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About Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands
History of Princeton Nurseries
Aerial photo of former nursery lands
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April
FPNL is hosting two special events at Mapleton Preserve this spring! See page 4 for more details and other events.
April 26th - Join William Flemer IV for a grafting demonstration, nursery history and tree planting to celebrate National Arbor Day. [Saturday, 2-4 pm]
"FPNL Annual Meeting - Princeton Nurseries State and National Register Nomination".
June 11th - FPNL Annual Meeting -Robert von Zumbusch and Karen Linder will show the slide presentation prepared for the nomination of the Princeton Nurseries Kingston to the NJ State and National Registers of Historic Places. [Wednesday, 7:30 pm]
NURSERY NEWS
Princeton Nurseries Kingston Site nominated to National Register of Historic Places: Good news! An application to place the Princeton Nurseries Kingston Site on the NJ State and National Registers of Historic Places was reviewed this February by the NJ State Historic Sites Council. By unanimous decision, it was determined that the site is of both local and national significance. After approval at the State level, the nomination will be forwarded to the Federal Government. National Register status, when attained, will allow application for federal grants for historic preservation.
The boundary of the proposed Princeton Nurseries Historic District was drawn to include the historic core of the nursery operation, including land from the first four farms that originally formed the Nurseries. Though much smaller than Princeton Nurseries holdings at their maximum size, the proposed historic district includes the Headquarters (sales and administration) building, the plant propagation house, greenhouses and storage buildings, nursery fields and tree rows. Also included are houses once used to house nursery employees and owners, and sections of two colonial roads, Ridge and Mapleton Roads. An allée of London Plane Trees on Mapleton Road, planted by William Flemer, Jr. is also included.
The nomination papers for the application were prepared by Hunter Research. Their work was funded by a project grant that the South Brunswick Township Historic Preservation Commission (SBTHPC) received from the New Jersey Historical Commission. Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands has been working with SBTHPC to prepare an interpretive brochure and a PowerPoint presentation that describes the proposed Princeton Nurseries Historic District and the benefits of National Register status. To find out more, plan to attend our annual meeting on June 11th, for the début of the slide show!
Historic preservation grant application funded: The South Brunswick Township (SBT) Historic Preservation Commission recently obtained a grant from the Garden State Historic Preservation Trust Fund for the Princeton Nurseries Kingston Site. Additional matching funds were provided by South Brunswick Township. The grant, which was highly competitive, will be used to prepare a cultural landscape report that documents the history of the nurseries and the way that the landscape was shaped by the Nurseries presence. The National Park Service defines a Cultural Landscape as "a geographic area (including both cultural and natural resources and the wildlife or domestic animals therein), associated with a historic event, activity, or person or exhibiting other cultural or aesthetic values." Princeton Nurseries was once one of the largest wholesale nurseries in the United States, cultivating up to 1500 acres in Kingston, Plainsboro, Princeton and West Windsor. The Princeton Nurseries Kingston Site epitomizes the concept of the Cultural Landscape. The existing land, roads and houses were sculpted by the 82 years that Princeton Nurseries had its operations here, and still contains several features of the thriving and self-contained business that flourished at the site. Preparation of the Cultural Landscape Report will help document current conditions, provide critical information about the Nurseries' past, and help to guide future restoration at Mapleton Preserve. Assessing the existing conditions and formulating a landscape preservation treatment plan are essential to the effective management of this property, which contains tree rows, nursery stock, open fields and natural areas. In addition, preparation of the Cultural Landscape Report will facilitate obtaining the funding and grants needed to restore, preserve and enable the reuse of this critical historical and cultural resource to its full potential and benefit to the public. Funds received from Middlesex County to fund Preservation Plan: The South Brunswick Township Historic Preservation Commission recently received a grant from Middlesex County for preparation of a Preservation Plan for the Propagation House and a stabilization plan for the two cold storage warehouses (one of which is shown below). The funds (in part) will be used to prepare architectural drawings for future stabilization and restoration of these key nursery buildings.
Large Cold Storage Warehouse - Princeton Nurseries Kingston Site Photo by Robert von Zumbusch FPNL gains 501(c)(3) status: The IRS has granted tax exempt status to the Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands. Tax-exempt status is extremely important, as we can now directly solicit donations for preservation and restoration activities at the Princeton Nurseries Kingston site. We encourage you to consider making a donation to FPNL this spring to help us fulfill our goals. Trail Map: Do you want to know where the paths in Mapleton Preserve go? Now you will, as FPNL is putting the finishing touches on an interim map of the trail network at the Preserve and adjacent open space. This 53-acre property was once the heart of Princeton Nurseries, and it contains a variety of paths, most of which were once nursery roads. They travel around historic nursery buildings, through fields, past tree stock and natural areas, course along Heathcote Brook or connect with the D&R Canal.
The trail map will be available at the Headquarters Building, and will also be available in a box on the kiosk near the front entrance. We will also have a copy on our website at www.fpnl.org. So come take a walk this Spring!
Butterfly Garden: Last fall, the Girl Scout Troop 1086 planted a new butterfly garden outside the D & R Canal State Park Office in Kingston. Installed near the entrance to the Preserve, it was designed under the guidance of Stephanie Fox, the D&R Canal State Park Interpretive Naturalist. Most of the plants for the garden were generously donated by Mapleton Nurseries, which is directly opposite the Preserve on land that was once the "seedbeds" for Princeton Nursery. They spent time with the girls selecting a variety of colorful plants from their stock. Caliper Farms, Belle Mead Co-op and Central Jersey Nurseries also donated plants and mulch to complete the butterfly garden. The perennials in the new garden are either host plants for caterpillars or rich in the nectar that butterflies and hummingbirds feed on. The young plants are now emerging from dormancy and appear to have made it through the winter, so we look forward to a nice show of flowers this summer. For their hard work, the scouts received a Bronze Award, the highest award for Junior Girl Scouts. FPNL thanks these dedicated scouts for creating a beautiful garden for the public and wildlife to enjoy.
President's Note: As I write this newsletter, spring is in the air. The Headquarters at the D&R Canal State Park/Mapleton Preserve are ringed with snowdrops, crocus and daffodils. Rows of witch hazel, liberated from a shroud of overgrowth by Eagle Scout Greg Varga and his volunteers last year, blossom in delicate shades of yellow. The magnolia buds are starting to swell. Peepers call incessantly from the small pond near the Headquarters building after sunset. They are joined by woodcocks, which perform their aerial courtship dance nightly. Fox, deer and turkey tracks can be seen at the edges of spring puddles, and the maples are beginning to flower. There is a sense of anticipation and promise in the landscape.
I am always excited by spring, but this year is special. There is a sense of momentum at the Preserve that started last December with the funding by the Garden State Historic Preservation Trust of a very important grant application for the preparation of a cultural landscape report. Then in February, the Historic Sites Council approved the nomination of the Princeton Nurseries Historic District to the NJ State National Register of Historic Places. Middlesex County provided the badly needed capital to begin the preparation of a Preservation Plan for Mapleton Preserve. Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands has produced their first interpretive brochure and trail map, and a comprehensive slide program has been prepared for our annual meeting on June 11th that describes the Princeton Nurseries Historic District. Your FPNL trustees have been very busy!
To add to the excitement, our third annual Arbor Day Celebration is coming up on April 26th. Please plan to join us on that day as Bill Flemer IV demonstrates grafting techniques used by Princeton Nurseries and alumni from the Princeton Nurseries Kingston Site share stories from its heyday.
COMING UP!
This program, given by Nancy Derrico, will be held at the D&R Canal State Park Headquarters, 145 Mapleton Road, Kingston. It will feature. four animals that for various reasons are not releasable back into the wild. These animals travel to schools and community events throughout the year, acting as ambassadors for their wild counterparts. The event is free and open to the public, and is appropriate for all ages. For more information, call 609-514-2416. To learn more about the Mercer County Wildlife Center, visit their informative website http://nj.gov/counties/mercer/community/wildlife/
Saturday, April 19, 10:00 a.m.: Earth Day "History and Nature" Walk: Enjoy a round-trip walk with the D&R Canal State Park's historian and naturalist. The walk will start at the Park's main office at 145 Mapleton Road at 10:00 am for a leisurely 2-mile round trip walk. The group will walk from the headquarters through a portion of the former Princeton Nurseries property towards the canal towpath and the Kingston Canal House. Honor Earth Day with a short outdoor hike and burn a few calories while learning a bit about the natural and historic resources of the D&R Canal State Park. The walk is free but registration is requested - for more information, call 609-924-5705.
Bill Flemer, IV Photo by Tari Pantaleo
Wednesday, June 11, 7:30 p.m. - FPNL Annual Meeting: Come hear all about the upcoming nomination of the Princeton Nurseries Kingston Site to the NJ State and National Registers of Historic Places. FPNL trustees Karen Linder and Robert von Zumbusch will present a slide talk on the Nomination at Mapleton Preserve/D&R Canal State Park, 145 Mapleton Road, Kingston describing the boundaries and location of the district, pictures of key houses, buildings and landscape elements. It's free and all are welcome! Call 609-514-2416 for more details.
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Saturday, April 12, 2 p.m. - Animal Ambassadors:
Saturday, April 26, 2-4 p.m. -