Princeton To Name Garden, Arch After Slaves Stockton And Johnson

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton University will name a publicly accessible garden between Firestone Library and Nassau Street for Betsey Stockton, and the easternmost arch in East Pyne Hall for James Collins “Jimmy” Johnson, the university announced Tuesday morning.

Stockton was a slave in the Maclean House home of Princeton President Ashbel Green who, upon gaining her freedom, became a missionary. She then served the Princeton community as a founder of the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church and as a teacher and founder of the first school in Princeton for children of color.

Johnson was a fugitive slave from Maryland who worked on campus for more than 60 years, first as a janitor and then for many years as a vendor of fruits, candies and other snacks that he sold from a wheelbarrow.

The recommendations were made by the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) Committee on Naming, a committee of faculty, students, staff and alumni that is chaired by history professor Angela Creager.

The committee was established to advise the university's trustees on the naming of "buildings or other spaces not already named for historical figures or donors to recognize individuals who would bring a more diverse presence to the campus."

The Board of Trustees asked the committee for recommendations for naming a garden that is being constructed as a green roof covering a portion of Firestone Library, noting that the garden is in a location readily visible to the town.

In referring the East Pyne arch, the trustees recognized its central location, noting that early in students’ time at Princeton, this is the first arch they pass through when they leave the chapel after Opening Exercises, and as they approach graduation, it is the first arch they pass through when they leave the chapel after the Baccalaureate service.

The committee has also recommended naming the main auditorium in Robertson Hall for Nobel laureate Sir Arthur Lewis, who served as a Princeton faculty member from 1963 to 1991.

For more on Elizabeth “Betsey” Stockton and James Collins “Jimmy” Johnson, visit princeton.edu.

The attached images were provided by Princeton University:

Photo #1: This portrait (c. 1865) shows Betsey Stockton, who was born into slavery in Princeton. She was freed later in her life, becoming a missionary and then serving the Princeton community as a founder of the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church. Photo courtesy of Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society, Portraits of American Protestant Missionaries to Hawaii (Honolulu: Hawaiian Gazette Company, 1901).

Photo #2: James Collins “Jimmy” Johnson was a fugitive slave from Maryland who worked on the Princeton campus for more than 60 years, first as a janitor and then as a vendor of fruits, candies and other snacks that he sold from a wheelbarrow. He died in 1902. Photo courtesy University Archives, Princeton University Library.