St. Francis Medical Center

Ive always found the early history of the US healthcare industry fascinating. While doctors operated private practices and made house calls, the first purpose built hospitals in New Jersey were opened by the Catholics. Though often starting small, they would eventually grew into sprawling building campuses, seeing citizens of their home cities into and out of this world. One of the largest campuses of this type in the state was located right in our capital. 

Source: TFPNJ Postcard Archive 

The Sisters of St Francis of Philadelphia established the first hospital in Trenton in 1874.  The original building was a small two story converted schoolhouse. Shortly afterwards a large three story brick building was built on the same plot.

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One of the most significant early additions was a massive turn of the century Gothic Revival chapel designed by noted Philadelphia church architect Edwin Forrest Durang. 

Source: TFPNJ Postcard archive

Durang was a Philadelphia architect known for his catholic churches. The building was added to the south side of the three story dormitory in 1894.

Source: TFPNJ Postcard Archive 

In the early 1950's a large new wing was built at the corner of Bert and Hamilton Avenues. 

In 1957 a brand new school of nursing was built at the corner of Bert & St. Francis Avenues. 

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The hospital underwent a massive reconstruction effort in 1963. Almost all of the historic brick buildings were demolished. A new chapel and medical tower were built on the cleared land. 

Source: TFPNJ Postcard Archive

"Nun performing surgery" United Press Internatkonal Photo
TFPNJ Historic Photo Archive

The beautiful old nurses dorm was demolished in the early 1980s and replaced with a parking garage. A new service entrance was added along Chambers Street.

In 2006 a new entrance was added along Chambers Street. A breezeway was also built connecting the parking garage to the main hospital building. 

Despite the constant upgrades, St. Francis hospital announced they were closing down in 2022. The state insisted that some services remain on site past the closure, so an agreement was made with Capital Health to lease space and maintain basic care. Any serious issues would be transported to the main hospital on Brunswick Ave. 

Unfortunately the plan was short lived, as structural issues forced Capital Health out on June 25th, 2025. A fence was immediately put up around the perimeter of the campus, with signs redirecting those in need to the Brunswick Ave site. 

I had been trying to get inside the vacant sections of the hospital since it first closed with no success. Now that the building was fully empty and security was posted up outside I felt more comfortable working my way in. 

The security team was one of the most well equipped I have encountered so far. Not only were there two gaurds, so both sides of the hospital had eyes, but they also did foot patrols every hour to check for break ins. They employed a Deggi system, which is a security check in tool that increases vigilance. At each corner of the property were 24/7 remote monitored camera towers.

Articles were being published discussing the impending demolition of the hospital in local papers. Another article from September specifically talked about how crews were thoroughly boarding up the hospital to deter trespassers and scrappers. That article specifically mentions Mercer Hospital, another huge abandoned medical center across the city that had become an absolutely lawless headache for city leaders. I wasn't going to be put off though. I love a challenge.

During one of my rounds I noticed a second story window was sitting open. It was out of reach, so I started looking around for a pallet or garbage can I could use. It still would have been a climb, but I could have managed. Then I noticed something out of the corner of my eye; a ladder leaning against the parking garage. From where I was planning on hopping the fence I wouldn't even have to break my stride to grab the ladder. The window was in a recess, so the cameras wouldnt actually be able to see me climbing in..... was this actually about to work out? 

The spot where I hopped the fence was hidden from the street by a van. A tree blocked the cameras. I bent down and blocked my body with the ladder as I dashed to the window. These camera towers had speakers on them to alert trespassers that they've been recorded and security is notified. When I didn't get called out I assumed I was probably okay. The ladder was the perfect height, so I was inside in seconds. I couldn't leave the ladder leaned up against the window though, that would alert security while they did their rounds. Knowing I could dangle and drop to the soft grass below, I decided to push the ladder down. It nested into the tall grass so well that it was instantly camouflaged the second it touched down.

I didn't need a flashlight inside the buildings since the power was still on. That meant the interior cameras could also be working, I just had to roll the dice on that. The bigger issue was that I couldn't see outside as well as they could see me. There were also a number of missing windows on the backside of the auditorium where one of the gaurds sat. I had to crouch down to get from room to room.

Unfortunately the nursing school didnt connect to the main hospital building, so I had to go back outside to get to move on. The chapel was an obvious point of interest so thats where I headed.

The original 1890s chapel was demolished in 1963 and replaced by a contemporary design. The space was never utilized by Capital Health when they moved in, so it was just starting to decay a bit. 

Almost all of the medical equipment was long gone despite the space being very clean inside. The emergency room had already been gutted inside so there was nothing to see there. 

After finding the surgical rooms had also been stripped I spent most of the rest of my time in the basement looking for a morgue, which I never did find.

Despite expecting so much more inside I was glad to have had a chance to see it for myself. Shortly afterwards the parking garage was demolished, fully exposing my old way inside to the cameras.

 

The nursing school was the next to come down, with the demolition progressing northwards. It wasn't long before crews were tearing into the main hospital buildings. 

Its pretty wild to see the differences between what's happened with the St. Francis site compared to Mercer Hospital. While I'm sad I didn't have more time with St. Francis I'm also glad it never became a blighted ball and chain to the neighborhood. 

Thanks for learning with me. 

Penns Grove National Bank & Trust Company

Source: TFPNJ Postcard Archive

Penns Grove National Bank & Trust Company was established by John Danby in 1900. As far as I can tell it was the first bank ever established in the newly incorporated borough. After outgrowing their first two homes, a brand new structure was built at the corner of Main and Oak streets in 1928.

The building itself was a humble yet handsome two story red brick building with limestone trim. Each bay was separated by a series of fluted pilasters. Six arched windows on each side and a half moon above the front doors allowed the space to fill with natural light. 

The most significant moment in the bank's history came in 1934, when a group of armed men attacked two employees outside the building. The employees had $130,000 ($3mil today) in cash, which was being prepared for payroll at the nearby DuPont plant. After grabbing the cash the robbers fled un a stolen car, which they ditched in the farmland just outside town. All of the members of the heist ended up getting caught, but most of the money was never recovered. 

Salem County experienced servere economic turmoil throughout the 1980's, and Penns Grove was no exception. Deindistrialization and advances in agricultural equipment left the region with few good paying labor jobs and a large out of work population with mortgages to pay. By the time the bank closed in 1991 it was one of the few buildings left standing on the block. Everything else had been demolished after sitting abandoned for years. 

In the early 2000's the borough began a redevelopment initiative to bring life to the long blighted section of Main Street, using the riverfront as an anchor. Things never really took off though, and decades later the area still remains a blighted mess. 

Another redevelopment plan launched in 2024 sought to establish a land bank to try and tackle blight. However, the W. Main Street district was not specifically mentioned in the plan. I fully expect the rest of the structures on the block to eventually be demolished, as they've been deteriorating for 35 years at this point. Only time will tell.

Thanks for learning with me. 

Woods Cotton Mill/Wheaton Plastics

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The Mays Landing division of the Woods Cotton Mill was established in 1867. At the time it was one of the largest employers in region. At the company's 50th anniversary they they built the iconic building along Rt. 559.

Three years later the company installed a hydroelectric dam and re established themselves as the Mays Landing Water Power Company.

The mill closed in 1949 after 82 years in business. The property didn't stay idle long though. It was purchased and reopened the following year by the rapidly growing Wheaton Industries. Wheaton was a Millville based glass container company  who used the Mays Landing site to manufactured plastic bottles and cosmetic jars. 

Alcon, a Montreal based company who had acquired the business announced it would be closed by October of 2004. Though only 74 people worked at the Mays Landing site at the time, the closure was part of a broader exodus on manufacturing jobs throughout the region. 

The machinery was removed from the site and repurpossed at other nearby Alcon facilities. Mays Landing didn't want the property to sit abandoned, so the Mill Complex Redevelopment Plan was announced in 2005. Tragically, a large fire destroyed several original buildings on the property in September 2007 during the conversion process. 

The 1917 builing and powerhouse were mostly built of concrete, so they managed to escape the fire without any damage. The charred remains of the 1800's buildings were demolished, and the renovation plans were dashed. 

Finally by 2023 new plans were announced that a Weehawken based redevelopment group would try once again to convert the site to apartments.

As of 2025 the complex still sits abandoned, waiting to find a new life. 

3091 Lawrenceville Rd

I do as much as I can to compile as much historical background as possible for each post. Sometimes theres so much information I get intimidated and it takes me a long time to tackle the subject. Other times the subject is relatively lame and there isnt a ton of background. This is one of those posts. 

The home at 3091 Lawrenceville Road was built in 1897. It was part of a working farm, with barns and stables behind the lot.

Aside from being fairly old the home never hosted any notable families. After sitting empty for decades the home was sold in 2022.

The property had fallen into severe disrepair by the 2020s. A small fire brought the Lawrenceville fire company to the property in 2024. Even though the damage was confined to one of the back buildings the property owner decided to clear all of the buildings off the property. 

Thats all there is here. Not every old building is worth saving. But they're all worth documenting.

Fords Avenue Elementary Schoool#14

 

School #14 was built in 1924 to serve elementary age students from around Fords. 

The school operated unceremoniously for decades, seeing very little psychical updates during that time. 

A referendum was passed in 2018 that called for the building to be closed at the end of the 2020 school year. 

Once the pandemic hit the board of education was so shaken up they put off the closure until things returned to normal. 

School #14 finally closed at the end of the 2023 school year. 

Since the plan was to demolish the school I didn't expect anything to be left inside. I was suprised to find the exact opposite to be true. 

Pretty much everything was left exactly as it was when it shut down. 

Another cool thing about the school was the auditorium. The seating in the school was arranged in "Chicago Style", where stadium seating at the rear wall is bisected by a perpendicular basketball court. 

I only made a single trip inside the school. By the time I checked back up on the building in 2026 it was in the process of being demolished. 

The plan is to reopen the site as a town park once demolition is complete. Another school wiped from the fabric of a towns history.