GROUNDWORK: Volunteers work together to prepare the Battlefield Park for the upcoming season.  A rich diversity of historical, cultural, entertainment, and dining options makes Princeton a prime tourist destination. (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)

If Princeton Battlefield Society (PBS) and Princeton Tour Group (PTG) have anything to say about it, the town of Princeton and the nearby Battlefield Park are poised to become major East Coast tourist destinations.

“It really is criminal what we have to leave out!” said PTG founder Mimi Omiecinski, describing her Shameless Name-Dropping Tour, which “touches on almost everything” in Princeton.

Noting sites connected with the pivotal 1777 Battle of Princeton, as well as Princeton University and Morven, Kevin Tremble, former president of Crossroads of the American Revolution Association and an active member of the New Jersey preservation community, struck a more pragmatic note. “The civic education and commemoration that can take place at the hallowed ground in Mercer County — today and for decades to come — should not be underestimated,” he said. “But these historic sites can also give back in other ways. Communities that embrace their heritage see a direct, substantial economic impact.”

Mr. Tremble continued, “Imagine the benefit to Princeton in becoming one of the must-see cultural attractions in the northeast writ large.”

Ms. Omiecinski, who described her job as the ”historical entertainment business,” emphasized the significance of the Battle of Princeton, “the turning point of the American Revolution,” and the tourism potential of Princeton, “an easy day trip for the tri-state area, millions of dollars of tourism and hundreds of jobs.”

She added, “Once anyone knows the true events that occurred on that small patch of land near the Thomas Clarke house, they never look at the area the same way again. Hollywood couldn’t have scripted the intensity of the events that occurred that morning on January 3, 1777.”

In addition to last Saturday’s Princeton Battlefield Clean-Up Day, the PBS holds a number of events featuring the historic events surrounding the Battle of Princeton. In December and January they commemorated the 240th anniversary of the 10 Crucial Days campaign, with British reenactors patrolling and raiding Princeton’s Palmer Square, demanding oaths of loyalty. Patriot reenactors marched from Trenton to Princeton, retracing the steps of General Washington and his troops, and a crowd of nearly 150 met on the Princeton Battlefield before 7 a.m. on January 7 to walk through a real-time tour of the battle.

The PTG also recently developed a Princeton Battlefield Leadership Experience for middle and high school students, in which students learn the chronological events of the Battle of Princeton as they evaluate the leadership effectiveness of significant British and Patriot leaders.

From walking tours to pub crawls, ghost tours and corporate events, with seven tour guides “who are completely and totally in love with Princeton’s history, if someone wants to celebrate Princeton, we’ve probably got something for you,” Ms. Omiecinski observed.

She pointed out that the popularity of the recent musical Hamilton (in which, she reports, Princeton is mentioned three times) has spurred significant interest in Aaron Burr, who grew up in Princeton and is buried in Princeton cemetery. His father, Aaron Burr Sr., was the second president of Princeton University.

Among numerous other points of interest in town and on campus, according to Ms. Omiecinski, are “the homes and hangouts” of Albert Einstein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, T.S. Eliot, Woodrow Wilson, and Grover Cleveland; Morven, home of a signer of the Declaration of Independence and five governors; the tiger statues; the Art Museum; the Institute for Advanced Study; Westminster Choir College; and Nassau Hall.

“People tend to stay for at least a half day, a five to seven-hour period for lunch, a tour, and shopping. Sometimes they stay overnight,” she said. “They love the diversity of options. You can get a $2 pizza slice or a meal cooked by a James Beard-recognized chef. Princeton is a gem.”