Thomas Olden’s grandson Charles Smith Olden is born on the Olden farmstead.

With savings and a bequest from Charles Smith of New Brunswick, for whom he was named, Charles Smith Olden purchases his grandfather’s property and begins construction of Drumthwacket. The original structure consists of the center hall with two rooms on each side in addition to the large portico with detailed Ionic columns. For its name, Governor Olden gives his home the Scots-Gaelic name Drumthwacket which translates to ‘wooded hill’

Charles Smith Olden serves as the 19th Governor of New Jersey from 1860-1863. When the Civil War begins, he keeps New Jersey on the Union side and updates the military organization and equipment of the New Jersey troops. He reorganizes the state’s finances and sustains the treasury with his private fortune.

Charles Smith Olden dies and is buried at the Stony Brook Meeting House and Cemetery. In his will of 1873, Governor Olden leaves his lands that included 48.20 acres valued at $167,000.00 along with the small white house known today as the Thomas Olden House and Drumthwacket to his wife Phebe Ann Smith (d. 1892)

Moses Taylor Pyne (1855-1921) purchases Drumthwacket for the sum of $15,024 and with his wife Margaretta Stockton begins the process of transforming Drumthwacket into a 183 acre estate. He engages Raleigh C. Gildersleeve to design the alternations and additions to the residence which include east and west wings.

Moses Taylor Pyne celebrates tenure as a Trustee of Princeton University, a position which he holds for 37 years. He is instrumental in bringing Woodrow Wilson to Princeton as president, and after a disagreement, having him removed.

The Thomas Olden House is converted into an aviary for exotic birds and houses monkeys when Henry Egglesfield, butler to Mr. Pyne, his wife and 11 children outgrow the small farmstead. Mr. Egglesfield serves as Moses Taylor Pyne’s English butler for forty-eight years.

Moses Taylor Pyne retains Daniel Webster Langton, one of the eleven founding members of the American Society of Landscape Architects, to design Drumthwacket’s entire property including woods, ponds, lawns, paths, bowling green, lawn tennis court, and the formal Italianate gardens directly behind the residence.

Moses Taylor Pyne dies and bequeaths Drumthwacket to his only grandchild Agnes. Princeton University suspends classes for the day and bells toll throughout Princeton in memorium.

Abram Nathanial Spanel (1901 – 1985) purchases Drumthwacket and twelve surrounding acres from Moses Taylor Pyne’s grandchild, Agnes. A Russian immigrant, Spanel is an ingenious inventor and scientist who founded in 1932 the International Latex Corporation which becomes known as the International Playtex Corporation. Spanel’s company supports American efforts in World War II with latex products such as attack boats, life rafts and canteens.

Spanel’s engineering staff lives at Drumthwacket and many of his patented inventions are conceived in what is today the Music Room. When Spanel dies, he holds more than 2,000 patents including a pneumatic stretcher designed to carry wounded military personnel in the water to a home hair-cutting device.

Hungarian-born physicist Leo Szilard (1898 – 1964) lives at Drumthwacket for over a year by invitation of Abram Spanel and his wife Margaret. A close friend and colleague of Princeton resident Albert Einstein (1879-1955), Szilard urges Einstein to sign the historic 1939 letter to President Franklin Roosevelt warning about German nuclear weapons research.

Abram Spanel’s company wins a competition sponsored by NASA to develop the Apollo spacesuit. In an address to ILC employees, Abram Spanel remarks, “it is the greatest privilege of my life to present to you the role that your company played in that colossal of all human achievements in placing two American astronauts on the surface of the moon for the glory of civilization and humanity”.

The State of New Jersey purchases Drumthwacket with the intent that it be used as the governor’s residence although it is not officially recognized as such until 1981.

The Drumthwacket Foundation is founded accepting the responsibility of restoring, curating and preserving the residence and property which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

First Lady Lucinda Florio and the Drumthwacket Foundation raise funds to rehabilitate and restore the Italianate gardens.

First Lady Mary Pat Christie and the Drumthwacket Foundation launch a comprehensive four year facilities plan to restore the exterior of the residence and Thomas Olden House, re-grade walk surfaces for wheelchair accessibility, install energy efficient path lighting, add new landscaping, exterior signage and update the public restrooms.

The Foundation expands the Discover Drumthwacket field trip program to include at the Thomas Olden House, hands-on exhibits about colonial kitchens, their furnishings and gardens.

The Foundation expands its arts education initiative to include fine art exhibits by living New Jersey artists. The 2013 exhibit showcases the photography of Wendel White, Distinguished Professor of Art at The Richard Stockton College of Art and follows the 2012 exhibit of watercolors by award winning children’s book illustrator Earl Bradley Lewis.

The exhibit, “Eureka! Invention & Innovation in New Jersey” is on view in the residence from September 17 to November 19, 2014. The show highlights inventions such as the flexible flyer sled, the electric guitar and the hole punch invented in New Jersey.

For the exhibit, “Inspire: Everyday People Changing New Jersey”, the Foundation commissions 9 New Jersey fine art photographers to take the photographs of 18 individuals recognized by the non-profit organization New Jersey Heroes. The black and white photographs are on view in the residence from September 2015 to July 2016.

The Foundation in partnership with New Jersey teachers develops the S.T.E.M. aligned module “Eureka! Invention and Innovation in New Jersey” and offers it at no cost to educators and students state-wide to encourage connections, enhance learning and foster curiosity about New Jersey inventors and inventions. The module is inspired by Abram Spanel, the last private owner of Drumthwacket and prolific inventor.