walk through the gardens and visit the Olden House, the restored farmhouse on the property that houses a gift shop and the Drumthwacket Foundation.[18]
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