Issue link: http://tcnj.uberflip.com/i/1298407
44 The College of New Jersey Magazine TCNJ X10 R. BARBARA GITENSTEIN LIBRARY things you need to know about … the Hillwood Inn As an editorial contributor to Weird N.J., a guide to the Garden State's legends and odd places, Daniel Spinelli '18 found a story right on TCNJ's campus. Based on research he conducted as a student with professor Robert McGreevey and bio program assistant Helen Kull, Spinelli unravels the story of the Hillwood Inn: a Ewing-based, high-society club that later became the go-to grub place for hungry students. — David Pavlak The Hillwood Inn was named after the property's original owner, Clement Hill. Dubbed "the refrigerator genius," Hill was a legend in his own right with nearly 50 patents in the field. Located where the Education Building stands today, the Hillwood Inn opened in 1922 under Prohibition, but rumor has it that guests were covertly served alcohol there. On the same property as the Inn were two man-made lakes — Ceva and Sylva — both of which are hugely popular Instagram photo locations for present-day TCNJ students. The Inn was known for extravagant Great Gatsby-esque parties with fine dining and dancing. New Jersey State Normal School in Trenton purchased the land (and the Inn) in 1928 for $85,000. When the new campus opened three years later, it was known as the Hillwood Lakes Campus. With enough seating for 200 people, the Hillwood Inn served as the main cafeteria on campus for two decades. A special Thanksgiving meal at the Inn became a longstanding tradition for women at the college. They would dress as Pilgrims, carry lighted candles, and sing as they processed from their residence halls to the Inn. A fire at the Inn caused a three-week delay to the start of the 1948 fall semester. The Inn survived, and remained the center of college life for a few more years. In the 1960s, the college built a new cafeteria and the Hillwood Inn was demolished. Archival footage of The Normal School's opening of the Hillwood Campus, including the Inn, can be seen in the Our Trenton Roots history exhibit, located in Trenton Hall.