Princeton Law School (now part of Trinity Episcopal)

Fresh from spring break, where I was in Philadelphia and environs for a few days,  I have a picture of the building that once housed Princeton's Law School.  Yeah, I know--who knew Princeton had a law school?  (Some campus histories talk about the law school.)  A few decades after Princeton Law School shut down, the building housed the Ivy Club, which I am reliably informed is one of the most exclusive of the eating clubs.  There's a real history to that building.

The building, along Mercer Street, is now owned by Princeton's Trinity Episcopal Congregation.  It's still called Ivy Hall.

The building was designed by Philadelphia architect John Notman and built in 1846.   Here's a better picture of it.

All of this makes me think I'd like to see pictures of other nineteenth century law schools (well, really antebellum law schools, are the ones I'm most interested in).

Alfred Brophy

Comments

[Joe]

I was just at Princeton this past weekend for a wedding and it was gorgeous!

[Marc Roark]

It would be interesting to know more about the impact of southern (Transelvania) versus Northern academies of law.

[Alfred]

Joe--this was my first visit, too--and I completely agree. It's gorgeous.

Marc--agreed on Transylvania. Andy Siegel's working on this, I think--I heard him give a paper on Transylvania a few years ago. Lots of great stuff there.

Paul Carrington has a speculative article on Transylvania from a few years ago (something like butterfly effects in law teaching). He suggests that Transylvania's moderate approach may have influenced the Whig party in the years heading into the Compromise of 1850 .... Great stuff for speculation, though it's quite hard to tease out cause and effect (or even cause or effect).

[Marc]

Yeah -- I think I remember Carrington's article. I am going to have to go back and take another look. Didn't Robert Ferguson in Law and Letters talk about Transylvania some -- or am I mistaken...

[Alfred]

I don't remember Ferguson discussing Transylvania in Law and Letters, though it's entirely possible he did--there's a lot in that book. But Ferguson's focus is usually more north.

Here's a citation for Carrington's essay: "Teaching Law and Virtue at Transylvania University: The George Wythe Tradition in the Antebellum Years," 41 Mercer L. Rev 673 (1990).