Trenton House Neighbors: 1880 to 1950 - Opening Exhibit

The Hughes Justice Complex on Market Street in Trenton stands on land that for many decades was a working class neighborhood. Densely packed row homes stood across from the Gilded Age mansion that the Trent House had become by the turn of the 20th century. Those buildings remained after the Trent House was restored in the 1930s, as can be glimpsed in this photograph.

Each home has a story of the families who lived there. Some housed the same family decade after decade; others saw frequent changes in their occupants as Trenton experienced waves of European immigration and then the arrival of African Americans from the South.

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Census records from 1880 to 1950 can reveal some of the threads in these stories, as will be shown in an exhibit that opens on April 23rd. Then return to the Trent House on May 21st to hear Hannah Lee, public history graduate student, describe the nuts-and-bolts of the research that created the exhibit and some of the fascinating stories she uncovered. Both events will be held in the Visitor Center beginning at 2 pm.