granted by Governor Jonathan Belcher, the first great benefactor of the College, the Trustees began to looking for a permanent home more suitable to the purpose of the College.

At a meeting of the College Trustees in September 1752, Governor Belcher himself called for the construction of a dwelling house for students and another for the president of the College. "The Way and the Method we are in as to the Place and Manner of instructing the Youth," he said, "looks to me like lighting a candle and putting it under a Bushel." He argued that other institutions flourished only after building permanent structures, and that the College should do the same.

It was the most momentous meeting of the Trustees in the College's history. Not only did they resolve to erect two permanent buildings to house the institution, but they also settled on a site: Princeton. With the decision to construct Nassau Hall, the stories of the College of New Jersey and of Princeton become one.