West Windsor Township is a township in Mercer County, New Jersey, in the United States. The township is part of the New York metropolitan area as defined by the United States Census Bureau. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 27,165, reflecting an increase of 5,258 (+24.0%) from the 21,907 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 5,886 (+36.7%) from the 16,021 counted in the 1990 Census.
West Windsor Township was established by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 9, 1797, and incorporated on February 21, 1798, as one of the state's initial group of 104 townships. The Borough of Princeton (now part of Princeton) was formed from portions of the township on February 11, 1813. The township is closely associated with that now much more widely known town and several localities within West Windsor use Princeton in their name, the most notable of those being Princeton Junction. The USPS 'Princeton' post office (08540) facility is located within West Windsor, and covers parts of the township designated by Princeton, NJ mailing addresses.
A portion of Princeton University covering 400 acres (160 ha) south of Lake Carnegie is located in West Windsor Township. 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 81 acres (33 ha) of land in the township that the university had purchased in 2002.
West Windsor is frequently ranked among the wealthiest and highest income municipalities in New Jersey. In 2008, Forbes listed West Windsor as the 15th most affluent neighborhood in the U.S. NJ.com listed the township as the 9th wealthiest in the state in its January, 2018 article "The 19 wealthiest towns in New Jersey, ranked."
Video West Windsor Township, New Jersey
History
The first known European activity in the area now known as West Windsor Township dates to 1634, during the exploration of Captain Thomas Yong. Yong was an Englishman, who reportedly traded with the native Lenni Lenape population. The region was officially claimed for European settlement under the 1682 William Penn treaties, under which the Lenape conveyed vast portions of New Jersey & Pennsylvania to Quaker colonists. Through much of the 18th & 19th centuries, the area was known first as New Windsor Township, and later simply as Windsor Township, and its borders stretched to include all of present-day Princeton and East Windsor townships. In 1797, West Windsor was created and held only parts of Princeton within its boundaries. Following the 1838 formation of Mercer County, West Windsor's borders were again redefined in 1855 to reflect the township's current 26.84 square miles (69.5 km2). The town contained within it (entirely or partly) six small villages whose names & locations are still identifiable and/or in use in contemporary times. They are as follows:
- Clarksville - at the intersection of Route One and Quakerbridge Roads
- Dutch Neck - at the intersection of Village and South Mill Roads
- Edinburg - at the intersection of Old Trenton and Edinburg Roads
- Grovers Mill - at the intersection of Cranbury and Clarksville Roads
- Penns Neck - on either side of Washington Road east of Route One
- Port Windsor/Mercer - at the end of Quakerbridge Road at the Delaware Canal
After the construction of the train station in West Windsor, a seventh hamlet - Princeton Junction - was created.
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.
During the later part of the 20th century the town 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.
The West Windsor post office was found to be infected with anthrax during the anthrax attacks in 2001-2002.
In April 2002, a memorial was dedicated to the seven residents of West Windsor who lost their lives in the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Maps West Windsor Township, New Jersey
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 26.271 square miles (68.041 km2), including 25.564 square miles (66.210 km2) of land and 0.707 square miles (1.832 km2) of water (2.69%) of it is water.
Princeton Junction (with a 2010 Census population of 2,465) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located within West Windsor.
Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Berrien City, Clarksville, Dutch Neck, Edinburg, Edinburg Park, Golf View Manor, Grover's Mill, Old Mill Farms, Penns Neck, Port Mercer, Post Corner, Princeton Colonial Park, Princeton Estates, Princeton Ivy East and Sherbrook Estates.
The township borders the municipalities of East Windsor Township, Hamilton Township, Lawrence Township, Princeton and Robbinsville Township in Mercer County; and Plainsboro Township in Middlesex County.
The Howard Hughes Corporation has proposed redevelopment of a 653-acre (264 ha) tract of land bounded by the Amtrak mainline, Route 1, and Quakerbridge Road, which includes land once owned by American Cyanamid and last used up until 2002 as an agricultural research facility by BASF; as of 2017 a plan has been proposed to create mixed-use development that would include 2,000 residences along with 1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m2) of retail and commercial space on the site, which is currently zoned for commercial use. The local school district has developed a report identifying significant potential growth in the number of students enrolling from this and other residential development in the both West Windsor and Plainsboro.
Demographics
AOL/NeighborhoodScout named West Windsor in 2009 as the best neighborhood to raise children because of its school district (top 7% in New Jersey, top 3% nationwide), prevailing family type (families with school-aged children), and neighborhood safety (safer than 97% of neighborhoods). As of January 2018 the township's population was the second most educated in the state of New Jersey, according to an analysis by NJ.com. The percent of residents with a bachelor's degree or higher was 81.7%, with 48% of residents holding advanced graduate or professional degrees.
2010 Census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 27,165 people, 9,449 households, and 7,606 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,062.6 per square mile (410.3/km2). There were 9,810 housing units at an average density of 383.7 per square mile (148.1/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 54.94% (14,924) White, 3.67% (998) Black or African American, 0.09% (25) Native American, 37.71% (10,245) Asian, 0.04% (10) Pacific Islander, 0.97% (263) from other races, and 2.58% (700) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.47% (1,213) of the population.
There were 9,449 households out of which 45.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.0% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.5% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the township, the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.6 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 91.4 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $137,265 (with a margin of error of +/- $12,610) and the median family income was $156,110 (+/- $6,769). Males had a median income of $120,662 (+/- $6,410) versus $71,151 (+/- $9,841) for females. The per capita income for the township was $59,946 (+/- $3,307). About 3.6% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
2000 Census
As of the 2000 United States Census there were 21,907 people, 7,282 households, and 5,985 families residing in the township. The population density was 842.4 people per square mile (325.2/km²). There were 7,450 housing units at an average density of 286.5 per square mile (110.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 71.53% White, 2.76% African American, 0.08% Native American, 22.76% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.08% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.07% of the population.
As of the 2000 Census, 8.31% of West Windsor Township's residents identified themselves as being of Chinese ancestry. This was the fourth highest percentage of people with Chinese ancestry in any place in New Jersey with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.
There were 7,282 households out of which 50.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.3% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.8% were non-families. 14.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.36.
In the township the population was spread out with 31.8% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $116,335, and the median income for a family was $127,877. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $56,002 for females. The per capita income for the township was $48,511. About 2.0% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
NRG Energy has its corporate headquarters in West Windsor Township.
Arts and culture
The West Windsor Arts Center is the junction where the arts and community meet. They offer performances, classes, workshops, exhibitions, literary arts events and various other special events. It is located in the historic Princeton Junction Firehouse.
The Mercer County Italian-American Festival is held annually in West Windsor and celebrated its 15th annual event in September 2014.
MCTV 26
Mercer County Television (MCTV) channel 26 is an Educational-access television station in West Windsor, New Jersey, United States, owned and operated by Mercer County Community College (MCCC). The student television station is transmitted to all of Mercer County, New Jersey, via cable TV channel 26 on the Comcast, Cablevision, reaching an excess of 90,000 households. In January 2009, MCTV became available on Verizon FiOS channel 20 in Mercer County.
Parks and recreation
Richard J. Coffee Mercer County Park is located on Old Trenton Road. administered by the Mercer County Park Commission and located primarily in West Windsor Township, it has athletic fields, a dog park, picnic grounds, a newly renovated boathouse and marina on Mercer Lake, bike trails and an ice skating rink that is home to the Mercer Bulldogs special hockey team.
The West Windsor Community Park is a 123-acre (50 ha) public park which serves as the primary park for active recreation. Facilities include a playground, jogging/bicycling paths, basketball courts, dog parks, a skate park and tennis courts. The park is also home to the West Windsor Waterworks Family Aquatics Center.
Duck Pond Park is a 123-acre (50 ha) park under construction located off Meadow Road between the intersections with Clarksville Road and Bear Brook Road, bordering Duck Pond Run. It is designed to be a "second community park" for the township. As of 2015, lighted soccer fields have been completed and in use by the West Windsor - Plainsboro Soccer Association, as well as tennis, volleyball and basketball courts. Future plans include a playground, picnic areas, an amphitheater, and a fishing pond.
Government
Local government
West Windsor Township is governed under the Faulkner Act (formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law) within the Mayor-Council form of New Jersey municipal government (Plan 6), implemented based on the recommendations of a Charter Study Commission as of July 1, 1993. From the time of its formation in 1798, until 1993, the Township had been governed by a Township Committee, which combined both executive and legislative authority. In May 1993, West Windsor Township residents voted to change their form of government to a Faulkner Act form of government.
Under the township's Mayor-Council form of government, the Mayor and Council function as independent branches of government. The Mayor is the Chief Executive of the Township and heads its Administration. The Mayor is elected in a non-partisan election and serves for a four-year term. The Mayor may attend Council meetings but is not obligated to do so. The Council is the legislative branch. The five members of the Township Council are elected on a non-partisan basis for four-yearterms on a staggered basis, with either two seats (and the mayoral seat) or three setas up for vote in odd-numbered years as part of the November general election. At the annual organizational meeting held during the first week of January of each year, the Council elects a President and Vice President to serve for one-year terms. The Council President chairs the meetings of the governing body. Starting in 2011, the township's elections were shifted from May to November as part of an effort to lower costs and increase participation.
As of 1 January 2018, the Mayor of West Windsor Township is Dr. Hemant Marathe, whose term of office ends December 31, 2021. Members of the West Windsor Township Council are Linda Geevers (2021), Ayesha Krishnan Hamilton (2019), Virginia Manzari (2021) , Alison H. Miller (2019), and Jyotika Bahree (2018).
In June 2017, Council President Peter Mendonez resigned from office. Council Vice President Allison Miller was chosen to serve as Acting Council President and Jyotika Bahree was appointed to fill the vacant seat, left by Miller which originally expired December 31, 2017 per Mendonez's term expiration, which then was extended to November 6, 2018.
In June 2015, the Township Council selected Hemant Marathe to fill the vacant seat expiring December 2015 of Kristina Samonte, who had resigned from office in the previous month as she was relocating out of the township.
Federal, state and county representation
West Windsor Township is located in the 12th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 15th state legislative district. Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 Census, West Windsor Township had been in the 14th state legislative district.
New Jersey's Twelfth Congressional District is represented by Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, Ewing Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Democrats Cory Booker (Newark, term ends 2021) and Bob Menendez (Paramus, 2019).
For the 2018-2019 session (Senate, General Assembly), the 15th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Shirley Turner (D, Lawrence Township, Mercer County) and in the General Assembly by Reed Gusciora (D, Trenton) and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D, Trenton). Reynolds-Jackson was sworn into office on February 15, 2018 to fill the seat of Elizabeth Maher Muoio, who had resigned from office on January 15, 2018 to serve as Treasurer of New Jersey. The Governor of New Jersey is Phil Murphy (D, Middletown Township). The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is Sheila Oliver (D, East Orange).
Mercer County is governed by a County Executive who oversees the day-to-day operations of the county and by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders that acts in a legislative capacity, setting policy. All officials are chosen at-large in partisan elections, with the executive serving a four-year term of office while the freeholders serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats up for election each year. As of 2014, the County Executive is Brian M. Hughes (D, term ends December 31, 2015; Princeton). Mercer County's Freeholders are Freeholder Chair Andrew Koontz (D, 2016; Princeton), Freeholder Vice Chair Samuel T. Frisby, Sr. (2015; Trenton), Ann M. Cannon (2015; East Windsor Township), Anthony P. Carabelli (2016; Trenton), John A. Cimino (2014, Hamilton Township), Pasquale "Pat" Colavita, Jr. (2015; Lawrence Township) and Lucylle R. S. Walter (2014; Ewing Township) Mercer County's constitutional officers are County Clerk Paula Sollami-Covello (D, 2015), Sheriff John A. Kemler (D, 2014) and Surrogate Diane Gerofsky (D, 2016).
Politics
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 16,034 registered voters in West Windsor Township, of which 5,384 (33.6%) were registered as Democrats, 2,968 (18.5%) were registered as Republicans and 7,672 (47.8%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 10 voters registered to other parties.
In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 63.1% of the vote (7,769 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 35.7% (4,401 votes), and other candidates with 1.2% (148 votes), among the 14,045 ballots cast by the township's 17,891 registered voters (1,727 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 78.5%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 64.3% of the vote (7,895 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 33.3% (4,092 votes) and other candidates with 1.0% (125 votes), among the 12,273 ballots cast by the township's 16,548 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.2%. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 57.8% of the vote (6,753 ballots cast), outpolling Republican George W. Bush with 39.3% (4,596 votes) and other candidates with 0.5% (79 votes), among the 11,684 ballots cast by the township's 14,577 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 80.2.
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 63.0% of the vote (4,983 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 35.3% (2,793 votes), and other candidates with 1.7% (137 votes), among the 8,181 ballots cast by the township's 17,648 registered voters (268 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 46.4%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 49.5% of the vote (3,918 ballots cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 43.4% (3,436 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 6.0% (474 votes) and other candidates with 0.4% (34 votes), among the 7,914 ballots cast by the township's 16,267 registered voters, yielding a 48.7% turnout.
Education
Colleges and universities
West Windsor is the site of the West Windsor Campus of the Mercer County Community College.
Princeton University's satellite campus is located in West Windsor.
Schools
Public
West Windsor Township and Plainsboro Township are part of a combined school district, the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, which serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from the two communities in four elementary schools (grades PreK/K - 3), two upper elementary schools (grades 4 and 5), two middle schools (grades 6 - 8) and two high schools (grades 9 - 12). As of the 2015-16 school year, the district and its 10 schools had an enrollment of 9,756 students and 741.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 13.2:1. Schools in the district (with 2015-16 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Dutch Neck Elementary School (located in West Windsor: 690 students; in grades K-3), Maurice Hawk Elementary School (West Windsor: 790; K-3), Town Center Elementary School (Plainsboro: 582; PreK-2), J.V.B. Wicoff Elementary School (Plainsboro: 449; K-3), Millstone River Upper Elementary School (Plainsboro: 1,051; 3-5 - formerly West Windsor-Plainsboro Upper Elementary School (UES), before the Village School was built), Village Upper Elementary School (West Windsor: Preschool, 713; 4-5), West Windsor-Plainsboro Community Middle School (Plainsboro: 1,152; 6-8 - formerly West Windsor-Plainsboro Middle School pre-1997, before Grover Middle School was created), Thomas R. Grover Middle School (West Windsor: 1;188; 6-8), West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North (Plainsboro: 1,414; 9-12) and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South (West Windsor: 1,591; 9-12 - formerly West Windsor-Plainsboro High School, before High School North was established in 1997).
Three of the district's schools have been recognized by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South was recognized during the 1992-93 school year and Maurice Hawk Elementary School was recognized in 1993-94, while West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North was recognized in the 2006-07 school year.
Private
The Wilberforce School, a K-12 Classical Christian school founded in 2005, moved to new facilities in the township in 2014.
Transportation
Roads and highways
As of 2010, the township had a total of 151.84 miles (244.36 km) of roadways, of which 123.43 miles (198.64 km) were maintained by the municipality, 24.16 miles (38.88 km) by Mercer County and 4.25 miles (6.84 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
U.S. Route 1 serves the township, as does Route 64 (which is part of CR 571).
CR 533 (Quakerbridge Road) passes along the western border with Lawrence. CR 526 and CR 571 are multiplexed together from the northwestern part until they split in the center of the municipality. CR 535 passes through in the south and serves Mercer County College.
Other major roads that are accessible outside the municipality are Interstate 295 (in Hamilton and Lawrence), Interstate 195 (in Hamilton and Robbinsville), and the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) (in Robbinsville (Exit 7A) and East Windsor (Exit 8)).
Public transportation
Princeton Junction station, a Northeast Corridor stop on Amtrak and NJ Transit, is located within West Windsor. Amtrak's Keystone Service and Northeast Regional routes stop at Princeton Junction which is ranked as one of the ten busiest train stations in the Northeast. The station had 6,800 average weekday boardings in 2012, the fourth-highest of any New Jersey Transit station in the state.
Running between the Princeton Junction station and the Princeton station is what is known to locals as the "Dinky." The Dinky is a one-car train that shuttles back and forth many times a day between the two stations. Traveling 2.7 miles (4.3 km) each way, it is the shortest and most expensive regularly scheduled passenger route in the United States.
NJ Transit bus service to Trenton is provided via the 600, 603, 609, with other area service on the 605 route.
Stylized as Princeton Junction Station at West Windsor.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with West Windsor Township include:
- Jack Aker (born 1940), former Major League Baseball pitcher.
- Kevin Barry (born 1978), Atlanta Braves relief pitcher.
- Aneesh Chopra (born 1972), first Chief Technology Officer of the United States.
- Stanley Dancer (1927-2005), harness racing driver and trainer.
- Douglas Forrester (born 1953), former mayor of West Windsor Township who was the Republican Party nominee for U.S. Senator in 2002 and for Governor of New Jersey in 2005.
- Ethan Hawke (born 1970), actor.
- Kris Kolluri (born c. 1969), former Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
- Matt Lalli (born 1986), professional lacrosse player for the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse.
- Ben H. Love (1930-2010), the eighth Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America serving from 1985 to 1993.
- Christopher McQuarrie (born 1968), screenwriter, director and producer who is a regular collaborator of director Bryan Singer, with whom he co-wrote the screenplay of Singer's Public Access, wrote the screenplay for The Usual Suspects, co-wrote and produced Valkyrie and co-wrote Jack the Giant Slayer and Edge of Tomorrow.
- Glenn Michibata, (born 1962), retired professional tennis player who has been tennis coach of the Princeton Tigers.
- John Forbes Nash Jr. (1928-2015), Nobel Prize-winning mathematician who was the subject of the film A Beautiful Mind.
- Taktin Oey (born c. 1986), composer.
- Fernando Perez (born 1983), Tampa Bay Rays outfielder.
- Steve Rogers (born 1949), former pitcher for the Montreal Expos baseball team.
- Bryan Singer (born 1965), film and television director.
- David Zhuang (born 1963), Olympic table tennis player.
- Paul Lansky (born 1944), composer.
References
External links
- Official township web site
- West Windsor-Plainsboro School District
- West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District's 2015-16 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- West Windsor/Plainsboro Today: local online news and chat site
- The Not So Rinky Dinky, local rail shuttle service
Source of article : Wikipedia
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