Tag: Historic Places

Mercer White Oak, Princeton Battlefield Park

Mercer White Oak was a historic tree at Princeton Battlefield Park that stood tall amidst the park's rolling hills and lush fields. The tree was named after General Hugh Mercer, who died from wounds he received at the Battle of Princeton during the American Revolution. The tree became a symbol of the battle and a testament to the bravery of the American soldiers who fought there. The tree was one of the largest and oldest white oaks in the state of New Jersey, with a massive trunk and sprawling branches that provided shade for visitors to the park. The Mercer White Oak was not only a natural landmark but also a crucial part of the park's rich history, serving as a reminder of the sacrifices made during the American Revolution.

The Mercer White Oak tree was about 300 years old when strong winds ripped it apart in March 2000. Soon after the tree's death, an arborist planted an 8-foot sapling from a Mercer Oak acorn inside the former tree's stump. That fenced-in young oak tree is the one that is seen in Princeton Battlefield Park today.

On this misty, foggy day, the tree takes on an ethereal quality, shrouded in a mysterious veil of white. The fog seems to wrap around the trunk and branches of the tree, adding to its already stately presence.

This is one of several frames from one of the four cartridges of Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow 400 35mm film I bought last year. The film was developed in Tennessee at Boutique Film Labs and scanned at home using an Epson Perfection V600 and VueScan software. The negatives were converted as part of my workflow using Negative Lab Pro.

Caesar Trent's Property

Ceasar Trent was a controversial character in Princeton history.

Last night Bhavna told me that the weather forecast called for rain today. But I wanted to finish a 36 exposure roll of Rollei RPX 25 that I had loaded into my Minolta X-700 a few weeks ago. RPX 25 is a slow film. Shooting handheld was challenging and required more light than the overcast skies could provide. To avoid blurry photographs, I had to use my tripod. I had planned on photographing some of the historic buildings around my area. On my list was Rockingham and Einstein's home on Mercer Street. But when I awoke this morning, I did some more searching on the Princeton I stumbled upon a link to Albert E. Hinds Memorial Walking Tour: African American Life in Princeton and discovered things about Princeton's history that I never knew. I did a quick tour of the tour and changed my shot list.

I looked out my bedroom window. The sky was grey, moody, and a bit of fine rain silvered the street. I knew I had to dress warmly.

I had breakfast with Alphie and then packed my gear for the morning. I packed my Peak Design camera sling with my Minolta X-700 and MD Rokkor-X 45mm f/2.8, AKG headphones, Fuji X-T2 and Fujinon XF27mmF2.8 lens (approximately 41mm full-frame). I wanted to try out Ritchie's Tri-X film simulation and capture some images for the Lens Artist Photo Challenge.

I parked on Leigh Street, intending to start my photo walk at the shops, walk over to Witherspoon Street for more photographs before finishing my photo walk at Bank of America on the corner of Witherspoon Street and Nassau Street. I have walked by this street and even entered the bank to use the ATM but never known its significance. According to the Historical Society of Princeton, around 1795, Ceasar Trent became the first Black property owner in Princeton, with his residence at the building.

Ceasar Trent was a controversial character in Princeton history. According to Princeton University, he was a former enslaved person who owned enslaved people and gained significant wealth for a black man through his business dealings with white Princeton business people.

An occasional employee of a prominent landowner, the object of a townsperson’s published recollections, and a slave owner, Cezar Trent was one of a select few free black citizens of antebellum Princeton whose life can be rendered in detail through the examination of historical records. Significantly, his dual status as both a member of Princeton’s free black community and slaveholder challenges notions that free blacks were consistent critics of United States slavery. ~ [Princeton University]

Caesar Trent's Property at 90 Nassau Street in Princeton
Saturday 5 December, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 | Tri-X Film Simulation
Caesar Trent's Property at 90 Nassau Street in Princeton
Saturday 5 December, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 | Tri-X Film Simulation

Submitted for the 100DaysToOffload project.

Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum

Two years ago, I drove around the lower half of Somerset County, the county in which I have lived for almost 25 years, photographing various historical buildings that were featured in the "Weekend Journey through the Past". One of the areas on the "tour" was the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum in Skillman, Montgomery Township, just a few miles from my home.

It was a rainy day when I visited, and the ground was soggy. Parking was challenging, but I found a spot on Hollow Road, a dozen yards so from the entrance to the property.

The church restoration project started with the efforts of two African American women, Beverly Mills and Elaine Buck, who sit on the advisory for the Stoutsburg Cemetery Association, to establish a burial place for Private William Stives, a Revolutionary War veteran and one of the first African American settlers in the Sourland Region.

Their research led them to discover that the region had a richer past regarding African Americans some of whom were their ancestors, and the two women decided to co-author a book, If These Stones Could Talk, to tell the stories of African Americans and their lives in Hopewell Valley (and surrounding area).

In 2014, after a lecture, entitled "A Proud Heritage", at the historic Hopewell Borough Train Station organised by The Sourland Conservancy as part of their Train Station Series, they sparked a partnership between the Stoutsburg Cemetery Association and the Sourland Conservancy. The product of that partnership was the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum. The land for the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum was acquired by The D&R Greenway Land Trust in collaboration with the Sourland Conservancy.

These photos have sat in my Adobe Lightroom Catalog for the last two year, unedited, unprocessed, simply because I was too tired to process them. I was dealing with Graves Disease and after a day of driving around the county taking photographs and I had very little energy the next day. I had forgotten about the pictures until now.

Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/8.0
Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/8.0
Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/9.0
Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/9.0
Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/9.0
Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/9.0
Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/9.0
Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/9.0
Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/9.0
A chart depicting the American Slave Trade | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/4.0