In 1884, a group of freshmen who called themselves "The Seven Wise Men of Grease" of the Class of 1888, chose to eat in a private room on the second floor of Dohm's Restaurant on Nassau Street across from the campus.

In 1889, new members of this society adopted legal papers and agreed on the name "The University Cottage Club of Princeton.

The enrollment continued to grow and this structure was moved to Library Place when plans were made for a larger building.

In the Dining Room, one such carving reads “Ubi Amici Ibidem Sunt Opes” (“Where there are friends there are riches”) which has become over the years a motto of the Club.

Cottage has historically been numbered among the "Big Four" eating clubs of Princeton University (the others are Ivy, Cap and Gown, and Tiger Inn).