Princeton Battlefield visitor center project goes unfunded

Preservationists sought state money for the project ahead of the battle’s anniversary.

State officials will not fund the construction of a new visitor center at Princeton Battlefield this year, disappointing historical preservationists and leaving the Mercer County site without a dedicated space for telling the battlefield’s story ahead of the battle’s 250th anniversary.

Local and national groups such as the Princeton Battlefield Society and the American Battlefield Trust have been pushing state lawmakers to set aside millions for the work, which advocates say will dramatically improve the educational experience for visitors at the 681-acre park.

The Department of Environmental Protection requested a total of $15 million over the next three years to build the center, according to a state capital improvement plan issued in July 2025.

“Not funding this request will mean that the Princeton Battlefield Interpretive Center cannot be constructed,” officials wrote in the plan. “This will deprive visitors of the opportunity to learn important environmental and historical information about [the battle].”

In a June press release, Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a first-term Democrat and Navy veteran, touted the state’s rehabilitation efforts at the Mercer Road battlefield, including refurbished bathrooms, a restored historic colonnade, updated signs, resurfaced paths and roads, and the creation of a landscape restoration plan.

But these projects, which were funded with about $5 million in public and private money, began under her predecessor, former Gov. Phil Murphy. They were well underway by the time she took office in January.

Sherrill could have pushed for more funding in this budget to help plan and construct the long-sought visitor center. Instead, neither her administration nor state lawmakers chose to allocate any money for the center. Sherrill also stripped $500,000 from the budget that was earmarked last year for capital improvements at the site.

“The governor recommends eliminating this appropriation, which was added to the [fiscal year] 2026 Appropriations Act by the Legislature,” according to an April budget analysis by the Office of Legislative Services. “The recommendation is consistent with the governor’s general and broad-based policy of eliminating or reducing in FY 2027 most appropriations the Legislature added to the FY 2026 Appropriations Act.”

Neither Sherrill’s office nor the Department of Environmental Protection responded to requests for comment.

The decision frustrated historical preservationists and advocates, especially because the battle’s anniversary is barely four months away.

“It’s a tough budget year, but we were disappointed,” Jared Herr of the Washington-based battlefield trust told The Jersey Vindicator. “We were hoping for [at least] $12 million, but to not get anything … it’s certainly a setback. But one that we are determined to bounce back from.”

Mark Herr, the former director of the state Division of Consumer Affairs and a current trustee of the Princeton Battlefield Society, echoed the other Herr’s disappointment but said the society would pivot to private fundraising to keep the work going.

“We will continue to work with the governor’s office, we will continue to work with the state Legislature,” said Herr, who shares a surname with his battlefield trust colleague but is not related. “In the meantime, we’re going to do everything in our power to work with the private sector to make this a reality.”

Meanwhile, other restoration efforts — such as replanting a colonial orchard, restoring memorials and upgrading signs — have continued “full speed ahead,” Herr said.

“We’ve made substantial progress, and we’ll continue to make substantial progress,” he said. “We’re of course disappointed that there was nothing in the state budget for the visitor center, but that hasn’t slowed us down a second.”

At the moment, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s State Parks, Forests and Historic Sites program uses the Thomas Clarke House, a modest colonial homestead that sat at the epicenter of the 1777 battle, as a sort of impromptu welcome center.

But history buffs like Herr want a new building that reflects the significance of the Continental Army’s victory over the British.

“Independence was declared in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776,” Herr told The Jersey Vindicator. “But independence was saved in Princeton on Jan. 3, 1777.”

Beyond the historical significance, such projects are a boon for the state, he added.

Heritage tourism in New Jersey generates nearly 10 million visits every year, including about 80,000 visits to the Thomas Clarke House, Herr wrote in a recent opinion piece. It also supports 50,000 jobs and leads to $3.6 billion in annual visitor spending. That’s 7% of the state’s GDP.

Yet Princeton remains the only major Revolutionary War battlefield in the nation without a dedicated visitor center.

“It is serious business,” he wrote. “Yet New Jersey isn’t capitalizing on one of the state’s most important American Revolution sites.”

Jared Herr agreed, saying heritage tourists “eat at more restaurants, stay longer, and spend more money than your average tourists.”

That’s especially important at Princeton, where about 85% of the visitors come from within the Garden State, according to the battlefield trust.

Despite the state’s decision not to fund the project this year, neither group plans to give up the fight.

Jared Herr said the organization will push to nail down funding in next year’s budget.

“We are very adamant that a new visitor center will not only be an asset for the battlefield, but the community and the state,” he said.

He’s also hoping the governor and other lawmakers choose to show up for some of the battle’s anniversary celebrations over the next few months, which he said will “give Princeton the spotlight it deserves.”

“We’re hopeful that over the course of the next year, we can continue to showcase the importance,” he said. “And that things will look differently next year.”