By Anne Levin
In the ongoing efforts to restore the Princeton Battlefield to the way it looked on January 3, 1777 — the day of the historic Battle of Princeton— the Princeton Battlefield Society (PBS), American Battlefield Trust (ABT) and the State of New Jersey are about to begin planting an apple orchard.
The project is actually a replanting. The orchard in question was the initial point of contact between the American and British soldiers. It belonged to William Clark, brother of Thomas Clarke, whose home still stands across what is now known as Princeton Pike. William Clarke’s house, which is pictured in the distance of a painting of the Battle of Princeton by artist James Peale, disappeared sometime in the 19th century.
“This is where the fiercest fighting took place,” said Mark Herr, a trustee of the PBS and a Princeton resident. “We can’t rebuild Clarke’s house, but we can replant his orchard, and that’s an important step. It recognizes his presence on the Battlefield. It helps modern Princetonians visualize what the Battlefield looked like on January 3, 1777.”
The orchard and other projects at the historic site are all part of preparations for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, to be celebrated starting in January 2026. The Princeton Battlefield State Park also includes the Thomas Clarke House and Museum; the site of the Mercer Oak, which until a few years ago stood in the middle of the Battlefield; the Ionic Colonnade; and a stone patio marking the grave of the unknown British and American soldiers who died in the conflict.
In a press release, PBS president Ben Strong described how much the Battlefield site has changed since the Revolutionary War.
“Back then, this was wide open fields, 60 houses, and fighting and soldiers all over the place, at the Battlefield, on part of what is now Springdale Golf Course, by Nassau Hall, Mercer Hill, and Worth’s Mill,” he said. “We can’t transform 2025 Princeton into 1776 Princeton, but we can make the Battlefield park look more like it did, and so as part of our 250th anniversary we are, with our partners at the ABT and the State, restoring the Trace Road. And now we’re going to replant the orchard that stood in front of William Clarke’s house, where the first fighting and some of the fiercest fighting took place.”
There was no Princeton Pike in 1777. “You either entered from the south by Route 206, or the Trace Road, which ran behind Clark’s house,” said Herr. “History literally has erased the Trace Road from the maps and our consciousness, and that was a critical part of Washington’s plan to win the battle. It would have run east to Princeton and crossed behind Clarke’s house, eventually onto what is now the Institute [of Advanced Study] and Springdale land, and dumped troops out by Nassau Hall.”
William Clarke’s house stood approximately where Princeton Pike nears the easternmost tree line of the Battlefield, and stood diagonally across from his brother’s home. Most of the Battle of Princeton took place on the farmland between the houses of the two brothers. Ironically, they were Quakers — traditionally peace-loving people.
The replanting project will cover half an acre and include four different types of apples that research suggests would have been planted at that time. The trees will be enclosed by an 18th century-appropriate rail fence. Planting is expected to begin during the coming year. Donations to the project, which will help purchase trees, can be made at PBS.1777.org.
“People will see, for the first time, a significant orchard presence, and that will help reframe things,” said Herr. “Driving up or down Princeton Pike, it will be impossible to miss that orchard. And if it gets one person to say to himself or herself, ‘Hey, that’s pretty interesting, what happened here?’, then it will all be worth it.”