Brian Donohue visits Proprietary House Museum for lesson on Benjamin Franklin

I knew I wasn't the only history geek all amped up about all things Benjamin Franklin.

Apr 25, 2022, 10:57 PM

Updated 959 days ago

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I knew I wasn't the only history geek all amped up about all things Benjamin Franklin.
After watching the recent Ken Burns documentary series on the founding father and all-around Renaissance man, I got the itch to visit the Proprietary House Museum in Perth Amboy.
The Proprietary House is the only official royal governor's mansion still standing in any of the 13 original colonies.
The mansion is where Franklin's son William lived when he served as royal governor of New Jersey and where some of the most dramatic moments of his contentious relationship with his father Benjamin played out. When I had gone there a year ago, I was bummed to find the doors closed due to the pandemic and ongoing renovation.
But the museum reopened in March. It was just in time too, because the Ken Burns series has sparked a wave of history buffs looking to connect to some Franklin family history by visiting the museum.
In today's episode of Brian's Positively New Jersey, come on a tour with me as I don full 18th century duds and walk through one of New Jersey's most storied sites - and one far too few New Jerseyans have taken the time to check out.