Part of The College.

Built alongside Nassau Hall, also by Robert Smith in 1756, this house served as the residence for presidents of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) throughout the century. The college’s second president was the first to move in; Aaron Burr, Sr. lived here for a year with his wife Esther, their children Sarah and Aaron, Jr. (future U.S. Vice President, also known for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel), and the enslaved men Ceasar and Harry.

Indeed, this is a site fraught with contradictory scenes of both liberty and bondage. In 1766, it hosted a slave auction rather large for Princeton, in which six people were sold from the estate of deceased college president Samuel Finley. Only a decade later, it was occupied by George Washington on the first of two revolutionary occasions -- first during the Battle of Princeton in 1777, and later when the Continental Congress met at Nassau Hall in 1783. Further details of the house’s history with slavery can be found on the plaque along Nassau Street, and online at the Princeton and Slavery Project.

Later Name: Maclean House, after John Maclean, Jr., President of the College from 1854-68, who founded the Alumni Association.

Original Sections: Still quite similar to Robert Smith’s original design. The porch is a later addition, as well as the dormer in the roof.

Present Use: Princeton University Alumni Association offices