On Saturday, November 17th, 2012, at 7:00 p.m., we went back to Cannon Green to re-light a fire that has been dormant for six years, the BONFIRE!
The bonfire is one of the oldest traditions at Princeton University. The Princetoniana Committee, part of the Alumni Association, describes the fire as “one of the most memorable– and sporadic– of all traditional Princeton activities.” The celebratory fire occurs only after the Princeton football team has defeated both Yale and Harvard.
“According to tradition, the construction of the Bonfire rested with the Dink Wearing Freshmen. It was their responsibility to gather wood from the surrounding area, often aided in large part by townspeople and campus construction workers. Once a tall pyre had been placed in the center of Cannon Green, the final adornments usually included an outhouse and an effigy of John Harvard or a Yale Bulldog, or both.” – Princetoniana Committee
Here we showcase just a few of the many historical photographs of bonfires that are in the Princeton University Archives, housed here at the Mudd Manuscript Library. The following reside in the Historical Photograph Collection: Campus Life (AC112) and the Office of Communications Records (AC168).
Princeton Pause also compiled a video from the 2006 fire featuring items from our archives.
More photographs can be viewed in person by visiting the Mudd Reading Room. Digital copies of photos are also available. Start your search with our Historical Photograph Database.
If you are attending and sharing photos using Twitter or Instagram, please use the hashtag #bonfirePU and contribute to documenting the history of this wonderful event!
Please also feel free to leave a comment about your bonfire memories!
5 responses to “Bonfire!!!”
[…] 20th century, two bonfires were held each year, one for baseball and one for football. According to University Archivesa bonfire was built in 1914, but Princeton football lost to both Harvard and Yale, while Princeton […]
I was at the 2006 bonfire, during my junior year—after I attended the football game where we beat Yale (where my cousin was going at the time). I remember even students who didn’t particularly like going to Princeton talking about how this was the first time they’d ever felt real school spirit. The bonfire was the SHIZNIT.
If I remember correctly, my uncle, John F. Hoff who owned Princeton Fuel Oil Company, donated the fuel to start the bonfire. Not sure what years he did this.
[…] celebratory bonfire for its victories over Harvard and Yale. It’s a tradition that’s almost as old as football itself. One week earlier, Princeton’s 59-43 win against Yale landed 2018 in the […]
Awesome article Christa, gonna be nice to see a bonfire in real life instead of just the reading room!