William Trent Kitchen & Archaeological Findings

On Sunday, July 24th, at 2:00 p.m. both in person and over on zoom the Trent House Association presents a talk that is led by researchers and their findings from recent archaeological work on the grounds of the William Trent House Museum, along with special attention to an excavation of a 1742 kitchen building. This program will be free as well, though space will be limited at the Visitor Center.

Back in 1742, when Lewis Morris was appointed Governor of the colony of New Jersey, Lewis was looking to lease suitable housing here in Trenton. Now owned by the Governor of Pennsylvania, the Trent House – which was then known as Kingsbury – was his choice with one condition: a separate kitchen building to be constructed for use in place of the kitchen in the basement of the said house and that for it to be large enough to accommodate his enslaved servants.

As the existence of the kitchen has been long known, no trace of it remains on the surface. In 2014, the Hunter Research was commissioned by the Trent House Assocation, with funding assistance from the NJM Insurance Group to conduct a preliminary excavation, which successfully uncovered evidence of the building’s foundation. Since then, with the continued support from NJM and additional funding from the New Jersey Historic Trust, additional structures and artifacts has been discovered. Co-investigators, Richard Hunter and Jim Lee of the Hunter Research and Richard Veit of Monmouth University, will bring the findings together and discuss ways that this historic treasure can inform our understanding of the lives of all those living and working on the plantation at the Falls of the Delaware in the 18th century.

The William Trent House Museum is now a National Historic Landmark in the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area, and on the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail. The Museum is dedicated to sharing the history of the house, property, and people with our communities, in hopes of connecting the past with today and tomorrow. Owned by the City of Trenton, it is operated by the Trent House Association, which is supported by the generosity of its members and donors, by grants from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the New Jersey Cultural Trust, the New Jersey Historic Trust, and the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission.

For more information, visit https://williamtrenthouse.org. If you wish to be present during the zoom call, use this link https://tinyurl.com/THTalkJuly24. But if you want to go in person, register for free at https://tinyurl.com/RegisterJuly24.

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