The Lawrence Hopewell Trail is a path through the history of Lawrence and Hopewell townships, illustrated by interpretive signs placed at key spots along the pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly trail.
Four new historical markers recently have been added to the trail – two in Lawrence Township and two in Hopewell Township – in a continuation of the “History Along the Trail” program.
In Lawrence Township, an interpretive sign has been placed along the trail on Province Line Road near U.S. Route 206. The sign, which is located east of the intersection, focuses on the history of U.S. Route 206 since its beginnings as a Native American trail.
U.S. Route 206 is one of the most ancient and historic roads in New Jersey, the sign states. Native American guides led Dutch traders over the trail as early as the 1640s. With the arrival of Princeton Pike and Brunswick Pike (U.S. Route 1) in the early 1800s, it was converted into a wagon road.
Over the years, U.S. Route 206 has had several names – from the Trenton to Amboy Road, the Great Road, and the Old Dutch Road. It was also known as the King’s Highway and the Lincoln Highway. It has been known as U.S. Route 206 since 1927.
There is also a new sign that outlines the history of the Educational Testing Service – better known as ETS – and the development of its corporate campus. The trail traverses the campus, beginning on Rosedale Road at Mya Drive and ending on Province Line Road.
ETS was founded in 1947 by three of the country’s leading non-profit testing organizations to consolidate and better coordinate the standardized testing used worldwide. Tests most often associated with ETS are the SAT for college admission, the GRE for graduate school admission, PRAXIS for teacher certification, plus TOEFL and TOEIC, which are tests to show competency in English among those whose native language is not English.
ETS President Henry Chauncey discovered the dairy farm that would soon become ETS’ corporate headquarters while he was on a walk with his wife in 1954. He envisioned it as a future headquarters for the testing service. The property was purchased and the groundwork was laid for ETS’ new offices.
The farmhouse at the center of the campus was built around 1810 by Francis Huff. The farm changed hands several times, and for a few years it was the home of the Stony Brook Hunt Club. ETS bought the farm from Fred Schluter, who was its last owner.
A few miles along the trail in Hopewell Township, two new signs have been placed along the trail that focus on the agricultural history of the township. They have been placed on the trail along the Pennington-Rocky Hill Road, which leads into Pennington Borough.
Stony Brook Farm was originally one of the many family farms that dotted Hopewell Township’s landscape. It was established in the late 1850s. Following the death of farmer Charles Clifford in 1856, it was acquired by Isaac Welling and then James Thompson, who built the white farmhouse around 1860.
The farm was sold in 1898 to Edward B. Allen, who raised horses in it. He sold the farm in 1927. It passed through the hands of several owners until Socony Mobil Oil Co. bought it in 1957 and used it as a petroleum research center. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. bought it in 1997 and operated it until 2020.
The fourth interpretive sign has been placed on the trail, opposite the yellow farmhouse on the corner of Old Mill Road. Known as the Enos Titus Farmstead, it was built by Titus around 1802 or 1803. He moved to a larger farm in 1810. His son, Charles Titus, was a blacksmith in Pennington Borough. Grandson Charles Titus was a merchant in the town.
The Titus family immigrated to the English colonies in 1635, and made their way to Long Island, N.Y. in 1650 and then to Hopewell Township around 1710. Enos Titus was born in 1768 and died in 1840.
The suggestion for trail markers grew out of a discussion with Richard Hunter, whose firm – Hunter Research Inc. – is a historical and archeological consulting firm, said Dennis Waters. He is the former Lawrence Township historian and a former member of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail Corporation’s board of trustees.
The route of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail takes it past – and through – many locations that have unique histories. Those sites range from Native American sites and through the Colonial period and into the 20th century, Waters said.
“In fact, if you wanted to build a trail specifically to connect and highlight the important local history sites in Lawrence and Hopewell, you would be hard pressed to find a better route than the Lawrence Hopewell Trail,” he said.
Since the “History Along the Trail” program was initiated in 2022, 17 signs have been installed along the 20-mile-long trail that connects Lawrence and Hopewell townships. Six more signs are anticipated to be installed in 2025.
A complete list of signs can be found on the Lawrence Hopewell Trail’s website at www.lhtrail.org/history.
