GRAND HOMES & GARDENS:
"Freedom at Home" SERIES

March 5 –April 16, 2026

2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The men who authored and signed America’s founding document were many things: farmers, lawyers, doctors, statesmen. About two thirds of the document’s signers were also enslavers, holding human beings in bondage while, on paper, committing to an ideology of liberty and freedom.

2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The men who authored and signed America’s founding document were many things: farmers, lawyers, doctors, statesmen. About two thirds of the document’s signers were also enslavers, holding human beings in bondage while, on paper, committing to an ideology of liberty and freedom. 

In observance of the semiquincentennial, Morven’s 2026 Grand Homes & Gardens series, Freedom at Home, will examine the estates of four signers of the Declaration. Illustrated presentations offer insight into how architecturally significant homes, gardens, and landscapes of the time were designed and built. How were ideas of independence and autonomy woven into these spaces? 

At the same time, how did these homes function as spaces of oppression? Enslaved people worked within, maintained, and at times built the featured homes and gardens, sustaining family, friendship, and culture within a system of bondage. Women–– the wives, sisters, daughters, and mothers of “founding fathers”–– navigated male-dominated spaces, forwarding political ideas while also running households. 

Speakers from each site will share how they work today to tell the full story of these homes and their place in America’s founding. Join Morven, a museum set in the home of a signer, as we travel around the original thirteen colonies for a journey through architecture, design, gardening, and social history of the eighteenth century.

All programs begin at 6:30 p.m. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. for light refreshments. The programs are hybrid, offered both in-person and virtually. Upon registration, a Zoom link will be sent to virtual participants. All programs will be recorded and shared with registrants following each event.

In an 1804 newspaper advertisement, Trenton clock and watchmaker William J. Leslie touted that he was “Not from Paris, London or Boston – But a Native of New-Jersey.”  At the time, the state was home to dozens of craftsmen specializing in tall case clocks. Morven’s newest exhibition will examine the work of New Jersey clockmakers as they collaborated with cabinetmakers, ran shops, and formed professional partnerships to create beautiful timekeeping pieces.

Spanning the colonial and post-revolutionary period, clockmakers ran their shops with the assistance of apprentices and often enslaved labor. Some carried on the clockmaking tradition through several generations, often working multiple trades, including silversmithing.

This exhibition will feature over 50 tall case clocks, representing almost as many different clockmakers, from both private and public collections. These freestanding pendulum clocks are as functional as they are beautiful with faces made of intricate brass work or painted designs of objects like ships, suns, and moons. Internally, their complicated workings are mechanical masterpieces. Some even chime with contemporaneous melodies. 

Striking Beauty will be the first large-scale exhibition of its kind, exploring the experiences of the artisans and apprentices, free and enslaved, who contributed to this unique craft. Explore the five-gallery exhibition to see clocks from cities and towns such as Elizabeth, Newark, Burlington, Flemington, and Salem, and more. 

Lenders to the exhibition will include: Boxwood Hall, Brown University, Buccleuch Mansion Museum, Burlington County Historical Society, Gloucester County Historical Society, Hunterdon County Historical Society, Monmouth County Historical Association, Trenton Museum Society,  as well as loans from numerous private collections.