The William Trent House Museum, which has been closed since June 2024, officially reopened today following the installation of a new energy-efficient HVAC system.
The project, funded by a grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust and matching funds from the City of Trenton, aims to improve climate control within the historic building.
Tours of the museum, located at 15 Market St., began at 11:45 a.m.
The William Trent House, built in 1719 on the ancestral lands of the Lenape people, was constructed by Philadelphia merchant William Trent. From 1721 until his death in 1724,
Trent lived in the house with his second wife Mary, their son William, and 11 enslaved individuals of African descent, identified as Yaff, Joan, Bob, Dick, Nanny, Tom, Julius, Bossin, Harry, Cupid and Pedro.
After Trent’s death, the property passed through several owners before being donated to the City of Trenton in 1929 by Edward A. Stokes. The house was restored to its colonial appearance in the 1930s as part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project and is furnished according to Trent’s probate inventory.
The museum’s mission is to educate the public about the diverse peoples who lived and worked on the property, including the Lenape and immigrants who later settled in Trenton.
For more information, go to williamtrenthouse.org.
