The History of Princeton

PULSE

(Pride Unity Leadership Sisterhood Esteem)

of Princeton High School

presents

The History of the African American Community in Princeton, New Jersey

LANDMARKS

1
This is the corner of Nassau and Witherspoon Streets. The property where the bank now sits was owned by Caesar Trent (1795). He was the first Black property owner in Princeton.

2
This is a picture of Witherspoon Street in the 1920's. The cemetery is on the right and on the left is the corner of Green Street. Look closely and you can see trolley tracks. The trolley ran from Princeton to Trenton. It has been said that this section of Witherspoon Street was called "African Lane" because of the large population of Negroes.

3
Colored Entrance to the Princeton Cemetery

The Princeton Cemetery was established by the First Presbyterian Church in 1757. It starts at Wiggins Street down Witherspoon where the entrance to the Colored Cemetery begins. Paul Robeson's parents are buried in the white section of the cemetery. When William Robeson was pastor of the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church he requested that his wife be buried so that the grave faced their home on Witherspoon Street.

Many African American family members are buried in the colored section of the cemetery. Jimmy Johnson came to Princeton as a slave, then sold candy and peanuts to the students at the university. When he died in 1902, he was buried in an unmarked grave. In later years the Princeton University students raised money to get a tombstone for his grave.

4
Graves of Reverend William Drew and Maria Louisa Bustill Robeson (center)

5
Before this area was Palmer Square it was Baker Street, a residential street where colored families lived. The row houses were separated into two units and moved on wooden logs to Birch Avenue.

6
These are two of the houses that were moved to Birch Avenue from Baker Street. Many of the people who lived in these row houses worked at the university and for the older workers it was a hardship to have to walk a greater distance to get to work.

7
Palmer Square was developed by Edgar Palmer who had a vision to build a square in Princeton. In 1929 the row houses on Baker Street were moved to start the Palmer Square construction. This was the beginning of Urban Renewal in Princeton.

8
This is Paul Robeson's birthplace, located on the corner of Witherspoon and Green Streets. Paul Robeson was born in this house on April 9, 1898 and attended primary grades at the Witherspoon School for Colored Children. When his father was no longer minister of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, Reverend Robeson moved his family to a house on Green Street.

9
Monument in honor of Paul Robeson erected in 1977 and located on the corner of Paul Robeson Place and Witherspoon Street.

10
This is an aerial view of Jackson Street. This street was located behind Hulfish Street and was part of the Urban Renewal- another displacement of the colored residents. The area of Princeton known as the Witherspoon Jackson community is the area from Jackson Street down to Birch Avenue. The name of this street was changed to Avalon Place, then Paul Robeson Place. The parking lot in the forefront of the photograph was the parking lot for the Playhouse Theatre that was located near Jackson Street.