Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2003

1. The JAMES LAWRENCE HOUSE (private), 459 S. High St., gray stucco with white shutters, was the birthplace in 1781 of Capt. James Lawrence. At 16 Lawrence entered the navy as a midshipman on the U.S.S. Ganges. In the War of 1812 he distinguished himself as captain of the sloop-of-war Hornet and was given command of the frigate Chesapeake. While lying in Boston Roads, the American ship was challenged by the British frigate Shannon. Lawrence put to sea on June 1, 1813. A terrific broadside was exchanged by the two frigates, with the Chesapeake suffering most severely. Boarders from the Shannon were already on the American vessel when Lawrence, mortally wounded, was carried below. His "Don't give up the ship!" was in vain; the Americans surrendered. Four days later Lawrence died and was buried with honors by the British.

2. The JAMES FENIMORE COOPER HOUSE (open 3-6 Sun. and first Sat. of each month), 457 S. High St., has stucco walls lined to resemble stones, and shares the characteristics of many other early Burlington homes. Noteworthy are the fine detail of the wood trim and the graceful proportion of the windows. The house, headquarters of the Burlington County Historical Society, contains collections of early documents, pictures, and relics. In this building, rented by his parents, the author of The Leather Stocking Tales was born in 1789. Cooper's connection with Burlington ended a year later when the family moved to New York.

3. BLOOMFIELD HOUSE (private), SE. corner S. High and Library Sts., is a three-story brick structure with mansard roof, painted pale yellow with white trim. It was originally the home of Joseph Bloomfield, Governor of New Jersey (1801-02, 1803-12). As a lawyer, Bloomfield successfully defended the young patriots who burned British tea at Greenwich (see Side Tour 29B). He was a captain in the Revolutionary War, mayor of Burlington from 1795 to 1800, and a brigadier general in the War of 1812. He died in 1823 and was buried in St. Mary's Churchyard.

4. The HENRY CAREY HOUSE, the first building S. of the Metropolitan Inn on S. High St., is a three-story brick structure painted cream with brown trim, now used as a "Cocktail Grill and Restaurant" with rooms for rent upstairs. The structure contains part of a home erected c. 1678 by Thomas Olive, for a time acting Governor of West Jersey. In 1833 it was purchased by Henry Carey, early political economist, who lived here until 1854. At that time the Carey homestead was one of the most attractive spots of Burlington, with a garden extending south to where the City Hall now stands.

5. FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE (open on meeting days), N. High St. between Broad and Union Sts., was erected 1784 adjacent to the site of the hexagonal structure built by the first settlers in 1683. Quiet and severe, it stands behind a great wall with heavy iron gates deep in the shadow of great trees, one of which, a giant sycamore, was standing in 1677. It is a typical example of the early meeting houses, with double entrances, great windows, and pitched roof. The BURIAL GROUND behind the meeting house, walled with brick, is the oldest cemetery in Burlington. Tall pines shade the graves which date from 1744. Under the broad branches of a sycamore is the GRAVESTONE OF THE INDIAN CHIEF OCKANICKON, inscribed:

   Near this Spot Lies the Body of the Indian Chief Ockanickon, Friend of the White Man, Whose Last Words were "Be Plain and Fair to All, Both Indians and Christian, as I Have Been."

6. The LIBRARY (open 3-6, 7-9 Tues., Thurs., and Sat.), Union St. between N. High and Wood Sts., one of the oldest in the country, is still operating under a 1757 charter from King George II. The present building, brownstone and severe in line, dates from 1864. The interior is a single high-ceilinged room encircled by a balcony. Portraits of respected citizens, together with one of King George II, are hung in every available niche.

7. The SITE OF SAMUEL JENNINGS' OFFICE is now a garden, a strip of green with a few shrubs between an apartment house at 206 N. High St. and the Synagogue at 212 N. High St. Jennings came to Burlington in 168o, a recommended minister of the Society of Friends, and served as first Deputy Governor from 1681 to 1684. In his office Benjamin Franklin set up the first copperplate press in America, and, as an assistant to Samuel Keimer, printed the first currency for the Province. In the same shop Isaac Collins, printer to the .King, produced the first quarto Bible of American imprint, and New Jersey's first newspaper, the New Jersey Gazette, which came off the press December 5, 1777. This weekly paper, which measured 9 by 14 in., cost 25 shillings a year, and numbered among its paid up subscribers all the members of the State legislature.

8. The THOMAS REVEL HOUSE (private), 8 E. Pearl St., is probably the oldest complete dwelling in Burlington. Erected 1685 by George Hutchinson; it was the office of Thomas Revel, registrar of the Proprietors of West New Jersey and clerk of the assembly from 1696 to 1699. The little house is hidden in one of the poorer sections of the town. It is two stories in height, of brick construction, with gambrel roof and two small dormer windows ; one low-ceilinged room is downstairs and a very lowceilinged bedroom is upstairs. Some old china cooking utensils and other odds and ends are kept here. The house is the headquarters of the Annis Stockton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

9. OLD STEAMBOAT HOTEL (private), 100 N. High St., was built in 1774 by Adam Sheppard and was known by his name until steamboat travel was established in 1808. The later addition of a porch and the generally run-down condition detract from what was once a fine three-story Colonial tavern.

10. The PUBLIC WHARF, N. end High St., is the municipally owned ferry slip. From this point passengers have crossed the river since 168o. Today a small launch leaves on the hour for Bristol, with room for a dozen or more passengers. The first ferry in 1713 was hauled by horses on shore, and once the steamboats from Philadelphia stopped here.

11. METROPOLITAN INN, SW. corner Broad and High Sts., is a cream stucco building, much altered since 1751 when it was known as the Blue Anchor Tavern. There are four stories in front, three in the rear. Its Georgian Colonial architecture is marred by a second-floor balcony enclosed with a wrought-iron railing. A coffee shop and a bar occupy the nrst floor; the rest is a hotel. For years the proprietors have met here when the weather did not permit outdoor voting. Since 1833 passengers Listened here for the bell which announced the squeaking coaches of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, now the Pennsylvania.

12. The WEST NEW JERSEY PROPRIETORS OFFICE (not open to public), Broad St. between High and Wood Sts., is a tiny, one-room, red brick building with white trim and a peaked roof. A yard and carriage shed enclosed by a red brick wall adjoin the office. In the gable of the roof is the shield or coat of arms of the Proprietors, a set of balanced scales upheld by a tree.. The office contains original documents signed by William Penn.

    The strange corporation known as the Proprietors of West New Jersey dates back to 1676, when William Penn and his associates divided the Province into two parts for colonization and government (see HISTORY). The original agreement signed by the settlers, kept in the vault of the Mechanics National Bank in Burlington, is almost unsurpassed for beauty of diction and expresses the principles of civil and religious liberty more clearly than any other frame of government in Colonial history. Upon it rests much New Jersey law.

    Still functioning under their charter from Charles II, the Proprietors of West New Jersey meet here every April 13 on the corner of High and Broad Streets to elect five members of the General Council. Four others are elected in Gloucester (see Tour 19). No notice of the meeting is ever mailed, because the members, numbering thousands, are scattered over the world. The requirements for membership are ownership of 1/32 of a share and hereditary descent from one of the 151 original signers. Seldom does more than a handful attend the sidewalk meetings. The council meets at its tiny office in May; its only new business is exercise of its ancient right to dispose of any new land created in western New Jersey. Jurisdiction over the rest of the State is held by the Proprietors of East New Jersey (see PERTH AMBOY).

13. The GENERAL GRANT HOUSE (private), 309 Wood St., is a graceful, two-story shuttered home of yellow stucco with green trim. French windows are upstairs and down, and a delicate wrought-iron rail around the roof of the porch is overhung with wisteria. There is a hospitable expanse of lawn and great shade trees, all enclosed by a green picket fence. To this house General Grant sent his family during the Civil War. He is said to have been in residence there the night Lincoln was assassinated.

14. The GREEN BANK, narrow scallops of lawn at the edge of Delaware River, extends 3 blocks W. from Wood St. From this old-time promenade of Burlington residents is a view of Pennsylvania farm land a mile across the river-and the finely proportioned, single steel arch of the BRISTOL BRIDGE. The view up the river is blocked by the jutting public dock and BURLINGTON (or Matinicunk) ISLAND.

15. SITE OF BARBARROUX WHARF, Green Bank at foot of Talbot St., is now merely a bit of lawn and a beacon light. As early as 1698 an important shipyard was established here where keels were laid for vessels that sailed to all parts of the world. In 1744 the privateer Marlborough, large enough for a crew of 150, was launched. Today the channel has been silted so heavily that no ship of any size could reach the site of the wharf.

16. GOVERNOR FRANKLIN ESTATE (private), S. side of Delaware St. between Wood and Talbot Sts., is occupied by the GRUBB HOUSE, owned by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. It is a large dwelling of little architectural distinction. On these grounds once stood the home of the the Royal Governor of New Jersey, William Franklin, son of Benjamin. He was held here for a time as a prisoner of the Revolutionists.

    On the lawn is a giant SYCAMORE TREE, one of the largest trees in the state. It measures 20 ft. 3 in. in girth. To its trunk, it is generally believed, the ship Shield was moored in 1678 when it arrived with early settlers.

17. ST. MARY'S HALL, S. side Delaware St., at Ellis St., is a private Protestant Episcopal School for girls founded in 1837 by Bishop George Washington Doane. There are five ivy-covered stone buildings and a chapel on the 18-acre campus, providing facilities for more than l00 students. The BISHOP DOANE RESIDENCE (private) is on the school grounds almost beneath Bristol Bridge. It is the official home for the Bishop of the South New Jersey Diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The house is a low, two-story building of tan stucco with brown wood trim and a hip roof. A square tower forms one end of the rambling structure; long windows on the first story, with small diamond-shaped panes typical of old England, extend almost to the floor.

18. The BRADFORD MANSION (private), 207 and 209 W. Broad St., is an old brick house, divided for two families and painted tan on one side and gray on the other. Elias Boudinot, president of the Continental Congress (see ELIZABETH), built the mansion about 1798. His daughter, Mrs. William Bradford, wife of the first Attorney General, lived here until the end, preserving the charm and formalities of that vanished era. The blue porcelain lions that once guarded the lawns were one of the sights of Burlington, and it is said that as late as 1850 old gentlemen in ruffled shirts, and ladies in stomachers of faded but lovely brocade were frequent visitors.

19. OLD ST. MARY'S CHURCH (not open to public), NW. corner W. Broad and Wood Sts., built in 1703, is the oldest Episcopal Church building of the State. The congregation, although worshiping in a newer building, uses the communion service presented by Queen Anne. Old St. Mary's is an interesting example of early Georgian Colonial design. Of gray stucco with white trim, it has a slate roof crowned with a stubby, louvred lantern and strange little slotlike transom windows. Today the church is used for Sunday school and special meetings.

    The newer ST. MARY'S CHURCH, adjoining, was completed in 1854 from the plans of Richard Upjohn, architect of Trinity Church in New York City. It is a fine, ivy-draped Gothic structure with a towering spire.

    Behind the churches is the CEMETERY, originally called Christian burying ground to distinguish it from the burying ground of the Quakers. In the shadow of great trees between boxwood-lined paths lie many distinguished citizens.

    A survival of the more closely knit communal life of early Burlington is St. Mary's Choral Society, organized in 1877 to perpetuate the old English custom of singing the Waits on Christmas Eve. As midnight is announced by the bell of Old St. Mary's the group leaves the guild house and walks through the town, singing before the home of each member. The ceremony ends with a hymn at the grave of George H. Allen, a tribute to his work in preserving the custom.

Roebling (company town), 6.2 m. (see Tour 19).

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