Brophy House and Princeton Junction Saloon/Hotel
Brophy House (left) and the Princeton Junction Hotel (right), probably late 1800s/early 1900s.
Historical Overview
|
Pictured above are two of Princeton Junction’s original buildings; both long-gone and replaced by parking lots: the Brophy House and the Princeton Junction Hotel. The former was located at 45 Station Drive; the latter at 43 Station Drive.
In 1871, David and Amy Voorhees split off two portions of their larger homestead property next to the railroad tracks and sold them to James Brophy (the house)[1] and Owen Sheridan (the hotel).[2] Both deeds suggested that these structures already existed – probably constructed around the time the present-day Northeast Corridor, Dinky Line, and Princeton Junction Train Station were established in the mid-1860s. James Brophy had immigrated from Ireland to the United States circa 1852, possibly to escape the Irish Potato Famine.[3] In 1872, he applied for a tavern license for the "house wherein he now dwells at Princeton Junction."[4] While it's unclear if he was indeed granted a license, the federal census eight years later listed him as living in Princeton and owning a "Beer Saloon" (albeit it's unknown if this was for his Princeton property or his Princeton Junction property).[5] In 1895, James sold his Princeton Junction property to Thomas Young Waibel.[6] It further passed to Isaac Hey in 1904.[5] Its ownership thereafter is unclear; aerial photography shows that it was demolished some time between 2002 and 2007.[6],[7] |
Princeton Junction, 1875. Notice "J. Brophy" and "O. Sheridan."
|
|
Like James, Owen Sheridan was an Irish immigrant.[8] Woodward and Hageman's History of Burlington and Mercer Counties (1883) claims that he built the store in 1870, but its original occupants were D. B. Applegate from 1870-72 and Baker Hutchinson from 1872-74.[9] Whatever, the case, it's certain that in 1874, Owen was appointed Princeton Junction’s postmaster to succeed D. B. Applegate;[10] it is presumably around this time that he opened a store and saloon on his property.[11] The 1880 census lists him as a "grocerman" as well.[12] He passed away ten years later,[13] after which wife, Mary, assumed ownership.[14] It is unclear if the building was also a hotel by this point, but it was certainly one under the ownership of William E. Mahan (former owner of the Edinburg Hotel[15]), who bought the Sheridan property in 1903.[16] Mahan was not without controversy, however; in January 1912 a 17-year-old boy named Andrew W. Schipe died from tetanus after being found the night of January 13 in an intoxicated state, with his hands and feet severely frostbitten.[17] Mahan pled guilty but was only fined $25 and had his liquor license revoked, because (according to the judge) Andrew was “over six feet tall and had every appearance of being over age” and “the sale was made by (his) 14-year-old son” while William and his wife were sick in bed.[18] In the late 1920s, the hotel passed to other owners.[19] In 1930, it was raided by federal Prohibition agents.[20] Its fate thereafter remains unclear; it is presumed to have been demolished in the mid-1900s. In its place stands another train station parking lot at 43 Station Drive.
|
Brophy house (by then long since abandoned), 1990s, viewed from Station Drive.
|
Bibliography
- Brophy, James, Voorhees, David S. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1871. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 82 Page 397.
- Sheriden, Owen, Voorhees, David S. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1871. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 130 Page 275.
- United States Census, 1900 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1900.
- West Windsor Township, 1872. Plea for Tavern License for James Brophy to the Court of Common Pleas of Mercer County. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Mercer County Tavern License collection.
- United States Census, 1880 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1880.
- “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 2002.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 2002.
- “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 2007.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 2007.
- United States Census, 1880 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1880.
- Woodward, Evan Morrison, and John Frelinghuysen Hageman. History of Burlington and Mercer Counties with Biographical Sketches of Many of Their Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Everts & Peck, 1883.
- The National Archives. (n.d.). Appointment of US Postmasters, including Owen Sheridan on March 23, 1874. Washington DC. The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-Sept. 30, 1971; Record Group: Records of the Post Office Department; Record Group Number: 28; Series: M841; Roll Number: 82. County: Atlantic - Mercer,
- Lizzie Sheridan. (1903, September 20). For Sale. Trenton Sunday Advertiser.
- United States Census, 1880 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1880.
- Saint Paul's Parish. (n.d.). Saint Paul's Parish graveyard. Princeton. Saint Paul's Parish graveyard gravestones, which often list birth dates, death dates, and ages of those buried there.
- Mahan, William E., Sheridan, Elizabeth. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1871. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 130 Page 275.
- “Princeton Junction.” Trenton Evening Times, November 10, 1903.
- Bennett, Mary A., Cooney, Kate C., Golden, Julia A., Jessop, Fannie C., Mahan, William E., Sheridan, Elizabeth, Sheridan, Matilda. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1903. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 266 Page 593.
- “Boy's Death Traced to the Mahan Hotel.” Trenton Evening Times, February 4, 1912.
- “Sickness Wins Light Sentence for W. E. Mahan.” Trenton Evening Times, March 29, 1912.
- “Mahan Not Owner of Junction Hotel.” Trenton Evening Times, April 25, 1930.
- “Dry Agents Arrest Ten; Stills Found.” Trenton Evening Times, April 20, 1930.
