Dewey's Upholstery Shop

33 Station Drive, March 15, 2019. In back left is 31 Station Drive. From Paul Ligeti.

Historical Overview

Standing at 33 Station Drive is a 2-story wood-framed building with two main rear additions extending toward the railroad tracks. This structure has long housed Dewey's Upholstery Shop. It is also a member of West Windsor's "100 Club" and a contributing element to the historic West Windsor community of Princeton Junction.

It's unknown when this building was erected, but in 1894, David S. Voorhees sold this property - containing a "premises" (suggesting a structure existed here at the time) - to Isaac Hey, proprietor of the adjacent general store/post office at 31 Station Drive.[1] It's presumed Isaac used this as a warehouse for his store. Like his other properties, this warehouse passed to his immediate family upon his death in 1920,[2],[3] then to Elizabeth Good (former live-in housekeeper for the Hey family) in 1946 or 1947.[4]

In 1947, Maud R. Gilmer and her husband, Ludwell H. Gilmer, acquired the property.[5],[6] Eight years later, it passed to Charles J. Weingart, Jr. ("Dewey"), and his wife, Dorothy K. Weingart.[7],[8] Charles was the proprietor of Dewey's Upholstery Shop, which had opened in Kingston in 1944.[9],[10] However, in April of 1956, he moved this business to his newly-acquired building at 33 Station Drive.[11] The couple's sons, Joe and Scott, took over the business in 2011, and it remains one of West Windsor's oldest continuously-operating establishments.[12]

Dewey's Upholstery Shop, March 15, 2019. From Paul Ligeti.

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Bibliography

1. Hey, Isaac. Voorhees, David S. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1894. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 192 Page 371.
2. “Princeton Junction Man Dead at 85.” Trenton Evening Times. August 31, 1920.
3. “Princeton Junction Man Dead at 85.” Trenton Evening Times. August 31, 1920.
4. Gilmer, Ludwell H., Gilmer, Maude R., Good, Elizabeth. “Deed.” West Windsor, 1947. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 1005 Page 289.
5. Ibid.
6. “Obituaries.” Town Topics. November 1, 1989.
7. Gilmer, Ludwell H., Gilmer, Maude R., Weingart, Charles J. Jr., Weingart, Dorothy K. “Deed.” West Windsor, 1955. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 1346 Page 492.
8. “Obituaries.” Town Topics. October 27, 2004.
9. About our company: Dewey’s Upholstery Shop: Princeton Junction, New Jersey. About Our Company | Dewey’s Upholstery Shop | Princeton Junction, New Jersey. (n.d.). https://www.deweysupholsteryshop.com/about-our-company 
10. Dewey's Upholstery Shop. (1956, April 22). Dewey's Upholstery Shop Grand Opening. Town Topics. Princeton.
11. ​“Moving." Princeton Herald. April 14, 1956.
12. About our company: Dewey’s Upholstery Shop: Princeton Junction, New Jersey. About Our Company | Dewey’s Upholstery Shop | Princeton Junction, New Jersey. (n.d.). https://www.deweysupholsteryshop.com/about-our-company ​