Among the Princetonians who were involved in the World War II code-breaking at Bletchley Park, some were allegedly from Colonial Club.

[4] The club has served as the primary social scene for several notable alumni during their undergraduate years, including former Colonial Club Vice President Joseph Nye '58, co-founder of the international relations theory of neoliberalism, Pete Conrad '53, third man to walk on the Moon, Eric Schmidt '76, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc. and former CEO of Google, and Ted Cruz '92, U.S.

In 1892, the club moved to a house on 186 Nassau Street fashioned in the period's cottage architecture, featuring a front facade in the Queen Anne style.

The original section consisted of several notable students including Booth Tarkington, founder of the Princeton Triangle Club.

Several club members perished during World War I, including John G. Agar Jr. '14, Joseph M. Duff Jr. '12, Gordon C. Gregory '18, and Samuel F. Pogue '04.

The original 1933 section of thirty men was the largest that had ever entered the club up to that time, most of whom were students in the university's Politics Department.

The tradition has continued into the 21st century, with member and alumni dinners commonly held at the Princeton Club of New York.

At the time, 80% of the members came from private preparatory schools, largely in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, with the primary campus activity being Triangle Club and crew.

Nearly $15,000 (around $150,000 in 2016) was once spent to hire Lester Lanin's Orchestra, and parties reminiscent of those in the Roaring Twenties became a staple of club life.

[7] The inclusion of women in the club's daily life noticeably led to more small parties and events around the clubhouse.

Graduate members including Jack Dorrance '41, then chairman of the Campbell Soup Company, single-handedly donated over $100,000 in the club's Centennial Campaign.

Continuing its established traditions originating from the Roaring Twenties, Colonial frequently hosts events for its members and guests including game nights, intramural sports, semiformals, and winter and spring house parties.

As with other the eating clubs, Colonial has participated in the university's annual Lawnparties music festival, hosting artists such as Between Friends, Crash Adams, and Weston Estate in recent years.

As an eating club, Colonial members often have breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the clubhouse daily, with brunch served on the weekends.

Colonial Club has enjoyed a long-standing partnership with the Princeton-Blairstown Center, a program founded in 1908 by Princeton University students and faculty that attempts to transform the lives of young people through character-building experiences.

The club holds an annual charity talent show in order to raise money for a variety of nonprofit organizations including HomeFront NJ.

Other famous Colonial alumni include the late Rhode Island senator Claiborne Pell '40, famous for creation of Pell grants in 1973; novelist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Booth Tarkington, who was a member of the original "Ye Plug and Ulster," which became Colonial; Norman Thomas 1905, the chief Socialist in the United States and Socialist candidate in every presidential election from 1928 to 1948; noted Princeton illustrator William B. Pell 1898;[10] Eric Schmidt '76, former CEO of Google; and Edward F. Cox '68, who married Tricia Nixon in the Rose Garden at the White House in 1971.

Senator and 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine is an alumnus of Colonial Club from the class of 1980.