West Windsor is a township in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located at the cross-roads between the Delaware Valley region to the southwest and the Raritan Valley region to the northeast, the township is considered to be an outer-ring suburb of New York City in the New York metropolitan area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau.New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area, United States Census Bureau. Accessed March 29, 2018. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 29,518, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 2,353 (+8.7%) from the 27,165 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 5,258 (+24.0%) from the 21,907 counted in the 2000 census.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.
West Windsor and adjacent East Windsor were established by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 9, 1797, and incorporated on February 21, 1798, as two of the state's initial group of 104 townships, by partitioning provincial Windsor Township.
The Borough of Princeton, since consolidated as part of Princeton, was formed from a portion of the township on February 11, 1813.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 175. Accessed May 30, 2024. The township is closely associated with the more widely known municipality and several localities within West Windsor use Princeton in their name, the most notable of those being Princeton Junction. The Princeton 08540 post office facility is located within West Windsor, and covers parts of the township designated by Princeton mailing addresses.
A portion of Princeton University, covering south of Lake Carnegie, is located in West Windsor.The Campus as a Work in Progress, Princeton University. Accessed July 19, 2014. The university agreed in 2009 to make an annual payment in lieu of taxes of $50,000 that would be indexed to inflation to cover of land in the township that the university had purchased in 2002.West Windsor Receives $51,900 From Princeton University Township of West Windsor, December 2, 2009. Accessed April 23, 2012.
West Windsor is frequently ranked among some of the highest-income municipalities in New Jersey. In 2008, Forbes listed West Windsor as the 15th most affluent neighborhood in the U.S.Twenty Most Affluent US Neighborhoods, Forbes. Accessed December 29, 2008. Using 2012–2016 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, NJ.com listed the township as the 9th highest-income in the state in its January 2018 article "The 19 wealthiest towns in New Jersey, ranked."Petenko, Erin. "The 19 wealthiest towns in New Jersey, ranked", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, January 2018. Accessed December 2, 2019. "A note about the data: The source of this data is median household income in the 2012–2016 American Community Survey snapshot, compared with the 2007–2011 ACS snapshot. All of the towns have a median income of more than $150,000. Towns with a high margin of error were excluded.... 9. West Windsor township, Mercer County Median income: $167,629" Based on data from the American Community Survey for 2013–2017, West Windsor residents had a median household income of $175,684, ranked 4th in the state among municipalities with more than 10,000 residents, more than double the statewide median of $76,475.Raychaudhuri, Disha. "The wealthiest towns in N.J., ranked", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 7, 2019. Accessed November 4, 2019. "The median household income in N.J. is $76,475, recent Census data shows.... A note about the data: The data comes from 2013–2017 American Community Survey conducted by U.S. Census Bureau. Smaller towns with less than 10,000 residents were excluded from the list.... 4. West Windsor, Mercer County Median income: $175,684"
History
Prior to individual European land acquisition and settlement around the turn of the 18th century, the primary residents of West Windsor were the Lenape Native Americans. The Assanhicans (Assunpinks) were the subtribe that inhabited the greater Trenton area; artifacts from their society are still found in West Windsor.Indigenous Peoples, Historical Society of West Windsor. Accessed December 17, 2024.
In 1634, and English captain named Thomas Yong explored the Delaware River, up to the general Trenton area. Had his crew followed the Assunpink northeastward, their path would have taken them to the general West Windsor area. However, they did not, and the identity of the first European person to set foot in West Windsor is unknown.
The West Windsor area was within Piscataway Township when it was chartered on December 18, 1666. This changed upon the formation of Middlesex County in 1683.West Windsor's Predecessors, Historical Society of West Windsor. Accessed December 17, 2024.
New Windsor Township (West Windsor's predecessor), known later as Windsor Township, was unofficially formed in 1730/1731, and officially created by Royal Charter on March 9, 1751, from a partition of Piscataway Township. Its borders encompassed today's West Windsor Township, East Windsor Township, Hightstown Borough and Robbinsville Township, as well as present-day Princeton southeast of Nassau Street and portions of present-day Millstone Township and Monroe Township. In 1756, The College of New Jersey relocated to Nassau Hall in the village of Princeton. When West Windsor and East Windsor were created from the division of Windsor Township on February 9, 1797, West Windsor's boundaries extended up to Nassau Street. Following the 1838 formation of Mercer County and further land acquisitions by Princeton in 1843 and 1853, West Windsor's borders were again redefined to reflect the township's current .
Historically, West Windsor relied heavily upon agriculture. Common products were wheat, tomatoes, rye, and potatoes.Agriculture, Historical Society of West Windsor. Accessed December 17, 2024. This farming identity dominated the township from its first settlement until the last half of the 20th century, and was really only extinguished upon the township's most rapid period of growth from the late 1970s-the 2000s.
However, this agrarian dominance incentivized the institution of slavery as well. Although records are sparse, township censuses indicate 190 slaves in Windsor Township in 1790. In West Windsor, there were 21 slaves in 1830 and 3 in 1840. Additionally, several late 1700s wills and 1800s "abandonments" show the presence of slavery in the township around the turn of the 19th century.
West Windsor never developed a centralized "downtown." Instead, The township contained within it (entirely or partly) several small hamlets whose names and locations are still identifiable and/or in use in contemporary times. They are as follows:
Aqueduct Mills – centered at Mapleton Avenue, Lower Harrison Street, and the Millstone River. Partly located in Plainsboro.Aqueduct, West Windsor History. Accessed September 29, 2020. Canal/Princeton Basin – at the intersection of Alexander Road and the Delaware & Raritan Canal. Partially located in Princeton. Clarksville – at the intersection of Route 1 and Quakerbridge Road. Dutch Neck – at the intersection of Village Roads East/West and South Mill Road. Edinburg – at the intersection of Old Trenton and Edinburg Roads. Jugtown/Queenston – at the intersection of Nassau and Harrison Streets. Now fully located in Princeton.Queenston, West Windsor History. Accessed September 29, 2020. Grovers Mill – at the intersection of Cranbury and Clarksville Roads. Penns Neck – Centered at the intersection of Washington Road and Route 1. Port Windsor/Mercer – at the end of Quakerbridge Road at the Delaware Canal. Partially located in Lawrence. Princeton Junction – Initially centered at the Princeton Junction Train Station. Manifested after the mid-1860s relocation of the Camden and Amboy Railroad line (now the Northeast Corridor) and opening of the current station.
Grover's Mill in West Windsor was the site Orson Welles chose for the Martian invasion in his infamous 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds.History , Township or West Windsor. Accessed April 6, 2012. "Martians from the Orson Welles produced radio drama based on the book The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. In this drama, the audience was told that an alien spacecraft had landed on a farm near Grovers Mill, located in West Windsor."
During the later part of the 20th century, the township underwent dramatic changes, driven mainly by a major boom in new housing developments. For generations, West Windsor had existed mostly as a sparsely populated agricultural community according to a 1999 article in The New York Times, the township "has grown into a sprawl of expensive houses in carefully groomed developments, and home to nearly 20,000 people", since the 1970s.Peterson, Iver. "Our Towns; Fast Food? Not So Fast, Suburb Says", The New York Times, September 12, 1999. Accessed July 11, 2016. "Take West Windsor. Until a little over a generation ago, it was little more than the open farmland that separated Princeton from the New Jersey Turnpike. But since the 1970's, it has grown into a sprawl of expensive houses in carefully groomed developments, and home to nearly 20,000 people."
The West Windsor post office was found to be infected with anthrax during the 2001 anthrax attacks.Kleinfeld, N. R. A Nation Challenged: The Sites; Anthrax Closes a 3rd New Jersey Post Office, The New York Times, October 28, 2001. Accessed September 17, 2011. "New Jersey health officials said the bin at the Princeton Main Post Office in neighboring West Windsor tested positive for what they said was a tiny, 'single colony' of anthrax. Some 60 to 70 people work at the center."
In April 2002, a memorial was dedicated to the seven residents of West Windsor who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks.West Windsor 9/11 Memorial , Voices of September 11. Accessed December 2, 2013.Erminio, Vinessa. "Faces of the New Jersey victims of Sept. 11: A tribute in photos to 734 victims with ties to the Garden State", nj.com, September 11, 2021. Accessed July 3, 2023.
In October 2019, the Historical Society of West Windsor published an online museum exploring the history of West Windsor.Home Page , The West Windsor History Museum. Accessed September 29, 2020.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 26.25 square miles (68.00 km2), including 25.55 square miles (66.17 km2) of land and 0.71 square miles (1.83 km2) of water (2.69%).
Princeton Junction (with a 2020 Census population of 2,475) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located within West Windsor. Other unincorporated communities in the township include Berrien City, Dutch Neck, Edinburg, Grover's Mill, Millstone, Penns Neck, Port Mercer, Post Corner, and Princeton Ivy East.Local Place Names, State of New Jersey. Accessed August 21, 2020.
The township borders the municipalities of East Windsor, Hamilton, Lawrence Township, Princeton and Robbinsville in Mercer County; and Plainsboro in Middlesex County.Areas touching West Windsor Township, MapIt. Accessed March 15, 2020.Municipalities within Mercer County, NJ, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Accessed November 15, 2019.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.