Joseph Henry House

The Joseph Henry House is a brick structure on Princeton University's campus featuring a gabled roof and an asymmetrical five-bay facade. The building includes a single-story open porch across its front and currently sits on the northern edge of the university's grounds.

The house was built in 1838 and served physicist Joseph Henry as his residence until 1848. At that time, Henry departed Princeton to become the founding Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

The house shows how 19th-century American scientists lived and integrated their work with family life within domestic spaces. Now functioning as a humanities center, it maintains this link between private residence and intellectual achievement for those who visit.

The building sits on the northern edge of Princeton's campus and is well integrated into the university grounds. Visitors should know the house was relocated multiple times before settling into its present location in 1946.

Henry developed a groundbreaking electromagnet that was tested at Yale College and demonstrated exceptional lifting capacity. This invention contributed significantly to the foundation of modern electrical engineering and shows the practical focus of his scientific work.

Location: New Jersey

GPS coordinates: 40.34940,-74.65890

Latest update: December 12, 2025 07:50