Benjamin Franklin was in his seventies when the fight for independence began. He played a critical role in the Revolutionary War and that is the Ben we often think about, rather than the man whose plethora of contributions, inventions and scientific discoveries changed the world forever.
It is hard to imagine, given what we know – or think we know – about Franklin, but he was once a teenager, just like the rest of us. During that time in his life, it is said that he took a fifty-mile walk across New Jersey. It is believed that while in Burlington, he stopped at the Revell House, where, according to lore, Franklin was given supper by the woman living there. One of the oldest residences in New Jersey, the Revell House was built in 1685. When Ben visited, it ws located on East Pearl Street but it was moved to Wood Street in 1966.
Also, in 1728, at the age of 23, Franklin spent three months in Burlington printing paper money for New Jersey. The building on High Street no longer exists but a historical marker indicates the location and its significance.
One-hundred eighty-six years after he printed money, Benjamin Franklin would be placed on the $100 bill, where he remains to this day. Having traveled so many places in his lifetime, far and wide, for a time, he was a Real Founding Father of New Jersey.
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