The Millwright's House

Gray House, March 2019. From Paul Ligeti.

Historical Overview

A large, three-story frame building with front porch stands at 5 Mapleton Road in the historic West Windsor/Plainsboro district of Scudder's Mills. On its northwest side, is a 2-story extension. These were once two separate buildings - both on the Plainsboro side of the community. The larger building was the house of the millwright, who managed the neighborhood's namesake mills. The smaller one was once a tenant house for mill workers. Both - now one building, commonly also called the "Benjamin Gray House" - are longtime contributing historical elements of Scudder's Mills.​

The date of construction of these two buildings is unknown. Although one source says the larger 3-story house was constructed by Benjamin Gray (a millwright) between 1850 and 1873, structures seem to appear on or near this site on maps as far back as 1840.[1] At the time, both buildings were part of a much-larger property that contained virtually all structures surrounding the mill.[2] For a full history of that tract (including who owned these two structures, depending on when they were built), click here.

In 1887, the tenant house and millwright's house came into possession of Isabella Gray[3] - sister of Benjamin Gray and daughter of Alexander and Jane Gray.[4] Both Benjamin and Alexander are known millwrights,[5],[6] and the family collectively owned the mill, millwright's house, and several other structures for decades, starting in the 1860s.[7] Isabella's husband was Charles Robison[8] - Mercer County Freeholder[9] and Sheriff[10] who owned a profitable flour and milling business in nearby Kingston.[11]

Charles B. Robison, 1883.

Charles died in 1898,[12] after which Isabella lived here with her maid, Mary Richmond. Following Mary's passing, Jenny Connor - a practical nurse - stayed with her.[13] After Isabella's death, in 1930,[14] both homes were made into apartment houses by the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. From the 1940s-80s, they were offered as graduate student apartments. Afterward, they were allowed to deteriorate for several years.[15]

However, in the early 2000s, the 3-story house and 2-story house were both restored by partners in Capital Public Affairs (a lobbying firm) and Jamestown Associates (a political consulting firm), as well as Clarke Caton Hintz (a Trenton-based design firm that designed the renovations). A 5,000 square-foot, stylistically-similar addition at the rear doubled the size of the building, the clapboard exterior restored and painted in bright "university yellow," green shutters added, and trim-work rehabilitated. And, of course, the tenant house and millwright's house were combined into one building.[16]

At the time of this writing (2024), the Millwright's House is still used as offices and remains the largest and most architecturally-notable contributing element of the historic Scudder's Mills community.

Millwright's house, date unknown, from the Historical Society of Princeton.

Go to Scudder's Mills

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Bibliography

1. Hassler, F. R., & Gerdes, F. H. (1840). US Coast Survey - Princeton and Vicinity. map, Princeton and Vicinity, New Jersey. Scale 1:20,000
2. Gulick, William, McDowell, George J., Schenck, John C., Scudder, William. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1839. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 34 Page 359.
3. Gray, Benjamin, Gray, Isabella. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1887. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 211 Page 382.
4. United States Census, 1860 - Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, 1860.
5. Gray, Alexander, Onderdonk, Peter C. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1866. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 103 Page 249.
6. Dickerson, S. Meredith, Gray, Benjamin. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1885. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 203 Page 225.
7. Gray, Alexander, Onderdonk, Peter C. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1866. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 103 Page 249.
8. "Mrs. Isabella G. Robison." The Princeton Herald. January 17, 1930.
9. 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.
10. "Mr. Robison Declines." The Trenton Times. October 23, 1884.
11. 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.
12. Kingston Presbyterian Church. (n.d.). Kingston Presbyterian Church graveyard. West Windsor. Kingston Presbyterian Church graveyard gravestones, which often list birth dates, death dates, and ages of those buried there, including the individual(s) relevant to this specific citation.
13. Williamson, Ida Louise. “Broadside,” 1987. From the Spring & Summer 1987 "Broadside" newsletter, published by the Historical Society of West Windsor. The specific article is titled "The Aqueduct Story" and is a follow-up to the newsletter's Fall & Winter 1986 publication.
14. "Mrs. Isabella G. Robison." The Princeton Herald. January 17, 1930.
15. "New Life for the Old Mill at Mapleton Road." U.S. 1/Princeton Info. January 11, 2002.
16. Ibid.