I was asked what we know about the original vision for Herrontown Woods, Veblen House, and Veblen Cottage. Here are quotes collected from articles, meeting minutes, and the Veblens' deed and will.
The year was 1957, and Oswald and Elizabeth Veblen had just donated 81 of their 95 acres to create Mercer County's first nature preserve, up along the ridge in northeastern Princeton. In the post-WWII boom, farm fields were getting gobbled up by housing subdivisions. Someone needed to step up, and it was the Veblens who did. In a NY Times article about the donation, Elizabeth Veblen said,
"There is nowhere around here that you can get away from cars and just go walk and sit." "Princeton when we came here in 1905 was a lovely village." She explained that the donation was made "in hope that a little bit of this outdoor atmosphere can be preserved."
In the same article, Mercer County director of parks and rec, Richard J. Coffee, said of the new arboretum:
"Eventually, we envision a nature museum, a system of trails through wooded areas, with trees and other plants labelled." He said that the county hoped to provide lectures and opportunities for nature study.
The foregoing premises hereinbefore described, excluding and reserving the portion thereof which the Grantors retain, is conveyed to the County of Mercer, in the State of New Jersey, to be used perpetually by the said County of Mercer, for the following purposes, and to be known as "HERRONTOWN WOOD", to wit:(a) The maintenance of a park, wildlife, and plant sanctuary;
(b) The conservation of natural resources, including the watershed, and the stimulation and development of public appreciation of the values of wildlife and plants;(c) It is specifically reserved by the grantors that the nature trails shall not be used for horseback riding.”
The system of trails was built, and a one-room building for nature study was erected near the parking lot. But the Veblen Cottage, which was part of the original land donation, remained unused. After Oswald Veblen died in 1960, Elizabeth continued to live in the Veblen House on 14 acres adjacent to Herrontown Woods.
When Elizabeth died in 1974, she bequeathed Veblen House and its 14 acres to Mercer County. The language in the will is a bit minimal and oblique:
"and in addition thereto I give and bequeath all of my pictures, radio receivers and phonograph records to the said County, to be kept by it in the house herein devised as a part of the proposed library and museum of Herrontown Wood."
By "pictures," she may have meant the many photos taken by Oswald in the 1950s, documenting the house and grounds. We have been able to get digital copies, and helped get most of the slides moved from a county attic to safer storage at the IAS archives. They serve as a valuable documentation of the Veblens' era. The radio receivers and phonograph records, and reportedly Elizabeth's ashes as well, may have been lost when a water pipe broke in the basement of a county building in Trenton. The will's words "part of" suggest that the Veblens envisioned the House and Cottage, and perhaps other structures as well, such as a hay barrack that was torn down by the county around 2008, as complementary components of the Herrontown Woods experience.
The timing of Elizabeth's death may have affected what happened, or didn't happen, to the Veblen House and Cottage. Also in 1974, the County received a donation of what would become Howell History Farm. The County put its resources into developing that property. In Princeton, though, the nation's upcoming bicentennial generated considerable civic energy, some of which was directed towards Herrontown Woods.
On Nov. 15, 1974, Herrontown Woods Citizens Advisory Committee, consisting of many of Princeton's most active environmental advocates, met with Deane Montgomery, the Veblens' close friend and colleague who was administering the Veblen estate. Attending: the Blairs, the Macholds, the Henkels, Deane. Not present: the Reeds, the Clark G Travers, the Formans.
Deane Montgomery described the Veblens desires this way: “the main building as a nature museum, and the cottage as a library-retreat”
The Committee itself had this view:
“The committee feels the large Veblen house could be developed as a natural bird, wildlife sanctuary. It could be the center of conservation activities in Mercer County being made available to garden clubs, environmental and conservation groups as a meeting area.Two garden clubs split their Bicentennial spirit and civic energy between Herrontown Woods and the Princeton Battlefield. In 1975, Rosanna Jaffin of the Garden Club of Princeton envisioned a project to restore the Herrontown Woods Cottage Garden, describing the Cottage as:
The cottage should be restored as a library study center of the natural environment. It was recommended that both structures be made available to county employees to live in and to be responsible for routine up-keep.”
"left by Professor and Mrs. Veblen to serve as an environmental study center and small library for the Herrontown Woods."
“Mercer County Park Commission is planning to develop the house as a nature library-meeting area, and since the Dogwood Garden Club had expressed interest in working on Mrs. Veblen’s garden some time ago, we felt it was now time to reopen the project.”
Mercer County repaired the Veblen Cottage in 1976, but it remained unused. The Veblen House was rented to arborist Bob Wells, who raised his family there. The first floor of the Veblen House was to serve as periodic meeting space for the Dogwood Garden Club. In 1998, rather than make needed repairs, Mercer County decided to get out of the landlord business. It closed up Veblen House and other historic houses in the County, ushering in an era of vandalism and neglect. Though suffering broken windows and periodic break-ins, the Veblen House and the original portion of the Veblen Cottage were spared by good roofs. In 2017, Mercer County began preparations to demolish the Veblen House and Cottage. The Friends of Herrontown Woods advocated for their preservation, and convinced Princeton municipality to accept transfer of Herrontown Woods from the County, and in 2020 the town leased the buildings to FOHW.
In the intervening years, FOHW and Princeton have reversed 25 years of neglect, and put the buildings on a positive trajectory. Largely through FOHW and this website, the unique features of the House and Cottage, and the extraordinary local, national, and international legacy of the Veblens, have been researched and documented. Through initial charitable donations, FOHW was able to stabilize the House and replace rotted boards, underpinned the foundation, dried out the basement, and repointed the field stone basement in the Cottage. Princeton financed removal of asbestos from the House, in the process exposing the fascinating, unique structural logic of this 1920s prefab. After review, the NJ Historic Preservation Office affirmed the George Dauer House (a.k.a. Veblen Cottage) is eligible to be listed in the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places, and said the Veblen House might be as well, after more research is done. Windows and doors have been inventoried. Electricity, wifi and surveillance are in place. Drawings for the House and stabilization plans for the cottage are being finalized.
The vision today is very much in line with the visions expressed in the 1950s and '70s. The Friends of Herrontown Woods keeps the trails open, manages the preserve for native plant diversity, hosts yoga classes during warmer months, along with events that promote learning and community. We see the House as a place for meetings, talks, and other gatherings. The Cottage, where Oswald Veblen would read, or hang out with Einstein and other friends, is envisioned as a place for nature study, books, games, and displays about the preserve's history.
The Veblens were not self-aggrandizing. Though they certainly could have, they didn't name the preserve after themselves. They deserve many times over to be known and remembered, and so it is fitting that the museum component not only be about nature, but also about the Veblens, and those who came before them: the Whiton-Stuarts who moved the House to Princeton from Morristown, and the small-holder farmers who built the Cottage. These varied histories run the gamut from wealth to subsistence farming, from great intellect to physical labor. These are the stories that have drawn us to these very patient buildings, and moved us to make something of them for Princeton and beyond.
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