Griggstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP)State of New Jersey Census Designated Places - BVP20 - Data as of January 1, 2020, United States Census Bureau. Accessed December 1, 2022. located within Franklin Township, in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.GCT-PH1 - Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- County Subdivision and Place from the 2010 Census Summary File 1 for Somerset County, New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed February 11, 2013.2006-2010 American Community Survey Geography for New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed February 11, 2013.New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32), United States Census Bureau, August 2012. Accessed February 11, 2013.Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed April 18, 2015. As of the 2020 census, Griggstown had a population of 835. The area was first settled around 1733. The Millstone River and the Delaware and Raritan Canal both flow through Griggstown. History Many of the earliest European settlers of the area came from Gravesend, Brooklyn. Among these settlers were four sons born to John and Elizabeth Griggs: Benjamin (b. 1690), Daniel, Samuel, and Thomas. Griggstown was named after Benjamin Griggs, who established a grist mill on the Millstone River that served as a meeting place for the European farmers of the area and as such the center of the community that would become Griggstown.

From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Griggstown residents reported seeing a feral cow along the parallel Delaware and Raritan Canal and the Millstone River, said to be a ghost of one that was one of many herded along the canal in years past. An actual feral bull believed to be the phantom cow was found in a ditch in November 23, 2002, dying after being rescued.Chirco, Vicki. The Legend of the Griggstown Cow, New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry. Accessed June 1, 2023.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 2.519 square miles (6.524 km2), including 2.447 square miles (6.338 km2) of land and 0.072 square miles (0.187 km2) of water (2.86%).

Griggstown is adjacent to the communities of Kingston, Rocky Hill, Montgomery Township, Kendall Park (in South Brunswick), and Franklin Park. The closest city of note is Princeton, New Jersey.

Griggstown is accessible via Route 27 (Lincoln Highway), County Route 518 and U.S. Route 206. The major roads in Griggstown are Bunker Hill Road and Canal Road. There is also a small access road with a one-lane bridge(at one time referred to as "twin bridges") known as the Griggstown Causeway that offers access to and from Griggstown as well. The D&R Canal State Park is located on this road in conjunction with the canal side tow-path.

Selected sites Griggstown Quail Farm Griggstown Cemetery where nineteen Irish canal workers who died of cholera in an 1832-1833 epidemic are buried.William B. Brahms, Franklin Township, Somerset County, NJ: A History, FTPL; Griggstown Volunteer Fire Company Griggstown Lock of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Griggstown Mine Norseville Sunset Hill Garden

Demographics

Griggstown first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.

2020 census +Griggstown CDP, New Jersey – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)68760283.88%72.10%Black or African American alone (NH)23432.81%5.15%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)210.24%0.12%Asian alone (NH)33654.03%7.78%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)000.00%0.00%Other race alone (NH)080.00%0.96%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)23402.81%4.79%Hispanic or Latino (any race)51766.23%9.10%Total819835 100.00%100.00%

2010 census The 2010 United States census counted 819 people, 346 households, and 230 families in the CDP. The population density was . There were 364 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 86.81% (711) White, 2.81% (23) Black or African American, 0.24% (2) Native American, 4.03% (33) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 2.56% (21) from other races, and 3.54% (29) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.23% (51) of the population.

Of the 346 households, 25.7% had children under the age of 18; 57.2% were married couples living together; 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 33.5% were non-families. Of all households, 27.2% were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.92.

18.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 32.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 101.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 101.5 males.

Historic district

The Griggstown Historic District is a national historic district encompassing the community along Canal Road from Old Georgetown Road to Ten Mile Run. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 2, 1984 for its significance in agriculture, architecture, commerce, industry, and transportation. The district includes 68 contributing buildings. The Griggstown Reformed Church was established in 1842 as the First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Griggstown. The building was dedicated on August 8, 1843, and features Greek Revival architecture. The Bridge Tender's House, the Bridge Tender’s Station and the Lock Tender's House, all built for the Delaware and Raritan Canal, are contributing buildings. With

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Griggstown include: Benjamin Griggs (1690-1768), founder of the grist mill for which Griggstown is named John Honeyman (1729-1822), American spy for George Washington, who gathered the intelligence crucial to Washington's victory in the Battle of Trenton, NY-NJ-CT Botany Online. Accessed September 22, 2007. "1777:... In Griggstown John Honeyman (with a home that still stands at the foot of Bunker Hill Road and Canal Road) posed as a cattle-trader sympathetic to the British in order to spy on them. Honeyman's information helped Washington plan the surprise attack on Trenton." Paul Muldoon (born 1951) writer, academic and educator, as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning poet originally from County Armagh, Northern Ireland Frances White (born 1960), composer and 2004 Guggenheim Fellow, who composes for the Japanese flute instrument shakuhachiVan Dongen, Susan. "A Composer Who Finds Music in Her Surroundings", Princeton Info, June 9, 2021. Accessed December 25, 2025. "Life for composer Frances White didn’t change much during the pandemic shut down, since she is somewhat of a happy hermit, living in Griggstown with her husband, writer James Pritchett, and their cats."

Gallery

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Somerset County, New Jersey

References

External links