About Us

Princeton Nurseries started in the summer of 1913 as a branch of F&F Nurseries located in Springfield, NJ. William Flemer Sr., the founder of F&F Nurseries, established the Princeton branch because steady development in the Springfield area made it impractical and expensive to expand a nursery growing operation nearby.

The Princeton area was chosen because of its location central to New York, Washington, DC and other metropolitan areas and for its rich sassafras loam soil. The main real value of the property was that the north boundary was on the Rocky Hill branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the land could be served by the Delaware and Raritan Canal.

William Flemer Sr.’s younger son, William Flemer Jr., then 18 years old, was sent down to manage the new nursery. It consisted of three adjoining farms along Mapleton Road, south of Kingston, New Jersey.

I took charge of the operation under my father’s guidance and also attended Rutgers University Short Course in 1914 and 1915. The first place I boarded was in the old Hoffman House Hotel down by the Canal and across from the railroad station. It was owned and operated by Daniel Hoffman. He and Mrs. Hoffman had two sons, the oldest being Levitt who later joined the 523 Ambulance Corps. I stayed there for several months and then boarded with the Johnty Higgins family for two or three years. Later going to the Bastedo home in Kingston on the corner of Euclid Avenue. I was there when I left to join the Army and when I returned I took up boarding there again.*

Life at the Higgins house and at the nursery was not easy but typical of a farmer’s life.

The house did not have electricity. Light was provided by kerosene lamps and lanterns. There was no bathroom or toilet facilities. Also no insulation. At that time the abundance of cheap hard coal was adequate. We worked a ten hour day starting at 7:00 AM. Father drove down several times to see if I was on the job. I always reached the large horse barn where the men assembled at 6:45 AM so father never found me not on the ball. *

There were no tractors and all field work was done with horses. To feed and care for the horses they raised corn, grain, hay and straw.

In 1917, William Flemer Jr. joined the Princeton University Ambulance Section and was stationed in France during World War I and returned to the States in 1919. There was a boom in housing construction and park planting, especially in north Jersey where F&F was the leading supplier. The Nursery business became extremely profitable, and William Flemer Jr. and older brother Carl purchased many additional farms for expansion at Princeton. Under William Flemer Jr.'s management, the nursery expanded steadily to a maximum size of 1,500 acres. The two brothers, William and Carl, operated the business as a unit, with more growing being done at Princeton and virtually all the selling being done at Springfield.

William Flemer Sr. pioneered the production of shade trees from seedlings in this country, and the rapid suburban expansion surrounding New York City and Philadelphia created an ever-expanding demand for trees and other woody ornamentals.

The Depression, which began in 1929, and the accidental importation of the Japanese Beetle into a Nursery in Riverton, NJ, caused a decreased demand for Nursery stock, and a federal quarantine against shipping outside infested areas eliminated the extensive sales volume which F&F had developed in the Midwest and the South. These factors promoted a decision where Princeton and F&F Nurseries separated in 1931, with Carl Flemer maintaining F&F Nurseries and William taking Princeton Nurseries. Both firms survived the grim business conditions of the depression and the war years by growing farm crops, cattle, fruits and vegetables and using German POW’s for labor.

Returning from Europe in 1945 after World War II, William Flemer III took over the nursery production, later joined by Dr. John W. Flemer who assumed the business and financial direction of the company. In the immediate post war era, the nursery was essentially a horse-powered operation, with dozens of teams of heavy draft horses. Mechanics at the Nursery built specialized digging machines which left the horsedrawn era behind forever. The rapid increase in demand for nursery stock soon made it possible to drop the other agricultural products and concentrate on the production of Nursery stock.

Half of the Princeton land was sold in 1960 and William Flemer Jr. retired. The demand for nursery stock, particularly quality specimen shade trees, ornamental trees, and conifers continued to expand and John and Bill Flemer III set out to find the ideal spot for nursery crops within a reasonable distance from Princeton, New Jersey. They found three adjoining farms at Allentown, New Jersey, all with access to Crosswicks Creek for irrigation water.

The original 450 acres of the Allentown branch were purchased in 1962 and the first plantings were set out. For the first time, Princeton Nurseries was deliberately planting trees on wide spacing to produce full-headed shade trees, shrubs and conifers, rather than relying on left-over plants in blocks originally spaced for bare root or small B&B production.

Expansion through purchases of additional farms has continued which now amounts to over 2600 acres owned and additional acreage rented.

At the Allentown facility, production was expanded to include growing seedlings, grafting, field budding and the production of bare root tree liners. Wholesale distribution centers were established at Kingston and Allentown to supply a growing demand for nursery stock, available for immediate pick up. At the same time, the production of nursery stock in containers has been a growing segment of the nursery business, supplanting bare root and B&B plants, especially for garden center sales and out-of-season planting. Container production has been concentrated and expanded at Allentown on an ongoing basis. Our perennial line is the latest production addition.

The breeding, selection, and introduction of new and superior trees, shrubs and vines have long been of special importance at Princeton Nurseries. The 'Princeton' Elm, 'Euclid' Linden, and the 'Sinclair' Ginkgo were selected and introduced by William Flemer Jr. Starting in 1947, Bill Flemer III began what was to be a lifetime work breeding, selecting, and introducing new shade and ornamental trees. Many, such as the 'Shademaster' Locust, 'October Glory' Red Maple, 'Greenspire' Linden, and 'Green Mountain' Sugar Maple are standards by which other clones are judged. 'Green Vase' Zelkova lifted what was an unimportant tree species to the rank of a premier shade tree. The work continues with new trees and shrubs in the slow but important evaluation process.

The Kingston part of the operation was gradually phased out in the late 1990’s and the entire operation is now located in Allentown, NJ.

Ivan Olinsky, President, notes: “Princeton Nurseries has long enjoyed a national and international reputation for quality nursery stock, new plants and its educational emphasis in the Ornamental Horticulture field. Production plans concentrate on enhancing this position. High quality ‘bread and butter’ varieties and sizes will continue in importance, but there will be growing emphasis on the rare and unusual plants and sizes, keeping step with the growing sophistication of the consuming public.”

*taken from historical file notes