​Trent House in an Era of Rapid Change

During the 19th century, the house that had first been called "Kingsbury" and then "Bloomsbury" was renamed "Woodlawn" by  Joseph Wood when he purchased the property in 1852. By that time, substantial changes had been made to the house's architecture, as shown in this photograph. 

The roof had been lowered, the cupola removed, and porches added. It was during these renovations that we believe a single shoe, probably one made to be worn by a woman servant, was left in the roof infrastructure. This shoe was found again during roof repairs in 2018. How did this shoe, which experts estimated was made in the 1830-1850 period, get into a roof constructed in the 1700s? And if it was deliberately placed there, why? Read this brochure to learn our answers to these questions.

The Trent House's architecture changed again and by the late 19th century it had been transformed into a "Gilded Age" mansion, though in an area surrounded by factories and rowhouses. Two large structure, additional porches, and a greenhouse had been added by the time this photograph was taken in 1899. 

By then Woodlawn was owned by Edward H. Stokes, son-in-law of Joseph Wood having married his daughter Permelia in 1860 and thereby becoming one of the wealthiest men in Trenton. 

​For the next nearly seven decades the house was occupied by two generations of the Stokes family, until it was given to the City of Trenton in 1929 by Edward A. Stokes. During the 1930s the house was restored to its colonial appearance intended for use as a public cultural institution as required by Stokes' deed of gift.

During the Stokes era Trenton underwent tremendous social change as its industrial economy grew.  From 1870 through 1920 the U.S. Census recorded no less than 20 percent of Trenton's population as foreign born reaching 25 percent in 1920. In 1900 English, German, and Irish immigrants together represented 70 percent of Trenton's foreign-born residents, while in 1920 these groups were only 23 percent of foreign-born Trentonians. Immigrants from Czech-Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Russia were about half of all foreign-born residents with Italian immigrants adding almost another quarter. ​

As was the case across the nation, Trenton's foreign-born residents, particularly those from Eastern Europe and Italy, found it difficult to be accepted as American, even after years of living in the United States, becoming a naturalized citizen, and speaking English. An analysis of employment records from the Roebling wire works factories in the late 1910s and early 1920s illustrates this and places this in the context of nativism of the time. 

​This analysis is described in this recording, addressing the question “Why are some workers who emigrated to the United States considered 'American' while others were not?" and "How was the process of becoming American influenced by public attitudes and the political circumstances of the day?"​​