PRESERVING A PIECE OF HISTORY: The acquisition of the 4.6-acre D’Ambrisi property and its annexation to Princeton Battlefield State Park was marked September 16 with an official
ceremony presided over by, from left: Battlefield Society president Jerald Hurwitz, Senator Kip Bateman, New Jersey Park Service Director Mark Texel, Mayor Liz Lempert, and Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes. (Photo by John Lien)

The addition of a privately owned property next to Princeton Battlefield State Park opens up new possibilities for investigating its history. The annexation of the former D’Ambrisi property, which was celebrated with an official ceremony and ribbon-cutting last week, makes land that played a vital role in the Battle of Princeton more accessible to researchers and the public. 

“We have started a study to determine whether a mass grave might be on the property,” said Kip Cherry, the vice president of the Battlefield Society, after the ceremony. Ms. Cherry was praised by Mayor Liz Lempert for her persistence in making the transaction a reality. “We have some radar, and have come up with two anomalies of interest,” Ms. Cherry continued. “One is behind the Colonnade, and the other is in the area of the cabana that was on the D’Ambrisi property.”

Both of the sites are five feet deep. “We are now discussing how to proceed with our archaeologist because of the complexity of going that deep,” Ms. Cherry added. “They are recommending going in with some machinery, but we would have to get permission from the state and the historic preservation office first.”

An application is being prepared to place the property on a historical register, Ms. Cherry said. A grant has been obtained from the American Battlefield Protection
Program of the Department of the Interior for studying the parcel to determine whether there are buried architectural materials, and to locate the mass grave.

“On January 3, when the battle took place, it was cold and frozen, so it would have been a lot of work to bury all the men that died individually,” Ms. Cherry said. “So it is British and Americans in the same grave. They wanted to get out of Princeton before Cornwallis and 8,000 soldiers arrived from Trenton. The timing was very critical so they had to bury quickly.”

The D’Ambrisi property borders Stockton Street and reaches up to the ridge behind the pillars of the Colonnade, which once fronted a house in Philadelphia designed by architect Thomas U. Walter. Seven years ago, the D’Ambrisi family was contacted by Ms. Cherry when the Battlefield Society became aware that properties bordering the Battlefield were for sale. The family had owned the property since 1985. Joseph D’Ambrisi, a Mobil executive, died in 2011. His wife and two of his children attended the ceremony.

The $850,000 sale was financed by money from the state, Mercer County, and the Friends of Princeton Open Space. The municipality paid to fix a dam on the property, demolish the house, and remove a swimming pool.

Ms. Cherry said the Battlefield Society has been approached by another
property owner near the historic expanse about selling to the state. “That would make it a part of the Battlefield,” she said. “It’s a legacy-related thing. He’s interested in making it a part of the park.”

Further plans for the park may include a bike path that would connect Stockton and Mercer streets. “There’s a whole environmental aspect to this,” Ms. Cherry said. “It’s a beautiful property and this is also about creating a wonderful space for the public. There is a series of ponds created by [Moses Taylor] Pyne, and lots of trees. So there are multiple aspects to this and all of the stakeholders were really keen on that.”

The successful purchase of the D’Ambrisi property could serve as a model for similar transactions at historic sites. “By bringing governmental units together with non-profits, we were able to pull off something that no one entity could do alone,” Ms. Cherry said.