PRINCETON, N.J. — The story of Drumthwacket is the story of three families that helped shape American history and the New Jersey governors who have made their home there.
The official governor's residence, which sits on 11-acres of land near Princeton University, also serves as a museum of furnishings and art from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
Located on the first floor of the 11,000-square-foot mansion, the museum features items including a 1906 Tiffany & Co. sterling silver punch bowl commissioned for the USS New Jersey and a 1904 watercolor artwork of Atlantic City donated by former Gov. Tom Kean. Most of the artifacts can be connected to New Jersey's heritage and the development of America from the Colonial period to the Civil War.
"People like to come and see how the governor lives, but our collection is also tied to the cultural history of New Jersey," says Lisa Paine, executive director of the Drumthwacket Foundation.
The second floor of the home is reserved for Acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco and his family.
Along with thousands of tourists that visit Drumthwacket each year, the mansion also hosts foreign dignitaries, and state and national officials for receptions and dinners.
Drumthwacket was built on land that was originally part of 300-acres obtained in 1696 by William Olden, one of the six early settlers of what was known then as Prince Town.
Charles Smith Olden built Drumthwacket in 1835 and became the 28th governor of New Jersey in 1860, a year before the Civil War.
It was Olden who named the mansion using two Scottish Gaelic words — drum and thwacket — which mean "wooded hills."
The mansion's Greek revival architecture, inspired by a visit by Olden to New Orleans, is reflected in the six-pillar portico that leads into the house.
In 1893, Olden's widow sold the estate to Moses Taylor Pyne, a Princeton University graduate who added two large wings.
Pyne's granddaughter, Agnes — whose wedding photos are displayed in Drumthwacket's first-floor library — inherited the mansion in 1939, and subdivided portions of the 300-acre ground.
In 1941, inventor Abram Spanel bought Drumthwacket, Thomas Olden's house and 12 acres of land. Spanel sold the mansion to the state in 1966.
The home was named the governor's official residence in 1981.
Kean oversaw the creation of the Drumthwacket Foundation in 1982 and fund-raising for the mansion's restoration, but never lived in the home. Former Gov. Jim Florio was the first governor to live there.
The foundation has since acquired nearly 100 items of artwork and furniture as well as its permanent library collection, and restored Thomas Olden's home into a gift shop and foundation offices.
The 45-minute tour through the home provides a glimpse of life in that era as well as how the current governor lives.
Adorning the wall of the front hall is a large painting of Gen. George Washington at the Battle of Princeton in Jan. 3, 1777, a painting on loan from Princeton University.
Upon entering the dining room, often used for state dinners, a multicolored floral chinoiserie adorns the wall.
There, the punch bowl commissioned for the USS New Jersey sits in the middle of a 19th-century banquet table, surrounded by Lenox China inscribed with the state's seal.
The parlor features many of the museum's furniture pieces, mostly by Matthew Egerton Pembroke, a late-18th century furniture maker from New Brunswick.
The library features a Gothic-style, carved stone fireplace as its centerpiece. Above the mantle is the Pyne family crest with the Latin inscription, "In the storm I flourish."
In 1771, Madison graduated from Princeton University, which was known then as the College of New Jersey. He became the fourth president of the United States in 1809.
A unique feature of the library is the concealed metal sliding doors and window shutters that protect the room from fire.
The adjacent horseshoe-shaped governor's study is a ceremonial room often used for bill signings.
The tour concludes at the glass solarium, leading into a meticulously landscaped garden.
Drumthwacket, located at 354 Stockton St., Princeton, N.J., is open on Wednesdays from 12 noon-2 p.m. Group tours for 15 or more by appointment. Closed during the months of January and August and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Call 609-683-0591 or visit www.drumthwacket.org.