History & Heritage Fund
The History & Heritage Fund Expands Educational Opportunities
It was just outside of Princeton, on the Clarke farms, that George Washington rallied his forces to defeat the British on January 3 of 1777 – a major turning point in the Revolutionary War. Not only did Washington's success here inspire his soldiers to renew their enlistments, it reinvigorated support for the Patriot’s struggling effort. The Battle of Princeton propelled America's fight for independence forward.
The historic Thomas Clarke House is the only remaining structure from the Battle of Princeton. Home to a third-generation Quaker farming family, the Clarkes turned the house into a field hospital for the wounded after the Battle – taking in both British and American soldiers.
The History & Heritage Fund focuses on exhibits and displays both within the historic Thomas Clarke House and on the battlefield that supports the Princeton Battlefield Society’s mission of Revolutionary War and Battle of Princeton education. Our first project is a new “Battle of Princeton” exhibit in two rooms of the Clarke House museum, which is fully funded by the History & Heritage Fund. Plans are to open the exhibit to visitors in 2021.
Other projects to be considered for the History & Heritage Fund include a display on 18th medicine (in support of the Clarke House used as a field hospital), a project depicting the Clarke Family as Quakers and farmers, the purchase and installation of cannons at Moulder’s Battery, and the creation of a “colonial garden” immediately outside the House.
You are invited to support new projects and to expand education at the Princeton Battlefield with a donation to the History & Heritage Fund.