Herrontown Woods Arboretum

Description

This land is preserved in its natural state (except for a pipeline right-of-way, which crosses the woods). Several miles of walking trails lead through hardwood forest up to the Princeton ridge and the headwaters of a tributary of Harry's Brook. It contains wetlands, frogs and salamanders, and over 60 species of native trees and shrubs, along with wildflowers, rare birds, and diabase rocks containing magnetite. After storms blew down a pine forest, the Friends of Herrontown Wood created a Botanical Art Garden ("Barden") with sculptures, found objects, and over 150 species of native plants.

History

Herrontown Woods

The first 81 acre of the arboretum were donated to the Mercer County Park Commission in 1957 by internationally renowned mathematician Prof. Oswald Veblen (1880-1960) of the Institute for Advanced Study. The gift was valued at $154,000 and was Mercer County's and the town of Princeton's first nature preserve. In 1966 the Park Commission approved a 47 acre expansion of the Woods. When Elizabeth Veblen died in 1974, the Veblens' remaining 14 acre were added to the park, including a cottage and house. In 2019, through the initiative of the Friends of Herrontown Woods, 7.5 acres of Windy Top homeowners association land was donated by the developer.

Autumn Hill Reservation

In 1967 Princeton Township and Princeton Borough jointly purchased 72 acre of former hardscrabble farms returned to woodland, north of Herrontown Road, across the street from the arboretum, for preservation as the Autumn Hill Reservation. This stretch of land is sometimes referred to as the Herrontown Woods extension. The reservation has a trail loop, originally installed as part of an Eagle Scout service project by Boy Scout Troop 43. A small parking lot on Herrontown Road, west of its junction with Snowden, provides access.

Trail access

The woods can be accessed from a parking lot off of Snowden Lane on the east side of the arboretum. In 2010, an adjoining 35 acre tract of land owned by All Saints Episcopal Church was purchased for preservation by the D&R Greenway Land Trust. This enabled trails to be added reaching to the south, accessing both the church and the former Church & Dwight headquarters on Bunn Drive.

In October, 2014, trail access was added from Stone Hill Church, on the west side of the woods, off Bunn Drive, through the joint effort of the Friends of Herrontown Woods and the church youth group. Visitors are free to park at the church, apart from Sunday mornings, to access the trails.

Gallery

File:Herrontown Woods Arboretum brook.JPG File:Herrontown Woods Arboretum meadow 01.JPG File:Herrontown Woods Arboretum path.JPG

References

References

1. [https://www.herrontownwoods.org Friends of Herrontown Woods] website.
2. (March 20, 2013). "George Dyson Recalls Institute Woods, His Boyhood, Oswald Veblen's Legacy". The Town Topics.
3. (28 July 1957). "Large Tract Donated". The Town Topics.
4. (September 15, 1966). "Park Commission". The Town Topics.
5. (July 16, 1986). "Princeton Parks, Refuges, Arboretums and Reservations Provide Opportunity for Enjoying Nature in All Seasons". The Town Topics.
6. "Autumn Hill Reservation".
7. (Winter 2010). "Two More Princeton Properties Preserved". D&R Greenway Land Trust, Inc..
8. "Stone Hill Church Gets a Nature Trail".