Governor to move into Drumthwacket full-time, returning historic Princeton mansion to daily use as executive residence

Drumthwacket, the stately mansion on Stockton Street that has long served as New Jersey’s ceremonial governor’s residence, will once again become a full-time home for the state’s first family this summer, marking a return to a role it has played only intermittently over the last several decades.

In a statement released Friday, Gov. Mikie Sherrill and her husband said the move is intended to bring the administration physically closer to Trenton and the State House.

“From Day One this administration has committed to getting to work in Trenton to deliver on our commitments,” the statement reads. “We’re thrilled to further strengthen that commitment by living full time in the Governor’s official residence and being much closer to the Capital City and the State House.”

Located at 354 Stockton St., just north of downtown Princeton and a short drive from Trenton, Drumthwacket has served as the governor’s official residence since 1982, though not every governor has chosen to live there full-time. Former Gov. Jim McGreevey, who served from 2002 to 2004, was the last governor to make the mansion his full-time home.

The residence has continued to be used for official events, receptions, and public tours even when governors lived elsewhere.

Drumthwacket’s history stretches back more than three centuries. The land was once owned by William Penn, the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, before it was acquired in 1696 by William Olden, who built a small white farmhouse there known as Olden House.

The estate’s modern history began with Charles Smith Olden, who was born on the property in 1799. After building wealth in Philadelphia and New Orleans, Olden returned to Princeton and began construction of Drumthwacket in 1835. The mansion’s name is believed to derive from a Scottish Gaelic phrase meaning “wooded hill.” Olden later became New Jersey’s governor in 1860, making him the first governor to live at the property.

The house took on its grand form under financier and Princeton benefactor Moses Taylor Pyne, who purchased the estate in 1893 from Olden’s widow. Pyne dramatically expanded the mansion, adding two wings, a paneled library, formal Italianate gardens, greenhouses, bridle paths, and a dairy farm, transforming it into one of the most prominent estates in Princeton.

In 1941, the property was sold to industrialist and inventor Abram Nathaniel Spanel, founder of the International Latex Corporation, later known as Playtex. During his ownership, staff members lived at the estate, and a number of Spanel’s inventions were conceived in what is now the mansion’s music room.

The Spanels sold Drumthwacket to the State of New Jersey in 1966 with the intention that it become the governor’s official residence, replacing Morven. But it was not until 1982, after years of fundraising and restoration, that the mansion was formally converted into the state executive residence under the leadership of First Lady Deborah Kean and the newly formed Drumthwacket Foundation.

Although the Keans oversaw major restoration work to the public rooms, they chose not to live there. That changed in 1990, when Gov. Jim Florio and First Lady Lucinda Florio became the first gubernatorial couple to reside at Drumthwacket. The Florios oversaw significant modernization work, including updates to plumbing, heating, and the private living quarters, while also restoring the estate’s historic Italianate gardens through privately raised funds.

The governor and her husband said the family is looking forward to this next chapter. They also thanked state staff and the Drumthwacket Foundation for all their work.

“Drumthwacket is the people’s house, and we look also forward to continuing to bring it to life for New Jersey residents and highlight all the incredible history it offers,” they said.