Ben Franklin in Bordentown? It happened one night

By Dan Aubrey

New Jersey writer and journalist

Michael G. Gabriele is quick to point out in his new book, Colonial Taverns of New Jersey, that when the Europeans first set foot in the New World in the 1600s, “the colonial proprietors quickly recognized the business potential of New Jersey’s verdant landscape and natural resources. They also appreciated the gentlemanly pleasures of alcohol consumption.”

The rest, as they say, is history — something the author elaborated on when he visited the Bordentown Historical Society on May 6 to discuss his book.

But as the Clifton, New Jersey-based writer aptly demonstrates in his 208-page History Press publication, the places where alcohol was consumed also played a part in shaping our collective history.

As he tells us, by the end of the American Revolution — in which New Jersey saw more battles than any other state in colonies — there were at least 443 taxrecord state taverns that served individuals conducting business between New York and Philadelphia, those traveling for political and religious reason, and Revolutionary soldiers moving from battle to battle.

They were also the places where news and information were freely traded, opinions shaped, and actions decided — like one not-so-happy occasion that saw one Revolutionary War-time Princeton tavern get run out of town for pro-England sentiment.

While the book doesn’t tarry long on any particular tavern or region, it provides a glimpse of tavern life in central New Jersey — with several surprising visitors.

As Gabriele notes, in 1723, future U.S. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, just 17 years old, ambled through the wilds of the Garden State from Perth Amboy to Burlington to find work as a printer in Philadelphia.

“On October 4, 1723, the young Mr. Franklin came upon a tavern in Bordentown, owned by Dr. Joseph Brown. It was a welcomed, much- needed stop, as Franklin wrote that he had been thoroughly soaked by a heavy rain and was beginning now to wish that ‘I had never left home. I cut so miserable a figure, too, that I found, by the questions asked me, I was suspected to be some runaway servant, and in danger of being taken up on that suspicion.’”

While Franklin’s stop in Bordentown was brief, that wasn’t true of important Revolutionary War figure Thomas Paine, who moved to Bordentown and frequented a tavern that later became known as The Washington House.

It was “Mr. Paine’s principal resort and here he had many contests with gentlemen whom he met. It must be remembered in the olden days that taverns were not dignified with the names of hotels and were not frequented by promiscuous customers, but were the resort of gentlemen of means, principally. Furnished with arm chairs and tables, they possessed some of the comfort of club rooms, and the conversation or arguments were conducted with great decorum.”

The road from Perth Amboy to Burlington was not the only tavern-lined passage offered to those traveling between New York to Philadelphia. Another — newly improved in 1765-66 — featured overnight stops in Kingston and Princeton.

One popular one was “a favorite place of Washington and the governors of New Jersey,” Vantilburgh’s tavern in Kingston.

The tavern “stood at the corner of today’s Laurel Avenue and Main Street (Route 27), a site occupied by a restaurant. A colonial newspaper, dated June 1766, posted a sales notice that described ‘the old wellknown tavern in King Middlesex County, known by the Sign of the Mermaid, now in the possession of William Vantilburgh.’ The tavern had four fireplaces, a garden, a large stable, and sat on a four-acre plot of land.

“Vantilburgh’s establishment achieved such renown that it earned a personal endorsement from future U.S. President John Adams, who recommended it in a letter to his wife, Abigail, on October 18, 1799. During a stay in Trenton, Adams wrote, ‘Dearest friend....If you have a mind to come nearer Philadelphia, you find comfortable accommodations at Vantilburgh’s at Kingston, where I can visit you every other day.’ The tavern remained in the Vantilburgh until it went out of business around 1880 and was demolished.”

Adams seems to have frequented the highway and makes a note about an August 27, 1774, stop in “Prince Town” and noting “Sign of (the tavern) ‘Hudibras,’ near Nassau Hall College. The tavern keeper’s name is [Jacob] Hyer.”

The tavern had been described in a newspaper advertisement as “esteemed by all gentlemen acquainted with the road, to be the best stand between New York and Philadelphia. The house is new, has a cellar under the whole and has twelve rooms; two good kitchens, one of which has a loft over it with two good rooms; a good stable with a large loft which will hold five tons of hay.”

Besides Kingston and Princeton, another stop, Trenton, also had a healthy and important tavern industry.

As Gabriele reports, “A landowner and businessman named William Yard built the city’s first inn, established sometime between 1712 and 1715 and known only through collective memory as William Yard’s Inn. By 1715, he had established a public house, described by the Trenton Historical Society as a ‘substantial stone dwelling,’ which stood at East Front Street, near the Old Barracks.”

While it was followed by others in what would become the capital city, one of the most important was the French Arms Tavern, where the Continental Congress moved in 1784.

It was “located at the southwest corner of today’s Warren and State Streets, built of stone and stucco, two stories high, with a gabled roof. This was the period prior to Washington, DC, being selected as the permanent capital of the new nation. From June to November 1783, Nassau Hall in Princeton also served as a temporary seat for the Continental Congress.”

On December 18, 1787, the tavern became the site for New Jersey’s ratification of the United States Constitution, the third state to do so. “In 1836, First Mechanics and Manufacturers Bank purchased the property, tore down the tavern and erected an office building,” Gabriele writes.

As indicated, many of the taverns that survived the American Revolution did not survive the march of time. But, as Gabriele’s work demonstrates, books and talk keep them alive and, although a bit clunky with its academic references and phrasing, this one is worth sitting down with a pint and getting a sip of ye-old New Jersey’s past.

Colonial Taverns of New Jersey: Libations, Liberty & Revolution, Michael C. Gabriele, 208 pages, $23.99, The History Press.

Pickleball — The Social Sport with a Ball in Your Court

BY REBEKAH SCHROEDER

As pickleball triumphantly emerged from the ashes of other forgotten pandemic pastimes like a phoenix, the activity experienced a rebirth despite being less than six decades old.

This year marks only the 58th anniversary of when Washington State Congressman Joel Pritchard and businessman Bill Bell, during an afternoon of improvisational racket sports, cobbled together the beginnings of a boredom-busting game while on summer vacation with their children on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, in 1965.

The two men took ping-pong paddles to Pritchard’s old badminton court and played with a lightweight, perforated ball, the combination of which is an auditory clue for pickleball’s signature, satisfying smack.

According to USA Pickleball, the “national governing body for the sport of pickleball,” they opted for a lower net height than in tennis and kept the game going into the next weekend, joined by another friend, Barney McCallum

But although pickleball was invented as a family activity, it has since become well- known as a staple for older populations, with retirement communities and senior centers some of the first to serve up a sense of friendly competition.

Pickleball is ideal for players looking to chat and exercise without the toll on the body often felt in higher-impact sports, allowing those with a history of injuries or surgeries to remain active thanks to a shorter court and lower force of contact with the ball.

Because players must rely on mental coordination and concentration rather than physical ability, a sharp mind can anticipate a powerful swing.

This inherent inclusivity appeals to people of all ages, as it allows them to mingle and move together on a regular basis with people they might not have met otherwise.

Pickleball is traditionally played in both singles and doubles on a 20-foot by 44-foot court with a net that is 36 inches on each end and 34 inches in the middle.

The ball is served underhand, as in volleyball, with a similar scoring system in which each side goes until “faulting,” and only the serving team can gain a point. Whichever side reaches 11 points first, and leads by at least two, wins the game.

The patchwork nature is intentional yet mirrors its origins, as the name of the game has been attributed to two possibilities:

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TO ADVERTISE call (609) 396-1511, ext. 110 or e-mail advertise@communitynews.org one, as a reference to a “pickle boat,” a term in rowing where the leftover players get grouped together in a makeshift crew boat team for the last race and coined by Joel’s wife, Joan Pritchard; or two, the McCallums’ version, where the sport allegedly took its inspiration from the Pritchard family dog, a Cockapoo called “Pickles.”

In reality, as Joan confirmed to the West Virginian newspaper the Parkersburg News and Sentinel, the pet came into the picture about two years after the trio first pioneered pickleball.

No matter the nomenclature, pickleball is set to continue its positive trend as “the fastest-growing sport in America for the third year in a row,” according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association’s “2023 Topline Participation Report,” with “8.9 million players in the United States over the age of six years old, an increase from 4.8 million in 2022.” in Mercer County, Mackie estimated that Pickleheads attracts “close to 400,000 players that visit the site every month,” as well as “over 13,000 courts profiled across the US and Canada—what we think is the largest database of pickleball courts out there.”

Brandon Mackie co-founded the website Pickleheads, a user-generated index of local sites and communicative tools to help players initiate games, with fellow Atlanta entrepreneur Max Ade in March 2022.

Since anyone with an account can update the content of a page for free, similar to the format of a wiki, the list of venues—sorted by city, state, or facility—strives to solve the issue of where to play and what to expect.

Each page will let you follow or check what time to play at the venue, the features and amenities included, and browse nearby courts. Users can relay what material the courts are made of or whether the nets or lines are permanent, as all require different responsibilities on behalf of the player.

Pickleheads plans to expand on the interpersonal and organizational aspects of the sport by giving users the ability to create groups for easier joining, recruiting, and posting of games, automatically invite others through SMS or email, and update playing times.

In early July, the company will launch a mobile app encouraging players to meet new partners and share their knowledge on a broader scale.

“Everyone’s scratching their heads, saying, ‘How could something like this have grown so fast and gotten so big?’ When I really think about it—and I talk to players all day, every day—it’s very clear that there are really two things [that] go into pickleball: one, it’s just how easy the sport is to learn. You don’t need to be athletic or have racquet sports experience. You can pick up the game in about 10 or 15 minutes out

Brandon Mackie, top right, is the co-founder of Pickleheads, an online database of pickleball courts with information on sites like the Lawrence Township Central Park, top left, and the Robbinsville Municipal Building, lower left. on the court the first time, and at the end of your first time out there, you’re probably even winning games, depending on who your partner is or who you’re playing against.”

This “low barrier to entry,” Mackie added, motivates people to try pickleball without the traditional caveats of lessonheavy sports like golf.

The action itself might be directly at the net, but people are eager to keep the conversation flowing, much like the back-andforth of the ball, regardless of whether they are on the court or waiting for a turn.

“I think for a lot of people, they don’t even look at it like a sport. It’s a social outlet and a big part of their weekly life, and I think that just keeps people coming back more, so you have all these people that try it and stick with it, and it just snowballs in the way that we’ve seen it—both in Mercer County

In an interview on the pickleball scene See Pickleball, Page 4 and across the United States,” he noted.

The other key part, Mackie explained, is the “social aspect” of the sport. Pickleball is most often played in doubles, meaning that matches can rotate through a large number of partners.

Mackie mentioned the Mercer Bucks Pickleball Club in Ewing as “one of the destinations that [Pickleheads] track in the top places to play,” noting that “any time you have that type of investment in the area, and we see that happen in a lot of different counties all across the U.S., that really just takes the growth and participation of pickleball on a whole new trajectory.”

Entities across Mercer County are still considering how to successfully incorporate pickleball into their towns in a way that pleases both players and the general public.

Princeton’s Community Park South, for example, is the focus of an ongoing Princeton public engagement program to redesign its layout and is expected to include six pickleball courts.

Though the sport began courting many of its current players during the pandemic, this steady swell of local interest is an indicator of a promising future, according to Mackie, who expects pickleball to “become the largest sport in the country” one day in terms of participants—a direct echo of the prediction from the latest SFIA report in February, where that rate “almost doubled in 2022, increasing by 85.7 percent yearover-year and by an astonishing 158.6 percent over three years.”

The relatively simple rules and minimal running keep the spirit of pickleball alive at the perfect pace, too, the unlikely pastime having taken flight during the most unprecedented of times.

But if you still want to try your hand at the fastest-growing sport in America, take your pick from these places to play along and see just why this popular pastime is on the rise.

Mercer Bucks Pickleball Club

370 Sullivan Way, Ewing Hours: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (609) 883-6272 or playmbpc.com.

• Courts: 9 (Indoors)

• Amenities: Restrooms, water filler, lighted courts, snacks

• Features: rentals, clinics, leagues, private instruction, tournaments, automatic ball machine, players’ lounge, practice dink court, cornhole, demo paddles, private events

The long-awaited Mercer Bucks Pickleball Club opened in February 2022 as the “largest indoor pickleball facility in the northeast,” clocking in at 26,000 square feet with nine fenced-in courts, climate control, and a state-of-the-art sound system. The dedicated courts have permanent lines and nets. Paddles and balls are provided.

Membership is not required to play, but it does provide benefits such as the ability to make reservations online, in advance, and at reduced rates.

As of press time, the facility only has limited memberships available. To join the waitlist, contact the club’s front desk either by phone or email at info@playmbpc.com. For more information, see playmbpc.com/ prices-benefits

Activity rates apply either per hour (for court rentals) or per person (for instruction, social plays, etc.) with an additional $5 guest fee for each hour of each activity over member rates.

Guests can either accompany members or call, email, or walk-in to speak with the front desk up to 48 hours in advance of events from June to August to register for any open spots for social plays and clinics; no restrictions apply to booking private lessons.

To reserve a court at MBPC, access the company’s page on CourtReserve, described online as an “all-in-one court reservation and club management platform.”

Princeton Racquet Club

150 Raymond Road, Princeton Hours: Monday to Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (732) 329-6200 or princetonracquetclub.com

• Courts: 2 (Indoors, dedicated) and 16 (Total, indoor-outdoors)

• Amenities: Restrooms, water, pro shop, snacks

• Features: rentals, lessons, supervised and open play, camps, game drills, match plays

The Princeton Racquet Club has 16 total courts in its indoor-outdoor complex, but the robust tennis program also offers pickleball rentals inside “The Barn,” the nickname for the indoor facility known as Court 1, which contains two pickleball DecoTurf hardcourts with cushioned surfacing.

In June, PRC announced new pickleball clinics on Mondays from 8 to 9:30 a.m. and Wednesdays from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Classes may be moved outside depending on the weather, while paddles and balls are provided.

Membership is not required to play, but all players must sign a waiver form before participating. Premier members can reserve courts up to one week in advance; standard members have five days. The average court time is 90 minutes. To register or reserve, contact the PRC front desk or visit CourtReserve. For other rates, see the PRC pickleball page online at princetonracquetclub.com/pickleball

Mercer County Park Tennis Center

1638 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor. Hours: Monday to Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday to Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. 609-448-8007 or mercercountyparks.org

• Courts: 4 (Outdoors)

• Amenities: Restrooms, water filler, lighted courts

Under the operation of the Mercer County Park Commission, the Mercer County Park Tennis Center debuted the first “pickleball only” playing area in the county, four outdoor asphalt courts with permanent lines and nets, in 2017.

While a membership is not required to play, a 2023 Mercer County Tennis/Pickle- ball ID is required to reserve courts, with all non-ID card holders required to pay an $8 fee per individual.

According to the Tennis Center website, valid ID card holders play for free and can reserve courts up to three days in advance with CourtReserve.

An adult Mercer County resident can purchase an ID for the year for $80, with a discounted junior and senior rate priced at $40 and a non-resident rate of $120. Court time is limited to 90 minutes.

The MCPC also runs the Hopewell Valley Golf Club & Country Club, located at 114 Pennington-Hopewell Road in Hopewell, where three Har-Tru tennis courts and two Platform tennis courts with blended lines for pickleball opened in 2021.

Robbinsville Municipal Complex

1117 US-130, Robbinsville Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

In August of last year, the Robbinsville Municipal Complex, a short distance away from the township’s police station, library, and senior center, added four lit outdoor courts with permanent lines and nets at the site of its former skate park.

No membership or reservations are necessary—courts are available on a firstcome, first-served basis. If another party is waiting to play, those currently using the court are encouraged to limit their playtime to one hour for singles and 1.5 hours for doubles to share the facilities.

Veterans Park Tennis & Pickleball Complex

2206 Kuser Road, Hamilton. Open daily. Tennis Center Office Hours: 8 a.m. to noon, then 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. through the April to October season. 609-581-412.

• Courts: 18 (Outdoors, dedicated) and 22 (Total, Outdoors)

• Amenities: Restrooms, water, lighted courts

The Veterans Park Tennis & Pickleball Complex is an all-outdoor fixture of the Central New Jersey pickleball community, with 18 designated pickleball courts, six of which are lit. The Hamilton Recreation Department manages the park’s 22 total mixed-surface tennis and pickleball courts, which are accessible via the park’s north entrance.

Get your game on at the Princeton Senior Resource Center in Princeton, left, and the Mercer Bucks Pickleball Club, opposite page, all year round.

A seasonal membership is required through October 31 to play, but no reservations are necessary—courts are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Prices are $25 for Hamilton residents, $50 for nonHamilton residents, and $10 (cash only) for a daily guest pass. For more information on upcoming tournaments or events, please call the Recreation Department at 609-8904028 or email recreation@hamiltonnj.com

Life Time - Princeton

7 Forrestal Road South, Plainsboro. Hours: Monday through Friday, 4 a.m. to 12 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. (609) 608-7100 or lifetime.life/life-timelocations/nj-princeton.html

Described as “an athletic country club” off of Route 1, Life Time’s Princeton facility in Plainsboro features three indoor hardsurface courts with permanent lines and nets. Membership is required to play, and courts can be reserved.

A one-day pass membership ($50) includes amenities like restrooms, water, lighted courts, and à la carte food options, as well as an indoor pool and fitness classes. The monthly rate gives customers access to a wider range of services, but all membership tiers are allowed to participate in open play, mixers, weekly drop-in clinics, lessons, leagues, and pickleball tournaments.

Lawrence Central Park

100 Dave Nevius Way, Lawrence. Open daily. (609) 844-7067 or lawrencetwp.com/ departments/recreation.

In May, the Lawrence Township Recreation Department announced that they had converted one tennis court to two lit pickleball courts for use at Central Park No membership or reservations are necessary—courts are available on a first-come, first-served basis. If another party is waiting to play, those currently using the court are encouraged to limit their playtime to 30 minutes to share the facilities.

Team85 Fitness & Wellness

8500 K. Johnson Blvd, Fieldsboro (Bordentown). Field House Hours: Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (609) 298-8585

or team85fitnessandwellness.com

Team85 Fitness & Wellness, a 45,000-square-foot sporting complex boasting professional fitness programs and resources, is home to the Fitness Center and the Field House, the latter of which has six indoor pickleball courts. Membership is required to play for free, with price tiers available in options such as one month, month-to-month, and 12-month. TEAM85 offers discounts for seniors and law enforcement. According to its Facebook page, guests can play pickleball for a $7 fee. Amenities include food.

Princeton Senior Resource Center

Suzanne Patterson Building, 45 Stockton Street, Princeton. (609) 751-9699 or princetonsenior.org/pickleball

The Princeton Senior Resource Center has one indoor, climate-controlled court on a wood gym floor in the Suzanne Patterson Building. According to a quote from COO Donna Cosgrove, the PSRC court “has attracted over 500 registrations in the ten months it’s been open.”

The schedule is updated each month with instruction by Carolyn DardaniHorensky, while fees vary per activity and depend on whether players are Princeton residents or not. Options include pickleball “3 and Me” for advanced beginners, twoday beginner and next level bootcamps, and instructed open court.

Pickleball group court memberships are $30 for Princeton residents and $35 for nonresidents per hour per group, with reservations on a first-come, first-served basis. For the full list of dates and times for group rentals, see the July form online at princetonsenior.link/PickleballJulyGroupRental

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