Built in 1773 for John Witherspoon, your Tusculum takes its name from Cicero's Roman country villa. He was president of Princeton University and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and this house takes its name from the Roman town of Tusculum — the place famed as the country villa of Marcus Tullius Cicero. Imagine the estate as a private retreat in Witherspoon’s lifetime: a place so notable that George Washington and his wife, Martha, often visited during Witherspoon’s tenure as president of Princeton University.
Twenty years after it was built, in 1793, the property was made available for purchase as a result of Witherspoon’s declining age and was sought after by many refugees. Then, centuries later, the house changed hands again, sold in 2013 for $5.5 million. Stand here and you can feel that long sweep of history: a Revolutionary-era leader, presidential visitors, a name that stretches back to Cicero, and a story of changing ownership across the centuries.
Notice the facade of Tusculum, then picture Cherry Hill Road and the land that has witnessed all of it.