William Trent House facts for kids
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William Trent House Museum
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William Trent House in 2019
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 Location in Mercer County, New Jersey
Location in New Jersey
Location in the United States
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| Location | 15 Market Street, Trenton, New Jersey |
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| Area | 5.2 acres (2.1 ha) |
| Built | 1719 |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000388 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | April 15, 1970 |
| Designated NHL | April 15, 1970 |
The William Trent House is a very old and important building in Trenton, New Jersey. It was built in 1719 for a wealthy merchant named William Trent. This makes it the oldest building in Trenton!
William Trent helped start the town of Trenton, which was named after him. Later, Trenton became the capital city of New Jersey. Over the years, three different governors of New Jersey lived in this house. The William Trent House is recognized as a National Historic Landmark because it's a great example of early Georgian style architecture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 15, 1970.
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What Does the Trent House Look Like?
The William Trent House is located just south of downtown Trenton. It sits on a large piece of land, about 2 acres in size. Parts of the property are surrounded by brick walls and fences made of stone and iron.
The house itself is a two-and-a-half-story building made of brick. The front of the house has five sections with windows. It has a sloped roof that comes together at the top, where there's a small tower called a cupola.
Most of the windows have a rounded top. The main entrance has a double door with a window above it that has six small panes of glass. Inside, the house has a main hallway in the middle with four rooms on each floor. Some parts of the house, like the main staircase and the floors, are still original!
A Look Back: History of the Trent House
The area where the William Trent House stands has a long history. Before Europeans arrived, the Lenni Lenape people lived here for thousands of years. The first European to settle here was Mahlon Stacy, who built a home around 1680.
William Trent Buys the Land
After Stacy passed away, his son sold 800 acres of land to William Trent in 1714. William Trent was a very rich merchant from Philadelphia. He bought even more land, which eventually became almost all of what we know as the city of Trenton today.
Around 1719, William Trent built his large country home on this land. It was a grand brick house, built in the newest style of the time. A long path lined with cherry trees led from the house down to the ferry landing. There were also many smaller buildings and mills nearby, used for grinding grain and processing cloth.
In 1720, Trent planned out a settlement and named it "Trent Town." By 1721, he and his family moved into the house full-time. He lived there until he passed away in 1724.
Governors and Revolutionaries
After William Trent, the house had many different owners. Three of these owners were actually governors of New Jersey: Lewis Morris, Philemon Dickerson, and Rodman McCamley Price. They used the house as their official home.
During the American Revolution, two important men lived in the house: Dr. William Bryant and Colonel John Cox.
Becoming a Museum
In 1929, a man named Edward A. Stokes gave the house to the city of Trenton. He wanted it to be fixed up to look like it did originally. He also wanted it to be used as a museum, library, or art gallery.
Workers restored the house between 1934 and 1936. It was officially opened as a museum in 1936 and welcomed its first visitors in 1939. Today, you can visit the William Trent House and learn about its long and interesting past!
Gallery
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An old postcard showing the house and a small garden house.
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A photograph from the Historic American Buildings Survey.
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Learn More
- List of National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Mercer County, New Jersey
- List of the oldest buildings in New Jersey
- List of museums in New Jersey
