Nassau Club, The

Nassau Club, The, was organized in 1889 to advance the social life of its members, who were drawn from both town and gown. It acquired its present clubhouse at 6 Mercer Street in 1903 when Woodrow Wilson was its president. The house had been built about 1814 for Professor Samuel Miller of the Theological Seminary. Two of the Club's most famous parties were those it gave for ex-President Cleveland when he came here to live and for Professor Bliss Perry when he left Princeton to become editor of the Atlantic Monthly. The Club's best known activity in modern times has been its weekly Wednesday luncheon talks, which have been drawing on the community's rich resources for the edification of its members since 1914. Originally, the Club had thirty-two members; by 1977 the number was approaching 1,90~0 -- nearly 800 resident and 1,100 nonresident members, most of the latter alumni of the University.

From Alexander Leitch, A Princeton Companion, copyright Princeton University Press (1978).