Where-To-Go Wednesday - Drumthwacket

What: Drumthwacket

Where: 354 Stockton St.

             Princeton, NJ

Who: Recommended for Ages 8 +

When: September to June. Online Registration Opens August 1.

Drumthwacket, named after the estate of a character in a Sir Walter Scott historical novel, has been the official residence of the New Jersey governor since 1982. Surprisingly, however, very few governors have actually lived on site. Generally, they prefer to remain in their own homes and just use the mansion for official business and receptions. 

Public tours of the mansion are available from September through June. Tours are free and take place on Wednesdays.  School tours are also available by arrangement, and virtual tours are available at any time. Advance reservations are required for all public tours, and proper ID must be shown to get access to the property on the day of your tour. Tours are not given when the governor is in residence. Thus, there are occasions when a scheduled tour is cancelled. However, this is a rare occurrence because, as previously mentioned, most governors do not live there, and the governor's schedule is usually known in advance.

Drumthwacket is located in the middle of a residential area in Princeton, NJ. Although the house is a decent size, it's not as big as you might think. There are six public rooms downstairs and 12 private rooms upstairs. Only the downstairs rooms are part of the tour. 

Unlike most tours of this type, the tour doesn't really delve into the usage of various rooms and famous events that may have occurred there. It focuses more on the background of the rooms' furnishings and decor as well as the history of the house itself. Photography is not permitted inside but only on the mansion's grounds, except during special holiday time tours when photography is allowed in front of a particular ornate fireplace. 

The entire tour takes about an hour. You can extend your visit slightly by exploring the mansion's gardens on your own. However, the gardens are not very big. Therefore, a visit shouldn't take much more than an hour anyway.

And that's our view. For more about Drumthwacket and Drumthwacket tours, go to drumthwacket.org. Online registration for the next round of tours, which will be starting in September, begins August 1.

All pictures used in this post are our own. If there is a problem with any image, contact us here and we will look into the matter.