State Announces Addition for Princeton Battlefield State Park

Three months after the D’Ambrisi family acquired the property, the Christie Administration announced a 4.6-acre addition for Princeton Battlefield State Park that was a key to tactical maneuvers during the battle, a turning point in the nation’s War for Independence.

The addition will bring the park to nearly 80 acres in size.

The property fronts on Stockton Avenue and directly abuts the main battlefield site.

The total purchase price for the property was $850,000, with the Green Acres Program’s state acquisition program contributing $450,000. Mercer County also contributed $200,000. The county also provided the nonprofit Friends of Princeton Open Space $100,000 as a match to a $100,000 Green Acres grant available to nonprofit groups.

“We always like to help add to existing parks, and this is purchase will increase the public’s abilities to access and use one of the most important and beloved parks in the Mercer County,” Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes said.

Princeton agreed to shoulder the costs of repairing the dam on the property and demolishing the house as its contribution to the preservation effort.

“We feel a deep sense of honor in being able to add this land to one of the most important historic sites in the United States,” New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said. “This acquisition shows the true power of innovative partnerships and spirit of teamwork that protect places that are special to the people of New Jersey.”

The Battle of Princeton, fought on Jan. 3, 1777, immediately followed George Washington’s stunning victory over Hessian troops at Trenton a week earlier, on the day after Christmas.

The Trenton victory and Washington’s ensuing victory at Princeton helped change the course of the Revolutionary War by finally establishing the Continental Army as a viable fighting force.

The property and ridge that runs across the property is considered to have played a significant role in the tactical maneuvers that took place during the battle. The British troops turned off the Kings Highway (present-day Route 206) and approached the battle from this position. They made a fighting retreat back across this property.

The property was critical to the battle, according to Kip Cherry, First Vice President of the Princeton Battlefield Society.

Just before the first phase of the battle began, two British units stood on the ridge of the D’Ambrisi property, behind the colonnade that now stands in Battlefield Park.

“Understanding these stories creates important insight into the battle and into the spirit and principles on which the nation was founded,” Cherry said.

Once the family expressed interest, representatives of the DEP’s Green Acres Program, Mercer County government, and the non-profit Friends of Princeton Open Space teamed up as funding partners. The family purchased the property in April.

“Figuring out the details about demolition responsibilities and other issues such as an existing driveway easement was not easy,” Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert said. “Thanks to the cooperation of all the partners, and the great work done by our Engineering Department, we were able to work these things out. In fact, the dam repairs and house demolition were already complete as of the transfer of the property to the State to add to the park.”

The property consists of slightly rolling land and a series of connected ponds and streams that drain to the Stony Brook. Access to the property will be developed in the near future, officials said.

Princeton Battlefield Society plans to use National Park Service grants to conduct an archaeological investigation in close cooperation with and supervision by the State Park Service. Future recreational use plans include extending the bike path that starts at Mercer Road to Stockton Street, with the possibility of connecting the much larger system of trails along the Stony Brook and elsewhere in Princeton.

The attached image was provided by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection