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Abstract
Joseph Henry is often credited with the design of the Joseph Henry House, a registered National Historic Landmark on the Princeton University Campus. Joseph Henry was Professor of Natural Philosophy and Mathematics at Princeton College at the beginning of the 19th century. He also taught Architecture and Geology, and had worked earlier in the State of New York as a surveyor. In 1846, Prof. Henry moved to Washington, D.C. to assume leadership of the Smithsonian as its first Secretary. We set out to verify that Joseph Henry was responsible for the design of the House that bears his name, and found to our surprise that it is unlikely he designed it. Our conclusion is based on reviewing: financial documents and other College records; published and unpublished papers and letters of Joseph Henry; and, the diary of a College Building Committee member. We have established that Ezekial Howell, a local mason, was the principal builder of the house. We also determined that Charles Steadman, a local builder and carpenter, was responsible for certain drawings of the house. While it is possible that Steadman, as draftsman, was following Henry's specifications, we find that this is unlikely given that the 1838 house is so similar to others previously built by Steadman in the Princeton area. Prof. Henry did make his own drawing for a house and submitted it to the Building Committee, but his design is not like the design of the house that was built. That withstanding, Joseph Henry did select the location of the house as well as that of several other early buildings as part of his influential Campus Plan. A previously unknown freehand draft of the Campus Plan was discovered at the Smithsonian indicating the location of several unrealized buildings.
Introduction
BUILT IN 1838 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1965, the Joseph Henry House is one of the earlier structures at the College of New Jersey (known also as Princeton College, now Princeton University) [1-7]. The house has been relocated three times - perhaps a record - but its original location was close to the College's two original buildings, Nassau Hall and the President's House. Both of these structures still exist. Princeton College and its grounds are shown in...