April 24, 2026
Attendees on tours of the Princeton Cemetery. Photos courtesy of Leigh Anne Lieberman, AIA Princeton Society.
On March 28, the AIA Princeton Society hosted a Society Outreach Event, tours of the Princeton Cemetery. The Society worked in conjunction with Nassau Presbyterian Church to offer attendees an opportunity to learn about history of the Princeton Cemetery and some of its residents, both those that are quite well-known and those that may not have featured very prominently in our local history lessons.
Nearly twenty people with ages ranging from five to 60+ went on the tours! Linda Gilmore, Business Manager of the Princeton Nassau Presbyterian Church and a historian of the Princeton Cemetery, guided the tours and Society Secretary Leigh Anne Lieberman noted that “Participants were so excited to have an opportunity to explore a site in their own backyards, a place that many of them have been walking by for years but had never taken the time to explore more deeply…Many were eager to see more events like this in the future.” The Society has already begun programming for the fall to continue this kind of programming.
Of the Princeton Cemetery itself, the Society provided the additional background information: “The oldest part of the cemetery, formerly known as the Old Graveyard, is home to graves of some of the earliest European family names in the area: Bayard, Berrien, Leonard, Mershon, Skillman, Stockton, and Terhune. The oldest surviving monument in the graveyard is that of Aaron Burr, Sr., the second President of the College of New Jersey, who died the year the cemetery was established: 1757. The graves of all but four of the deceased presidents of the College of New Jersey later renamed Princeton University can be found in the Presidents Plot located in the Old Graveyard section. Also buried in the cemetery are all but one of the deceased presidents of Princeton Theological Seminary. Within the second set of cemetery gates in the area known as the Witherspoon Jackson Community, is what was originally designated as the Colored Cemetery, established in 1807. It is the section of the cemetery where generations of African American families and noted residents are buried although many of the graves in this space are unmarked today.”
Participants of the event are very eager to continue to develop relationships the individuals who manage sites of local interest to the community!
You can learn more about recent events funded by Society Outreach Grants here.
