22. "Colored" Cemetery Gate

On Witherspoon Street, across from the Mt. Pisgah AME Church, is the entrance to the Colored section of the Princeton Cemetery. The cemetery, referred to as “Westminster Abby of the United States” because there are so many noted people buried there, was established by the First Presbyterian Church (now Nassau Presbyterian Church) in 1757.
Through a provision in the will of Dr. Thomas Wiggins, the African American community inherited a piece of land adjacent to the cemetery, which became known as the Negro Cemetery.

One of the first persons to be buried in this section was Jimmy Johnson, who came to Princeton around 1890 as a slave, and started his own business as a merchant. He sold candy and peanuts to the students at the University. He died in 1902 and was buried in an unmarked grave. In later years, the University students raised money to get a tombstone to mark his grave.

In addition, there are many noted African American buried here: musician Donald Lambert, entrepreneur William Moore, beautician Christine Moore Howell, Principal Howard Waxwood, and many more.