Cedar Grove School
Township School located on the Great Road
Incorporated 1875. Closed 1917.
The Princeton Township community of Cedar Grove, located northwest of Princeton along the Great Road, provided refuge to French Huguenot exiles in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Its residents included Paul Tulane, the benefactor of Tulane University, who was born in Cedar Grove in 1801 and supported the village’s multi-denominational Christian chapel throughout much of the late 19th century.
By the 1820s, Cedar Grove’s cluster of dwellings included a small schoolhouse. A second wooden schoolhouse was built in 1845 next to the Cedar Grove Chapel. Students at first were only taught by male teachers, but a female educator named Mary Creamer took over the school by 1904. A second teacher was added in 1916 to accommodate a growing number of students. The Cedar Grove School was abandoned in 1917 when Princeton Township schools consolidated and all students began attending the new school on Witherspoon Street. The schoolhouse became a private residence, was expanded, and is now owned by the Tenacre Foundation.
Students in front of the Cedar Grove schoolhouse, 1904. Historical Society of Princeton.
This 1904 photo by Charles Silverster also features Cedar Grove teacher Mary Creamer. According to her pupils, Ms. Creamer was a woman of many talents – students fondly recalled her colorful chalk drawings and her knowledge of “Jujitsu.”
![Map of Princeton Township [Detail]. Combination atlas map of Mercer County, New Jersey, 1875.](Images/4_CedarGrove_002.jpg)
Map of Princeton Township [Detail]. Combination atlas map of Mercer County, New Jersey, 1875.
The settlement of Cedar Grove and its schoolhouse (labeled “S.H.”) can be seen in the top left corner.
“Cedar Grove School Library” bookplate. Historical Society of Princeton. Princeton History Project Collection.