![]() These soldiers may have divulged information about British troop movements to George Washington’s army that may have helped him stave off a British assault on Trenton and win the Battle of Princeton during the darkest hours of the war. As explored below, British troops were captured on Decemduring the American Revolution at the homestead of Jonathan Flock, about one quarter of a mile northwest of the intersection of Clarksville and Quakerbridge Roads. However, we do know that farming families lived here at least by the 1770s, if not significantly earlier. ![]() It’s currently unknown exactly when pioneers first settled the “West Windsor” part of the 1696 purchase - as opposed to the “Princeton” part. Although the hamlet’s name was originally spelled “Clarkesville,” (at least as far back as the 1830s, if not earlier) the “e” was dropped at an unknown date. Some old sources theorize that Clarksville Road itself may have been constructed along the southeastern division line separating this property from William Penn’s 1693 purchase of Penns Neck. However, several hundred acres also overlapped into present-day West Windsor - including Nassau Park Pavilion. This property encompassed the future locations of the Princeton Battlefield, Institute for Advanced Study, Institute Woods, and Updike Farmstead, to name a few. It was presumably named after the Clarke family, who settled in present-day Princeton following Benjamin Clarke’s purchase of 1,200 acres of land from Thomas Warne in 1696. It was largely centered around the intersection of Quakerbridge Road and Route 1 but also included the surrounding landscape. ![]() ![]() “Clarksville” refers to a West Windsor-Lawrence community that no longer exists. ![]()
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