Picture Nassau Presbyterian Church as it has stood beside Princeton University and its seminary since services first filled Nassau Hall in 1756. This is a place shaped by its proximity to the college that opened here in 1756, when services were first held in Nassau Hall. A few years later funds were raised and the newly constructed First Presbyterian Church of Princeton opened in 1766, and two years after that John Witherspoon, then President of the College, began a 25‑year tenure as pastor of First Church in 1768.
The congregation you face has been home to many important figures in the history of Presbyterianism in the United States and today operates the Princeton Cemetery while serving as a contributing property to the Princeton Historic District. The current pastor is the Reverend Dr. David A. Davis. You can feel how layers of worship and learning, from the early services in Nassau Hall to the First Church’s founding, have gathered here.
Notice the stone and the steeple, then picture the nearby Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary just beyond.