30 years ago Thanksgiving Day, Chuck Moni and his then 3 year old son, Tyler went out to play football at Marquand Park. The next year, thirty or so friends joined them and the Gentleman’s Football Club was born.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2024, a freezing, rainy morning when the players paused their game. Bill Rogers presented a generous donation check to Emily Reeves, a Marquand Park Board Member. A few years ago they made a donation to help build the Children’s arboretum.

Bobby Hackett, the team's "commissioner" sends out an email each week beginning the week after Labor Day through at least Memorial Day (though often well into June). Every email mentions their "Beloved Marquand Park"...it's a very special place for them. The players also knew each other from Princeton little league baseball and other sports teams. This year they also donated to Princeton High School Football team where one of the team coaches, Steve Hennessy coaches.

Over the years two generations have come together to gather at the park, play some football and have some food together. These are the stories we love about Marquand Park, it shows a little of the magic of Marquand.

Often, we divide research into categories such as Natural Science and Cultural Studies. In the study of Cultural Landscapes, these disciplines intersect revealing fascinating connections. This happened last month when the Marquand Park Foundation invited two researchers for our OAKtober Talks at the Morven Museum Education Center. We asked Daniel Druckenbrod, PhD and Elizabeth Hyde, PhD to speak about their research on the subject of oaks - of course!

Professor Druckenbrod ’s work focuses on measuring and recording old forests in New Jersey. His research brings attention to pockets of old trees which have survived development and previous land clearing for farming. At Marquand Park, a corner of the park was originally set aside for a wood lot and later preserved as shady woods for park visitors. Daniel measured a fallen white oak from this area which he estimated would have been from the early 1800’s. In fact, he deduced its life began in 1766!

The Stockton family who first colonized this land would have used the trees from this forested area for fuel and building material. As wealthy landowners they could afford to set aside this resource for their own benefit. Now it is a place to cool off on a hot day and enjoy the shade of giant oaks, tulip poplars and other trees. We also learned about another local old forest that Aldo Leopold called the ‘Big Woods’ while he was a student at Lawrenceville School and beginning his career observing the natural world. Daniel found some surviving old giants on Joseph Bonaparte’s estate at Point Breeze where he established miles of carriage ways for entertaining guests. Daniel’s work highlights the value and use of oaks and other species in studying the ecological history of these remnant parcels of old forest.

Professor Hyde focused on the explorations and efforts of André Michaux on behalf of the French government at the end of the eighteenth century. She opened her talk linking the recent fire at Notre-Dame of Paris cathedral with the theme of national pride in association with the oak. She continued to tell the story of Michaux and how his botanizing was, in fact, a political mission. He gathered and cultivated oaks at a nursery in New Jersey above the Palisades. His mission, to replenish the French forests for ship building to fight the British who had already reaped their reward of timber from North American forests setting up an arboreal arms race.

In a follow up conversation both researchers drew parallels showing how oaks were valued as fuel: for local farmers, social influence, and political power. Attendees asked thoughtful follow-up question in a lively discussion. We hope to continue bringing stories and conversation surrounding Cultural Landscapes in future programming. Special thanks to Greer Luce and Morven Museum and Garden for hosting our OAKtober Talks!

John Notman, one of the foremost architects in Philadelphia and New Jersey during the first half of the nineteenth century, is well known for his Gothic and Italianate designs of churches, cemeteries, and estates. In the Princeton area, Notman designed four villas which now house the leaders of our most important institutions, Princeton University and The Princeton Theological Seminary. All of the villas were commissioned by members of the Stockton family. They traced their lineage to the establishment of Princeton, and were considered to be among the most elite families in the area.

The first generation of influential scholars and industrialists sought to establish their place in 19th-century society. Their John Notman-designed estates were just the thing to convey this. We can draw parallels with the development of wealth and prestige in late Federalist America and Notman’s influence on Andrew Jackson Downing and later, Frederick Law Olmsted. Notman took a page from his mentor William Henry Playfair in Edinburgh with his Italianate designs, including classical elements such as balustraded balconies and campanile towers. And just like Playfair, he also promoted the early adoption of a Gothic villa design. We can see both of these forms in the following houses, remarkably still standing and occupied in Princeton.

• Lowrie House 1848-1849 -home of Princeton University President
• Springdale 1851-1852 - home of Princeton Theological Seminary President
• Prospect 1851-1852 - once home of Woodrow Wilson, and other PU presidents
• Fieldwood/Guernsey Hall 1853-1855 (landscape plan 1846)- home of Allan Marquand who founded school of Art & Archeology at Princeton University

This exhibit featuring Notman-designed sites, will be an effective tool to convey the extent of his influence on our town and our landscape. It will engage the public with the stories of these places and foster collaboration with different groups, including historians, educators, conservationists, and visitors. Our goal is to bring awareness to an important figure in the American story – a Scottish immigrant who made his mark in a fast-growing young country. The four Princeton villas and properties signify the emergence of the Italianate style of architecture and represent an important era of landscape history in the United States and also highlight the famous residents. Although these homes are not open to the public this exhibit will allow visitors to learn about some of the most historic structures in town. This exhibit was made possible with support from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. A state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

John Notman: All the Presidents’ Houses

Image Sources: Panel 1, John Notman Portrait of John Notman (Samuel Bell Waugh, artist, 1845) Private Collections. https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org

Allison/Walter Lowrie House: Princeton University Library, Mudd, Box MP62, Item 2404 Retrieved from https://dpul.princeton.edu/catalog/fn106z53r

Springdale: The President’s House. Frontispiece, Seminary Catalogue, 1904-05 Courtesy of the Princeton Theological Seminary.

Prospect: Prospect, President's residence, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. 1903.Historical Postcard Collection. Princeton University Library.

Fieldwood/Guernsey Hall: Guernsey Hall. Princeton University Library, Mudd, Box AD42, Item 9594. Retrieved from https://dpul.princeton.edu/catalog/7bf16c353864ca43402e166bbdae5f5d

Map: Bevan, John (Surveyor). Map of Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey. [TIFF]. Jersey City : John Bevan, 1852, c1851 (N.Y. : Lith. of Sarony & Co.). Retrieved from https://maps.princeton.edu/catalog/princeton-6395w9561

Panel 2, Lowrie House. John Potter Stockton. [Between 1860 and 1875] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .

Henry McCall’s House: Richard. 11 Ellarslie Mansion, Trenton, NJ 1912. March 26, 2012. Photo. https://www.flickr.com/photos/rich701/6873070220/.

Lowrie House: Lowrie House. Princeton University Library, Mudd, Box MP62, Item 2403. Retrieved from https://dpul.princeton.edu/catalog/091b8bfaea1f441afc5700cf1d4853c2

Panel 3, Springdale
Jeffrey Fleisher, AIA. Springdale Elevation. 2012. Architectural Drawing.

The President’s House. Frontispiece, Seminary Catalogue, 1904-05 Courtesy of the Princeton Theological Seminary.

Panel 4, Prospect Rose Garden: “G_4_002 - [Prospect House and Garden] | Historical Society of Princeton.” Retrieved from https://princeton.pastperfectonline.com/photo/7A16C1FF-105B-4E82-8397-322580069030.

Prospect House Gardens, 2015. R. Flemer.

        “Prospect, President’s Residence, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. - Digital PUL.” Historical Postcard Collection, circa 1890 - 1960

Retrieved from https://dpul.princeton.edu/catalog/zp38wp23z.

Panel 5, Guernsey Hall Notman, John. Fieldwood, Near Princeton: Plan of Grounds. 1846. Princeton University Library Special Collections. Retrieved from https://dpul.princeton.edu/catalog/v118rq079.

The Unicorn Rests in a Garden (from the Unicorn Tapestries). 1496-1505. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467642.

VIEW OF STAIRHALL - Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator. Princeton University, Guernsey Hall, 63 Lovers Lane, Princeton, Mercer County, NJ. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/nj0090.photos.107534p/.

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