Located in Princeton, New Jersey, Drumthwacket has been the official residence of New Jersey governors since 1981.  Before then, Drumthwacket was home to three private owners.  Governor Charles Smith Olden built Drumthwacket in 1835 and lived there until his death in 1876.  The second owner, Moses Taylor Pyne, was a wealthy industrialist and banker.  The third owner, Abram Spanel (1901-1985), was an inventor and scientist. 

In 1932 Spanel founded the International Latex Corporation, now called the International Playtex Corporation. The company helped the United States during World War II with latex products such as attack boats, life rafts, and canteens (small water bottles used by soldiers). 

Later, Mr. Spanel’s engineering staff lived at Drumthwacket, and many of his patented inventions were conceived in what is today the residence’s Music Room. When Mr. Spanel died, he held more than 2,000 patents, including a pneumatic stretcher designed to carry wounded soldiers in water, and a home hair-cutting device.  In 1965 the company won a contest sponsored by NASA to design the spacesuit for the astronauts of the Apollo program. This was NASA’s project to send three men to the moon.