GPS City GuidePrincetonJugtown Historic District

Stop 29 of 31 · Princeton audio walking tour

Jugtown Historic District

Jugtown · 1766 · Birth of Local Pottery

What you'll hear here: about 90 seconds on Jugtown Historic District — the story behind what you're looking at, playing hands-free as you arrive.

At the crossing of Harrison and Nassau Streets in Princeton, your Jugtown Historic District traces back to a 1730 crossroads settlement. The settlement dates to colonial times, first settled by Europeans around 1730, when a crossroads on the King's Highway gave this place its shape. In 1766 John Morton established the first pottery here — a detail that helps explain why the name Jugtown, used in the 18th and 19th centuries, likely comes from the pottery made in the village in the late 18th century.

The neighborhood is also sometimes known as Queenston. During the 19th century the community grew, spurred by commercial development and trade on the Delaware and Raritan Canal, though the latter half of that century saw the decline of Jugtown's industry. For a brief decade this was home to Evelyn College for Women, from 1887 to 1897.

In the 20th century the district's character became mostly residential. The area was recognized in the 1980s as a historic district and was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, yet concerns over further development persist because of municipal zoning overlays. Notice the homes, the crossroads, and the surviving echoes of pottery and canal-era trade.

Where it is

Coordinates
40.3539, -74.6456
Area
Jugtown
Era
1766 · Birth of Local Pottery
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