Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Princeton University has been sited in the community since 1756. Although Princeton is a 'college town', there are other important institutions in the area, including the Institute for Advanced Study, Educational Testing Service (ETS), Opinion Research Corporation, Siemens Corporate Research, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sarnoff Corporation, FMC Corporation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Amrep, Church and Dwight, Berlitz International, and Dow Jones & Company.The community is roughly equidistant between New York and Philadelphia. Princeton has been home to New York commuters (via Princeton Junction) since the end of World War II. The community is close to many major highways that can take residents to both cities. While the Amtrak ride time is similar to each city, the commuter train ride to New York — via New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line — is generally much shorter than the equivalent train ride to Philadelphia, which involves a transfer to SEPTA trains in Trenton. Princeton receives some TV and radio broadcasts from both cities.New Jersey's capital is the city of Trenton, but the governor's official residence has been in Princeton since 1945, when Morven in the borough became the first Governor's mansion. It was later replaced by the larger Drumthwacket, a colonial mansion located in the township. Morven became a museum property of the New Jersey Historical Society.Princeton was named #15 of the top 100 towns in the United States to Live and Work In by Money Magazine in 2005.Although residents of Princeton (Princetonians) traditionally have a strong community-wide identity, the community is composed of two separate municipalities: a township and a borough. The central borough is completely surrounded by the township. The Borough seceded from the Township in 1894 in a dispute over school taxes; the two municipalities later formed the Princeton Regional Schools, and some other public services are conducted together. There have been three referenda proposing to reunite the two Princetons, but they have all been narrowly defeated. The Borough contains Nassau Street, the main commercial street, most of the University campus, and incorporated most of the urban area until the postwar suburbanization. Borough and Township now have roughly equal populations, together approaching 30,000.United States Postal Zip Codes for Princeton include 08542 (largely the Borough), 08544 (the University), and 08540. The latter covers areas outside Princeton proper, including portions of Lawrence, Hopewell, and West Windsor Townships in Mercer County, Montgomery and Franklin Townships in Somerset County, and Plainsboro and South Brunswick Townships in Middlesex County. The resulting ambiguity is exploited by local real estate agents who will often advertise a property in these neighboring communities as having a 'prestigious Princeton address'. Further adding to confusion is the spread of 'Princeton' as part of business, church and residential development even further beyond the boundaries of the Township and Borough. Princeton lies at latitude 40°21' North, longitude 74°40' West.
Early History
The first inhabitants of the Princeton area were the Lenni Lenape Indians. Europeans founded the settlement in the latter part of the 17th century. The first European to find his home in the boundaries of the future town was Henry Greenland. He built his house in 1683 along with a Tavern. It was in this drinking hole that representatives of West and East Jersey met to set boundaries for the location of the township in the State. Originally, Princeton was known only as part of nearby Stony Brook. Mr. James Leonard was the first to refer to the town as Prince-town, when describing the location of his large estate in his diary.The town had been referred to in a variety of ways since, including: Princetown, Prince’s Town and finally Princeton. Although there is no official documental backing, the town is considered to be named after William, Prince of Orange. Another theory suggests that the name came from a large land owner named Henry Prince, but there is no evidence that this was the case. It is more likely for the settlement to be named after a prince based on the fact that three nearby towns are named similarly: Kingston, Queenston and Princessvile.When Richard Stockton, one of the founders of the township, died in 1709 he left his estate to his sons, which helped expand property and population. Based on the 1880 census, the population of the town was only 3,209 (not including students). Local population has expanded from the nineteenth century. According to the 2000 census, Princeton Borough has 14, 203 inhabitants, while Princeton Township has 16,207. These numbers have become stagnant; since the founding of Princeton University, the town’s population spikes every year during the fall and winter and drops significantly over the course of the summer.
Expansion
Due to various objections from the residents of Stony Brook, Princeton could not become a Township for a while after its expansion. The objections were that the town either had little land, or that it could not be responsible for its own taxes. In 1938, once Mercer County was established along with Princeton Township, Windsor Township held some of Nassau Street. In 1853, West Windsor surrendered some its land, giving Princeton Borough enough room to declare itself autonomous by 1894. Afterward Princeton was to be divided into two parts: a borough and township because it was founded from pieces of Middlesex, Burlington, Somerset and Hunterton counties. These counties were divided by the central “King’s highway,” better known today as Nassau street. Nassau crosses both the borough and the township, eventually turning into Princeton-Kingston Road to the north and Stockton Street to the south.
Revolution
Aside from housing the University of the same name, the settlement suffered the revolutionary Battle of Princeton on its soil. After the victory in 1776, the town hosted the first Legislature under the State Constitution of New Jersey to decide the State’s seal, Governor and organization of its government. In addition, two of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence—Richard Stockton and John Witherspoon lived in Princeton. Princetonians honored their citizen’s legacy by naming two streets in the downtown area after them. On January 10th, 1938 Henry Ewing Hale called for a group of citizens to discuss opening a “Historical Society of Princeton.” Later the Bainbridge House would be dedicated for this purpose. Previously the house was used once for a meeting of Continental Congress in 1783, a general office and as the Princeton Public Library. The House is actually property of Princeton University and is leased to the Princeton Historical Society for one dollar per year. The house has kept its original staircase, flooring and paneled walls. All together, 70% of the house has been unaltered. Aside from safety features like wheelchair access and electrical work, the house was merely restored to its original look.
Colleges and universities
Princeton University is a dominant feature of the community. Its main campus has its historic center on Nassau Street in the borough and stretches south into the township. Its James Forrestal satellite campus is located in Plainsboro Township, and some playing fields (and half of the University's Lake Carnegie) lie within adjacent West Windsor Township.Westminster Choir College, part of Rider University, is located in the Borough. The remainder of Rider University is located in Lawrence Township.Princeton Theological Seminary's academic campus is located in the Borough, and a residential campus is located just outside the Township in West Windsor Township.The Institute for Advanced Study is in the Township and maintains extensive land holdings (the 'Institute Woods') in the Township.Mercer County Community College in West Windsor is the nearest public college to serve Princeton residents.
Public schools
The six public schools of the Princeton Regional Schools district serve both the borough and the township, including four elementary schools (Community Park, Johnson Park, Littlebrook and Riverside), one middle school (John Witherspoon Middle School), and one high school: (Princeton High School). The high school is located in the borough; the other schools are in the township. The high school also serves students from Cranbury Township as part of a sending/receiving relationship.In the early 1990s, redistricting occurred between the Community Park and Johnson Park School districts, as the population within both districts had increased due to residential development. Concerns were also raised about the largely white, wealthy student population attending Johnson Park (JP) and the more racially and economically diverse population at Community Park (CP). As a result of the redistricting, portions of the affluent Western Section neighborhood were redistricted to CP, and portions of the racially and economically diverse John Witherspoon Neighborhood were redistricted to JP.The Princeton Charter School (grades K-8) is located in the township. The school operates under a charter granted by the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education. The school is a public school that operates independently of the Princeton Regional Schools, and is funded on a per student basis by locally-raised tax revenues.New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Princeton High School as the 6th best high school in New Jersey in its 2008 rankings of the 'Top Public High Schools' in New Jersey.
Private schools
Several private schools are located in the Township: American Boychoir School, Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, Princeton Day School, Princeton Friends School, and Hun School of Princeton.St. Paul School (K-8) and The Lewis School and Diagnostic Clinic are located in the Borough.Schools that are outside the Township and Borough but have Princeton mailing addresses include Chapin School and Princeton Junior School in Lawrence Township, the Waldorf School of Princeton and Princeton Montessori School in Montgomery Township, and Eden Institute in West Windsor Township.
Public libraries
The Princeton Public Library, located in the borough, serves the borough and the township. The current facility was opened in April 2004 as part of the on-going downtown redevelopment project and replaced a building dating from 1966. The library itself was founded in 1909.
Sister cities
Colmar, France
Pettoranello del Molise, Italy
Yoshkar-Ola, capital of the Mari El Republic, in Russia (Йошкар-Ола, республика Марий Эл, Россия)
Noteworthy Princetonians
Note: this list does not include people whose only time in Princeton was as a student. Only selected faculty are shown, whose notability extends beyond their field into popular culture. See Faculty and Alumni lists above.Samuel Davies Alexander, (1819–1894), born in Princeton, notedPresbyterianclergymanand author
Svetlana Alliluyeva, daughter ofJoseph Stalin, defected to United States and lived in Princeton.
John Altman (1952-), mystery writer.
Trey Anastasio(1964-), of the bandPhish. Anastasio lived in Princeton with his family and attendedPrinceton Day School, before attending theTaft SchoolinWatertown, Connecticut, and later theUniversity of Vermont.
Milton Babbitt, composer and Princeton University professor.
Chris Barron, lead singer of theSpin Doctors, grew up in Princeton, attended Princeton High School.
Molly Bang, children's book illustrator, born in Princeton.
Saul Bellow, writer and Princeton University professor.
Paul Benacerraf, philosopher and Princeton University professor.
Peter Benchley, author & screenwriter,Jaws,The Island, lived and died in Princeton.
Ben Bernanke,Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve, Princeton University professor.
Michael Bradley, soccer player, born in Princeton.
George Harold Brown(1908-1987), Research Engineer at RCA, lived in Princeton.
Aaron Burr(1756-1836), ThirdVice President of the United States(underThomas Jefferson); killedAlexander Hamiltonin duel, grew up in Princeton and buried there.
Aaron Burr, Sr.(1715-1757), co-founder ofPrinceton Universityand its second president.
Sim Cain(1963-), drummer forRollins Band, grew up in Princeton.
Frances Folsom Cleveland,First Lady, died in and buried in Princeton.
Grover Cleveland(1837-1908), 22nd and 24thPresident of the United States, retired to, died in, and buried in Princeton.
Ruth Cleveland, Daughter of Grover and Frances Cleveland born between Cleveland's two terms in office. Died at age 12 and buried atPrinceton Cemetery.
Chris Conley, lead singer ofSaves the Day, born and grew up in Princeton.
Mary Chapin Carpenter, country/folk singer, born and grew up in Princeton.
Whitney Darrow, Jr,New Yorkercartoonist, born in Princeton.
Freeman Dyson, theoretical physicist and fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Jonathan Edwards,Congregationalist Churchtheologian and Princeton University's third president.
Albert Einstein, physicist, fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Charles Evered, playwright/screenwriter and director, resident of Princeton.
Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in theFirst PresidencyofThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsand president ofRicks College, born in Princeton.
Richard Ford, writer, taught at Princeton University and has written several books set in a fictionalized Princeton.
George Gallup, Statistician and creator of theGallup poll, lived and is buried in Princeton.
Kurt Gödel, Austrian-American logician, mathematician and philosopher, fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Michael Graves, architect, lives and works in Princeton.
Ethan Hawke(attended West Windsor-Plainsboro High School, graduated fromThe Hun School.
Joseph Hewes, signer of theUnited States Declaration of Independence, born in Princeton.
Charles Hodge, theologian and Principal ofPrinceton Theological Seminary.
Robert Wood Johnson II, Chairman ofJohnson & Johnson, and his wifeBasia Johnson, lived in Princeton.
Indiana Jones, movie and television character, born in Princeton but attendedUniversity of Chicago.
George F. Kennan, diplomat, historian, fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study.
Paul Krugman, Nobel prize winner, economist, professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University.
Chang-Rae Lee, writer, Princeton University professor.
Hallie Lampert, noted photographer and director
John Lithgow, actor, lived in Princeton in his late teens.
Arthur Lithgow, actor, director, educator, and managing director of Princeton's McCarter Theater.
Henry Martin,New Yorkercartoonist, lived and worked in Princeton.
Brad Mays, filmmaker and stage director, grew up in Princeton and attended Princeton High School.
John McPhee, writer, lives in Princeton.
Lyle and Erik Menendez, murderers, grew up in Princeton.
Juniper Blaze, hip-hop producer and rapper
Steve 'Buddy' Miller, noted Nashville session musician, grew up in Princeton and attended Princeton High School.
Toni Morrison, writer, Princeton University professor.
John Forbes Nash, Jr., mathematician, subject ofA Beautiful Mind,Princeton University professor.
Thomas Nessi, writer, lives in Princeton.
Bebe Neuwirth, actress, grew up in Princeton.
Joyce Carol Oates, writer, Princeton University professor.
John O'Hara, writer, lived and is buried in Princeton.
Charles Smith Olden, governor of New Jersey during theAmerican Civil War, born and buried in Princeton.
J. Robert Oppenheimertheoretical physicist, director of the Institute for Advanced Study
John Popper, lead singer of the bandBlues Traveler, attended Princeton High School.
Christopher Reeve, actor, grew up in Princeton, attendedPrinceton Day School
Paul Robeson, singer, actor, athlete, civil rights activist, born and grew up in Princeton
Arnold Roth, cartoonist, was a long time Princeton resident.
Ralph Schoenstein, writer, lived in Princeton up to his death.
Bill Schroeder,Major League Baseballplayer for theMilwaukee BrewersandCalifornia Angels, Brewers commentator forFox Sports Wisconsin
Roger Sessions, composer, Princeton University professor, died in Princeton
Andrew Shue, actor and professional soccer player, grew up in northern New Jersey with sister, actressElisabeth Shue, lives in Princeton.
Michael Showalter, comedian, actor, writer, and director, born in Princeton, attended Princeton High School.
Barbara Boggs Sigmund, mayor of Princeton.
Peter Singer, bioethicist, Princeton University professor.
Betsey Stockton, educator and missionary, manumitted from slavery and later retired to and died in Princeton.
John P. Stockton, U.S. Senator from New Jersey, lived in Princeton.
Richard Stockton (1730-1781), signer of theUnited States Declaration of Independence, lived in Princeton, buried in Princeton.
Richard Stockton (1764–1828), U.S. Senator from New Jersey, lived in Princeton.
Robert Stockton,United States Navycommodore, first territorialgovernor of California, lived in Princeton.
Jon Tenney, actor, born and grew up in Princeton.
Paul Tulane, benefactor and namesake ofTulane University.
Andrew Wiles, mathematician who provedFermat's Last Theorem, Princeton University professor.
Woodrow Wilson, 28thPresident of the United States, 13th president of Princeton University andGovernor of New Jersey
John Witherspoon, signer of theUnited States Declaration of Independence, president of Princeton University.
Boris Zubry, author, poet, inventor, educator, lives in Princeton.
Gregory House, main character on series House, which takes place in Princeton.
All of the members ofBlues Traveler, as well as Chris Barron (see above) are from Princeton and were high school friends.
All sitting New Jersey governors since 1945 have had their official residence in Princeton, first atMorvenand since 1982 atDrumthwacket, but not all have actually lived in these houses.
Film
Princeton was the setting of the Academy Award-winning A Beautiful Mind about the schizophrenic mathematician John Nash. It was largely filmed in central New Jersey, including some Princeton locations.The 1994 film I.Q., featuring Meg Ryan, Tim Robbins, and Walter Matthau as Albert Einstein, was also set in Princeton, and was filmed in the area. It includes some geographic stretches, including Matthau looking through a telescope from the roof of 'Princeton Hospital' to see Ryan and Robbins' characters kissing on the Princeton Battlefield.Historical films which used Princeton as a setting but were not filmed there include Wilson, a 1944 biographical film about Woodrow Wilson.In his 1989 independent feature film Stage Fright, director Brad Mays shot a drama class scene in the Princeton High School auditorium, using PHS students as extras.Scenes from the beginning of 'Across the Universe' (2007) were filmed on the Princeton University campus.Parts of Transformers 2 were filmed in Princeton.Scenes from the 2008 movie The Happening were filmed in Princeton.In the movie Toy Story 3 , it is inferred from his computer screensaver and 'Go Tiger' pennants in his room that Andy is going to Princeton.In the 2010 movie Salt the main character Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) graduated from Princeton.
TV and radio
The 1938 Orson Welles radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, is set partly in nearby Grover's Mill, and includes a fictional professor from Princeton University as a main character, but the action never moves directly into Princeton.The TV show House is located in Princeton, at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, and establishing shots for the hospital display the Frist Campus Center of Princeton University. However, the Princeton Plainsboro Hospital has been in the works for years now and is being built across the street from Princeton in West Windsor.The 1980 television miniseries Oppenheimer is partly set in Princeton.
Literature
F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary debut, This Side of Paradise, is a loosely autobiographical story of his years at Princeton University.Princeton University's Creative Writing program includes several nationally and internationally prominent writers, making the community a hub of contemporary literature.Many of Richard Ford's novels are set in Haddam, New Jersey, a fictionalized Princeton.Joyce Carol Oates 2004 novel Take Me, Take Me With You (written pseudonymously as Lauren Kelly) is set in Princeton.
Points of interest
American Boychoir School
TheD&R Canal State Parkincluding Turning Basin Park
Drumthwacket
Forrestal Village
Herrontown Woods Arboretum
Hun School of Princeton
Institute for Advanced Studyand Institute Woods
Lake Carnegie
Marquand Park
McCarter Theatre
Morven
Nassau Hall
Palmer Square
Princeton Battlefield State Park
Princeton Cemetery
Princeton Day School
Princeton High School
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton Record Exchange
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton University
Princeton University Art Museum
Princeton University Chapel
Stony Brook Meeting House and Cemetery
Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart
TheWashington Oak
Westminster Choir College
Sources
Princeton Town Topics
^http://www.princetontwp.org/histofpt.htmlHousing development boomed as postwar employment expanded in Princeton and nearby communities and as commuting to New York became more affordable and practical.
^Best Places to Live 2005: No. 15 - Princeton, NJ,Money (magazine), accessed November 2, 2006
^Garden Homes of New Jersey
^The Estates at Princeton Junction - Heritage Collection - New Homes in Princeton, NJ by Toll Brothers
^ab[http://www.princetontwp.org/histofpt.htmlA Brief History of Princeton], Princeton Township, “A Brief History of Princeton,” Princeton Township, Mercer county, New Jersey, (accessed November 1, 2010)
^abcdefHistory of Burlington and Mercer counties. New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of their Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia: Everts & Peck. 1883.
^abJohn Frelinghuysen Hageman (1879).History of Princeton and its Institutions, vol.1 of 2. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co..
^[http://censtats.census.gov/cgi-bin/pct/pctProfile.plU.S. Census Bureau, “Princeton Borough,” United States Census 2000], (accessed on November 3, 2010).
^[http://censtats.census.gov/cgi-bin/pct/pctProfile.plU.S. Census Bureau, “Princeton Township,” United States Census 2000], (accessed on November 3, 2010).
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^[http://www.princetonhistory.org/bainbridge.cfmHistorical Society of Princeton, “A Brief History of Princeton,” Historical Society of Princeton], (accessed November 3, 2010).
^Princeton Regional Schools 2007 Report Card Narrative,New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed July 9, 2008. 'Students from three communities in Central Jersey (Princeton Borough, Princeton Township, and Cranbury Township) attend the schools. (Cranbury students attend only the high school.)'
^'Top New Jersey High Schools 2008',New Jersey Monthly, August 7, 2008. Accessed May 11, 2009.
^Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
^Ethan Hawke IMDB bio
^http://www.innermind.com/youngindy/info/timeline.htm
^Altmann, Jennifer Greenstein (2004-10-11).'Oates chooses fresh identity but familiar setting for novel'.Princeton Weekly Bulletin(Princeton University).http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/04/1011/2a.shtml. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
Clark, Ronald W. (1971)Einstein: The Life and Times.ISBN 0-380-44123-3
Gambee, Robert. (1987) 'Princeton'ISBN 0-393-30433-7