Cranbury, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cranbury, New Jersey
Township
Cranbury Town Hall, housed in the former Old Cranbury School, a state and federal historic landmark
Seal
Location of Cranbury in Middlesex County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Middlesex County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
Census Bureau map of Cranbury Township, New Jersey
Cranbury, New Jersey Location in Middlesex County, New Jersey Show map of Middlesex County, New Jersey Cranbury, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Cranbury, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Middlesex
Incorporated	March 7, 1872
Government
• Type	Township
• Body	Township Committee
Area
• Total	13.43 sq mi (34.79 km2)
• Land	13.28 sq mi (34.40 km2)
• Water	0.15 sq mi (0.39 km2)  1.12%
Area rank	181st of 565 in state 9th of 25 in county
Elevation	82 ft (25 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,842
• Estimate  (2023)	3,960
• Rank	418th of 565 in state 24th of 25 in county
• Density	289.2/sq mi (111.7/km2)
• Density rank	479th of 565 in state 25th of 25 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes	08512
Area code(s)	609
FIPS code	3402315550
GNIS feature ID	0882160
Website

Cranbury is a township in southern Middlesex County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 3,842, a decrease of 15 (−0.4%) from the 2010 census count of 3,857, which in turn reflected an increase of 630 (+19.5%) from the 3,227 counted in the 2000 census.

Located within the Raritan Valley region, Cranbury is roughly equidistant between New York City and Philadelphia, contributing to it being a regional historical, cultural, and commercial hub of Central New Jersey (the township is known for its logistics industry) and as an outer-ring commuter suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. The municipal taxes generated by the industrial properties have helped to keep residential property taxes steady over time.

History

A deed for a sale of land and improvements dated March 1, 1698, is the earliest evidence of buildings constructed in present-day Cranbury. A home in Cranbury was used by Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette as a headquarters during the American Revolutionary War, and they were visited by General George Washington on June 26, 1778. It was during this visit, when George Washington hedged out plans to intercept the British's retreat from Philadelphia to New York City, during the tail end of Britain's Philadelphia campaign. This continued pursuit led to the fated events of the Battle of Monmouth (which took place nearby in modern-day Freehold Township and Manalapan Township, preserved currently as Monmouth Battlefield State Park), a major turning point for the Revolutionary War. As part of orders issued during the presidency of George Washington, maps of Cranbury were made showing the presence of a church, a mill and 25 other buildings. Fleeing after he killed Alexander Hamilton in their 1804 duel, Aaron Burr stopped in Cranbury to exchange horses and eat a local inn.

During its earliest years, the location was usually spelled as "Cranberry". Rev. Joseph G. Symmes argued in 1857 that the name was spelled improperly and that the suffix "bury" was more appropriate, leading the name of the community and brook to be changed to "Cranbury" in 1869. The name has been attributed to wild cranberries that grew in the area. The so-called Hightstown rail accident occurred in or near Cranbury, in 1833. According to John Quincy Adams, who was aboard the train and who wrote in his diary about it, the train was 3 miles (4.8 km) from Hightstown when the disaster struck, putting the accident near what is now Cranbury Station. Among the passengers aboard were Tyrone Power and Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Cranbury was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 7, 1872, from portions of both Monroe Township and South Brunswick Township. Portions of the township were taken on April 1, 1919, to form Plainsboro Township. The township celebrated its tricentennial in 1998. Updike Parsonage Barn, originally constructed c. 1759, was disassembled, relocated and reconstructed in 2010 at its current location in Barn Park.

In 2019, the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society saved the 1713 East Jersey Cottage from demolition and had the building relocated across Old Trenton Road, onto its original 1693 Fullerton tract, the 1752 Philipse property and the 1760 Bodine farm. The building retained its intact hand-hewn post and beam structure with pegged mortise and tenon joints and rubble nogging.

Geography

Brainerd Lake in the center of the township

U.S. Route 130 is a major commercial and light-industrial highway in Cranbury.

Cranbury Township highlighted in Middlesex County

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 13.43 square miles (34.79 km²), including 13.28 square miles (34.40 km²) of land and 0.15 square miles (0.39 km²) of water (1.12%).

Cranbury CDP (2010 Census population of 2,181) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Cranbury Township. Despite the match between the name of the Township and the CDP, the two are not one and the same, as was the case for most paired Township / CDP combinations (i.e., a CDP with the same as its parent township) before the 2010 Census, when most such paired CDPs were coextensive with a township of the same name.

Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Brain Grove Lake, Cranbury Station, Wescott, and Wyckoffs Mills.

The township borders Monroe Township, Plainsboro Township and South Brunswick Township in Middlesex County; and East Windsor Township in Mercer County.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 3,857 people, 1,320 households, and 1,060 families in the township. The population density was 291.2 per square mile (112.4/km²). There were 1,371 housing units at an average density of 103.5 per square mile (40.0/km²). The racial makeup was 80.53% (3,106) White, 3.45% (133) Black or African American, 0.10% (4) Native American, 13.74% (530) Asian, 0.03% (1) Pacific Islander, 0.36% (14) from other races, and 1.79% (69) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.57% (99) of the population.

Of the 1,320 households, 41.4% had children under the age of 18; 71.3% were married couples living together; 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 19.7% were non-families. Of all households, 17.5% were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.21.

27.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 15.1% from 25 to 44, 35.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 88.2 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $131,667 (with a margin of error of +/− $21,076) and the median family income was $146,250 (+/− $24,045). Males had a median income of $122,566 (+/− $25,917) versus $60,781 (+/− $22,066) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $55,236 (+/− $5,718). About 3.1% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Cranbury is host to many warehouses along Route 130 and the roads leading to the NJ Turnpike. A company making the Boy Scout Pinewood Derby cars is also here. Cranbury was noted for a used Rolls-Royce dealership located in the center of township, but it has gone out of business. The alternative energy business Brilliant Light Power, which occupies a building formerly occupied by Creative Playthings, is in fact located in East Windsor, in an area served by the Cranbury Post Office.

The Associated University Presses is an academic publishing company supplying textbooks to colleges and universities.

Education

Princeton High School

The Cranbury School District serves children in public school for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade at Cranbury School. As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 453 students and 59.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 7.7:1. For the 2016–17 school year, Cranbury School was formally designated as a National Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor that an American public school can achieve. This was also earned during the 1996–97 and 2009-10 school years.

For ninth through twelfth grades, students move on to Princeton High School in Princeton, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Princeton Public Schools. Cranbury Township is granted a seat on the Princeton Regional Schools Board of Education, with the designated representative only voting on issues pertaining to Princeton High School and district-wide issues. As of the 2022–23 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,532 students and 130.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.8:1. Cranbury students had attended Hightstown High School and then Lawrence High School before the relationship was established with Princeton.

Eighth grade students from all of Middlesex County are eligible to apply to attend the high school programs offered by the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools, a county-wide vocational school district that offers full-time career and technical education at Middlesex County Academy in Edison, the Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences in Woodbridge Township and at its East Brunswick, Perth Amboy and Piscataway technical high schools, with no tuition charged to students for attendance.

Public libraries

The Cranbury Public Library serves Cranbury residents and opened in a brand-new building in November 2022 at 30 Park Place West. Prior to the free-standing building, the library shared a facility with the Cranbury School from 1968 until summer 2020 when the school evicted the library to provide additional learning space during the COVID-19 pandemic. From early 2021 to November 2022, the library operated out of a pocket library on North Main Street. The free-standing library was built with funds donated through a capital campaign by the Cranbury Public Library Foundation from 2010 through 2022, as well as funds from surplus operating revenue saved from prior to 2008 when the Cranbury School started charging rent. In 2020, the library applied for and was awarded a $2.39 million grant from the New Jersey Library Construction Bond Act.

Historic district

Cranbury Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Historic houses on North Main Street
Location	Main and Prospect streets; Maplewood and Scott avenues; Bunker Hill Road; Symmes Court; Westminster, Park and Wesley places
Area	175 acres (71 ha)
Architectural style	Bungalow/craftsman, Greek Revival, Vernacular Italianate
NRHP reference No.	80002502
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	September 18, 1980

The Cranbury Historic District is a 175-acre (71 ha) historic district encompassing the village of Cranbury along Main and Prospect streets; Maplewood and Scott avenues; Bunker Hill Road; Symmes Court; Westminster, Park and Wesley places. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 1980, for its significance in architecture and commerce. The district includes 177 contributing buildings, including the Old Cranbury School, which was added individually to the NRHP in 1971. Many buildings on Cranbury's Main Street and in the surrounding area date to the 18th or 19th century.

• 

  The John S. Silvers Mansion, built in 1886

• 

  The Cranbury Inn

Cranberry Mills

The nomination form describes how "Cranbury is the best preserved 19th century village in Middlesex County" and states that "While there are many small mill towns in New Jersey, few are in such an undisturbed environment as that of Cranbury." The John S. Silvers Mansion, built 1886, features Queen Anne style architecture. The Elizabeth M. Wagner History Center of the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society is located in a former gristmiller's house and has a display on Cranberry Mills. Cranberry Mills is an exemplary historic showcase of Cranbury's importance as a bustling mill town during the 18th/19th centuries. It was located along Cranbury Brook, a tributary of the Millstone River (which in turn is a major tributary of the Raritan River).

• 

  Elizabeth M. Wagner History Center

• 

  Information on Cranberry Mills

Places of worship

The First Presbyterian Church was founded c. 1740 and the current church was built in 1839. The United Methodist Church was built in 1848. Both are contributing properties of the historic district.

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  First Presbyterian Church

• 

  United Methodist Church

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and highways

View south along the 12-lane New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) near exit 8A in Cranbury

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 51.25 miles (82.48 km) of roadways, of which 31.08 miles (50.02 km) were maintained by the municipality, 12.85 miles (20.68 km) by Middlesex County and 3.16 miles (5.09 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 4.16 miles (6.69 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

Several major roads and highways pass through the township Cranbury hosts a 4-mile (6.4 km) section of Interstate 95 (the New Jersey Turnpike). While there are no exits in Cranbury, the township is accessible by the Turnpike in neighboring East Windsor Township (Exit 8) and Monroe Township (Exit 8A). The Molly Pitcher Service Area is located at mile marker 71.7 on the southbound side.

Other significant roads passing through Cranbury include U.S. Route 130, County Route 535, County Route 539, County Route 615 and County Route 614.

Public transportation

Middlesex County offers the M6 MCAT shuttle route providing service to Jamesburg and Plainsboro Township.

Healthcare

Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center

Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center is a 355-bed regional non-profit, tertiary and academic medical center located in neighboring Plainsboro Township. The hospital services the greater Princeton region in central New Jersey. It is owned by the Penn Medicine Health System and is the only such hospital in the state of New Jersey.

Other nearby regional hospitals and healthcare networks that are accessible to the township include CentraState Medical Center in Freehold Township, the Old Bridge Township division of Raritan Bay Medical Center, and Saint Peter's University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in nearby New Brunswick.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Cranbury include:

• Melanie Balcomb (born 1962), head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball team
• Todd Beamer (1968–2001), passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93, who said "Let's roll" to fellow passengers with whom he was planning an attack on terrorists who had taken over the cockpit
• Scott Brunner (born 1957), quarterback who played in the NFL from 1981 to 1986, most notably for the New York Giants
• Ronald C. Davidson (1941–2016), physicist, professor and scientific administrator who served as the first director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center and as director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
• Wendy Gooditis (born Gwendolyn Wallace in 1960), politician who represents Virginia's 10th House of Delegates district in the Virginia House of Delegates
• Noah Harlan, independent filmmaker
• Ralph Izzo, businessman and former nuclear physicist; chairman, president and CEO of Public Service Enterprise Group
• Hughie Lee-Smith (1915–1999), artist
• Cicero Hunt Lewis (1826–1897), merchant
• Robert Lougy, judge on the New Jersey Superior Court who served as acting New Jersey Attorney General in 1996
• Charles McKnight (1750–1791), physician during and after the American Revolutionary War
• Jan Morris (1926–2020), Welsh travel writer and historian, lived in Cranbury for several months in the 1950s whose impressions of the town are recorded in the book Coast to Coast: A Journey Across 1950s America
• Henry Perrine (1797–1840), physician, horticulturist and enthusiast for introducing tropical plants into cultivation in the US
• Jessica Lee Ware (born 1977), Canadian-American evolutionary biologist and entomologist