The William Trent House Preservation Plan: Historic Buildings and Grounds July 2021 Acknowledgements Funding for this report was provided, in large part, through the New Jersey Historic Trust’s Preserve New Jersey Grant Program. This program is extraordinarily important for the documentation and preservation of New Jersey’s historic resources. The team wishes to thank the staff and board members of The William Trent House and its Association who were very helpful in providing information about and access to this National Historic Landmark. In particular, we would like to thank the President of the Trent House Association, Princess Hoagland; Association Treasurer, Sam Stephens, PhD; Association Trustee, Kevin Joy; and Shawn Carney, Docent and Researcher. In addition, we would like to thank the City of Trenton for their support, especially Maria Richardson, the Director of the Department of Recreation, Natural Resources and Culture; and Randy Baum, formerly with the City and now with the consulting firm BRS, Inc. Consultant Team Clarke Caton Hintz; Architecture, Planning, Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation • John D. S. Hatch, FAIA, Principal-in-Charge • Michael Hanrahan, AIA, Project Manager • Melissa McMullen, Graphics • Sin Thach, Site Assessment Hunter Research; Cultural Resource Consulting and Archaeology • Richard Hunter, PhD, Principal-in-Charge • Patricia Madrigal, Publications Director • Jim Lee, Principal Archaeologist • Evan Mydlowski, GIS/ Graphic Specialist Princeton Engineering Group; MEP/ FP Engineers • Ira Guterman, PE, Principal-in-Charge • Richard Olszewski, Project Manager Harrison Hamnett; Structural Engineers • John Harrison, PE, Principal-in-Charge Becker & Frondorf; Cost Estimators • John Frondorf, Principal-in-Charge 2 The William Trent House | Preservation Plan Preface: I. Executive Summary 5 Table of Contents II. Introduction 11 Part 1: Site and Building History and Development: III. Historical Overview 17 IV. Archaeological Overview 47 V. Site and Landscape Overview 71 Part 2: Treatment and Use: VI. Treatment Philosophy 79 VII. Architectural Description & Recommendations 85 VIII. Site Description and Recommendations 119 IX. Use & Interpretation of the Historic Resources 127 X. Code & Accessibility Review 135 XI. Structural Evaluation 145 XII. Building Systems Evaluation 147 XIII. Summary of Interpretive & Admin. Recommendations 171 XIV. Prioritized Recommendations 177 Appendices: Appendix 1: History of The William Trent House 185 Appendix 2: Archaeology Appendix 3: Measured Drawings Appendix 4: Cost Estimate Appendix 5: Maintenance Plan Appendix 6: Hazard & Vulnerability Assessment Appendix 7: Glossary References July 2021 3 Aerial drone photograph of the South elevation of The William Trent House; courtesy of Hunter Research (view facing north) 4 The William Trent House | Preservation Plan Executive Summary Preface: Introduction: The subject of this Preservation Plan is The William Trent House in Trenton, New Jersey. In addition to the house itself, the report addresses the current Visitor Center, the grounds and the built features I. Executive located around the site. The William Trent House is a National Historic Landmark, recognized for Summary its associations with William Trent, a wealthy and prominent immigrant to Philadelphia and the nominal founder of what is now the City of Trenton. However, the site has many other significant associations, including thousands of years of Native American activity, an important role during the American Revolution, housing several New Jersey Governors, and as an estate in a rapidly changing and ultimately industrial part of the city. The many stories embodied by the buildings and grounds of The William Trent House can provide compelling insight into Trenton’s, New Jersey’s and, indeed, the nation’s history. General Description The William Trent House, constructed 1719-1721, is considered to be one of the finest examples of Georgian residential architecture in the Delaware Valley and indeed one of the finest in the United States. At one time one of the largest private residences in West Jersey, it is an imposing, 2 1/2 story symmetrical building capped with a reconstructed cupola that is a notable landmark in downtown Trenton. Designed as a free-standing architectural object in a garden, it has two main entry facades (south and north), although all four principal elevations were carefully designed and constructed. Detail showing the Trent House with its kitchen wing The south and north elevations have five, symmetrical bays, allowing for impressive central entries on from the Daniel W. Coxe map of Trenton, c. 1804 (view these two main facades. facing south) The interior of the house is also symmetrical with a central hall and rooms arranged to either side. There is a large entry hallway and staircase and four rooms on each floor. Many of the interior features are original, including the stairway and floor boards. The nine fireplaces and cellar kitchen hearth are all in good condition, with one fireplace on the second floor surrounded by its original delft tiles. The interior walls were plastered over oak plank and lath and then whitewashed. The plaster was restored in the 1930s restoration, and original finishes reapplied during the restoration of the early 2000s. July 2021 5 The Visitor Center was likely built in the 1890s as a carriage house by Edward H. Stokes. It was then extensively renovated and reconfigured as a caretaker’s cottage during the 1934 restoration project. In the early 2000s, the building was again renovated and reconfigured on the interior as a isitorV Center with administrative offices on the second floor. The current building reflects the original massing and, to a certain extent, the original window and door opening configuration from the 1890s, but the exterior was redesigned in the Colonial Revival style. The goal of the 1934 project was to make the Victorian carriage house fit the contemporary vision of colonial architecture. Originally situated on 800 acres purchased from Mahlon Stacy, Jr. in 1714, The William Trent House began as the domestic focus of a country estate established by a wealthy Philadelphia merchant. In the ensuing 300 years, the site has gone through many fascinating changes as it has experienced important events (notably, the Revolutionary War) and momentous economic changes (the Industrial East elevation of the Carriage House/Visitor Center Revolution and the decline of American cities from the 1950s - 1990s). Now about two-and-a-half (view facing west) acres, the site configuration largely reflects the work of the Stokes family from 1861-1929, while also embodying aspects of the mid-1930s WPA Colonial Revival project to restore the house and grounds, and then subsequent efforts, particularly in a series of restorations in the early 2000s, to reconfigure and interpret the site to reflect a number of periods. The grounds include a few mature trees dating back to and pre-dating the 1934 restoration, plantings from the restoration in the early 2000s, brick walls and other built features (including a reconstructed well-head and ice house) that reflect both the site’s 18th and 19th-century history, and the Colonial Revival restoration in the 1930s. Purpose and Scope of this Report: In 1997, Susan Maxman Architects (SMA) completed a comprehensive Historic Structures Report for The William Trent House, including extensive historical research, detailed conditions assessments of the building and its historic features, and recommendations for interpretation and restoration of the house. In 2006, SMA designed the restoration of the house, removing the most obvious “Colonial Revival” intrusions into the historic features of the house and site, in particular furnishings, window treatments, the Colonial Revival Gardens, etc.; and providing a much more accurate depiction of the house in its earliest days. While this was a comprehensive renovation project in many ways, certain aspects of The William Trent House were not addressed at that time. In particular, the HVAC system, which had been in- stalled in the mid-1980s, was adjusted and left in place. This system has now reached the end of its The main pedestrian entry gate from William Trent Place (view facing east) useful life and needs replacement. The building experiences wide swings in temperature and humid- ity, and the system occasionally fails altogether. 6 The William Trent House | Preservation Plan Also renovated during the restoration in the early 2000s, the former carriage house then caretaker’s cottage became the Visi- tor Center that today includes administrative offices on the upper floor. Not interpreted as a historic structure, rather it has been used for a variety of functions, including meetings, presentations, exhibits, and the gift store. The building, like the Trent House itself, is in relatively good condition, although there are some roof leaks and HVAC issues that need to be addressed. The current site configuration largely reflects the recommendations and design work completed by SMA, allowing for a wide range of interpretive opportunities, from its construction by William Trent through the colonial revival “restoration.” As described by the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, the goal of a preservation plan is to “assess and guide the effects of a proposed treatment or construction-related capital project on the existing fabric of a property.” To that end, this document identifies a number of conditions in each of the structures and