It now serves as the home of the Alumni Association of Princeton University and houses 35 staff, hosts many alumni functions and showcases Princeton memorabilia and a library of Princetoniana.[5]
At least five Princeton presidents who occupied the President's House between 1756 and 1822 owned slaves who lived and worked in the house.[7] These presidents included Aaron Burr Sr., Jonathan Edwards, Samuel Finley, Samuel Stanhope Smith, and Ashbel Green. Slaves lived in the quarters on the second floor of the detached "Kitchen House" to the rear of the main building.[7]
After his death in 1766, Samuel Finley's personal property was auctioned off at the President's House.[8][9] Advertisements for the estate sale described "two negro women, a negro man, and three Negro children" to be sold alongside livestock, furniture, and books.[7][8][9]
In 2017, the Princeton University Art Museum, in collaboration with the Princeton & Slavery Project, commissioned American artist Titus Kaphar to create a public art piece in front of the President's House.[10][11] His sculpture Impressions of Liberty, unveiled in November 2017, depicts the face of Samuel Finley in relief, along with the figures of enslaved people sold at the house after his death.[10][11]
The President's House is the first stop on the Stories of African American Life at Princeton walking tour. The house also appears on the Princeton University Art Museum's mobile tour of Art and Slavery at Princeton.[12][13]
^ abc"President's House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
William K. Selden: Maclean House of Princeton University. A National Historic Landmark. Little Book Series. Princeton University, Princetoniana, 2006 (Online-PDF).
