Updike Farmstead

In 2004 Princeton purchased Updike Farmstead, an historic farm located on Quaker Road. Thanks to a bunch of grants, the Princeton Historic Society renovated the late 18th century farm house in 2009/2010.



The renovations are stunning. In one hallway is a series of pictures documenting the transformation. 

http://www.princetonhistory.org/locations/updike-farmstead.cfm

What drew me to the farmstead was the exhibit on Ellen Axson Wilson's American Impressionist paintings. Mrs. Wilson was First Lady when Woodrow Wilson was President. Many of the paintings in the collection were created while Woodrow Wilson was Governor of New Jersey and they lived in Princeton.

http://www.woodrowwilsonhouse.org/index.asp?section=news&file=news&ID=144

Ashley's favorite part of the tour was the scavenger hunt. Many museums (at least the ones trying to encourage families) have scavenger hunts. Often they are "I Spy" games where the kids are asked to find something inside. This was the first time we played the game outside. On the list were easy items, such as an oak or maple leaf -- stationary items. Then there were things we should be able to find (an acorn, a pine cone). As a storm was about to hit, we struck out on the live creatures (ladybugs, worms, and birds). Ashley did manage to find a deer track, which was not easy in the rock solid ground, but we could not find a feather on the property. It was an interesting scavenger hunt since we had no control over finding it all. We gave up before the storm since Ashley is familiar with all of the objects.

The farmstead is only open on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons from 12-4. It costs $4 to visit. If you are not interested in American Impressionist art painted by a First Lady, I would recommend waiting until they have an exhibit that you would like better. It is "new." Hopefully it will grow and continue to get even better.