Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, that was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 28,572, reflecting the former township's population of 16,265, along with the 12,307 in the former borough.

Princeton is best known as the location of Princeton University, which 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, Westminster Choir College, Princeton Theological Seminary, 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.

Princeton is roughly equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia. Since the 19th century, it has been connected by rail to both of these cities by the Princeton Branch rail line to the nearby Princeton Junction Station on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Princeton is close to many major highways that serve both cities, and receives all major TV and radio broadcasts from each.

The Princeton train station was moved from under Blair Hall to its present location on University Place in 1918. Commuting to New York from Princeton became commonplace after the Second World War. While the Amtrak ride time is similar to New York and to Philadelphia, the commuter-train ride to New York – via New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line — is generally much faster than the equivalent train ride to Philadelphia, which involves a transfer to SEPTA trains in Trenton. New Jersey Transit provides shuttle service between the Princeton and Princeton Junction stations; the train is locally called the "Dinky", and has also been known as the "PJ&B" (for "Princeton Junction and Back"). Two train cars, or sometimes just one, are used.

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 No. 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 had been composed of two separate municipalities: a township and a borough. The central borough was 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 Public Schools, and some other public services were conducted together before they were reunited into a single Princeton in January 2013. The Borough contained 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 had roughly equal populations.

United States Postal Zip Codes for Princeton include 08542 (largely the old Borough), 08544 (the University), 08543 (the Seminary), 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 town. 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 documentary backing, the town is considered to be named after King William III, Prince William of Orange of the House of Nassau. 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, Queenstown (Later named Pennington) and Princessville. 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.

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 1777, 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 10, 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.

Government history
During the most stirring events in its history, Princeton was a wide spot in the road; the boundary between Somerset County and Middlesex County ran right through Princeton, along the high road between New York and Philadelphia, now Nassau Street. When Mercer County was formed in 1838, part of West Windsor Township was added to the portion of Montgomery Township which was included in the new county, and made into Princeton Township; the area between the present borough line and the Delaware and Raritan Canal was added to Princeton Township in 1853. Princeton Borough became a separate municipality in 1894.

In the early nineteenth century, New Jersey boroughs had been parish bodies, chartered within existing townships. Princeton Borough received such a charter in 1813, as part of Montgomery and West Windsor Townships; it continued to be part of Princeton Township until the Act of 1894, which required that each township form a single school district; rather than do so, Princeton Borough petitioned to be separated. (The two Princetons now form the Princeton Regional School district.) Two minor boundary changes united the then site of the Princeton Hospital and of the Princeton Regional High School inside the Borough, in 1928 and 1951 respectively.

Local government
The Borough of Princeton is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.

The Mayor serves as the borough's Chief Executive Officer and nominates appointees to various boards and commissions subject to approval of the Borough Council. The Mayor presides at the Borough Council meetings and votes in the case of a tie or a few other specific cases.

The Borough Council has administrative powers and is the policy-making body of the Borough. The Council has six members; two are elected each year and they serve three-year terms. The Council approves appointments made by the Mayor. Council Members serve on various boards and committees and act as liaison's to certain Departments, Committees or Boards.

, the Mayor of Princeton is Liz Lempert. Members of the Princeton Borough Council are Jo Butler, Jenny Crumiller, Heather Howard, Lance Liverman, Bernard Miller and Patrick Simon.

Merger of Borough and Township
On November 8, 2011, the residents of both the Borough of Princeton and the Township of Princeton voted to merge the two municipalities into one. In Princeton Borough 1,385 voted for, 902 voted against while in Princeton Township 3,542 voted for and 604 voted against. Proponents of the merger asserted that when the merger is completed the new municipality of Princeton will save $3.2 million dollars as a result of some scaled down services including layoffs of 15 government workers including 9 police officers (however the measure itself does not mandate such layoffs). Opponents of the measure challenged the findings of report citing cost savings as unsubstantiated, and noted that voter representation would be reduced in a smaller government structure. The consolidation took effect on January 1, 2013.

Federal, state and county representation
Princeton is located in the 12th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 16th state legislative district. Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 Census, the former Princeton Borough and Princeton Township had both been in the 15th state legislative district.

Climate
Like most of the Northeastern United States, Princeton has a humid continental climate, and generally sees cold winters and hot, humid summers. According to Weather.com, the lowest recorded temperature in Princeton was −16 °F (−27 °C) on January 28, 1935, and the highest record temperature was 105 °F (41 °C) on July 9, 1936.

Princeton University
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, New Jersey|West Windsor Township.

Westminster Choir College
Westminster Choir College, a four-year residential college of music and division of Rider University, splits its campus between Princeton Township and Princeton Borough.

Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary's academic campus is located in the Borough, and residential housing is located just outside the Township in West Windsor Township.

Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study is in the Township and maintains extensive land holdings (the "Institute Woods") there.

Mercer County Community College
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 Public Schools district serve Princeton, 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 within the former borough; the other schools are within the former township boundaries. 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 44th best high school in New Jersey in its 2010 rankings of the "Top Public High Schools" in New Jersey.

Private schools
Several private schools are located in Princeton: American Boychoir School, The Lewis School of Princeton, Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, Princeton Day School, Princeton Friends School, Hun School of Princeton, and YingHua International School.

St. Paul School (K-8) and The Lewis School and Diagnostic Clinic are located in the Borough.

Schools that are outside the town proper but have Princeton mailing addresses include Chapin School and Princeton Junior School in Lawrence Township, the Waldorf School of Princeton (New Jersey's only Waldorf school) and Princeton Montessori School in Montgomery Township, Eden Institute in West Windsor Township, and Princeton Latin Academy in Hopewell.

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.

Highways
Two numbered highways – U.S. Route 206 and State Route 27, pass through Princeton. Another highway, U.S. Route 1, runs just to the east of the community.

Three county routes – CR 583, CR 571 (commonly known as Washington Rd), and CR 533 also pass through.

Other major roads that are accessible outside the municipality include U.S. Route 1 (in Lawrence, West Windsor & South Brunswick), Interstate 287 (in Franklin), Interstate 95 (the section north of Trenton) and Interstate 295 (both in Lawrence) and the New Jersey Turnpike (also designated as Interstate 95 in South Brunswick). The closest turnpike exits are two towns away at Exit 8A in Monroe Township, Exit 9 in East Brunswick, Exit 8 in East Windsor and Exit 7A in Robbinsville.

A couple of proposed highways around Princeton have been canceled. The Somerset Freeway (Interstate 95) was to pass just outside the municipality before ending in Hopewell (to the south) and Franklin (to the north). This project was canceled in 1980. Route 92 was supposed to remedy the lack of limited-access highways to the greater Princeton area. The road would've started at Route 1 near Ridge Road in South Brunswick and ended at Exit 8A of the turnpike. However, that project was killed in 2006.

Air
Princeton Airport is a public airport lying three miles (5 km) north of Downtown Princeton in Montgomery Township.

The closest commercial airport is Trenton-Mercer Airport in Ewing Township, about 15 mi from the center of Princeton, which is served by Frontier Airlines nonstop to and from 10 points nationwide. Other nearby major airports are Newark Liberty International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport, located 39 mi and 52 mi away, respectively.

Sister cities

 * Colmar, France
 * Pettoranello del Molise, Italy
 * Kalianpur, India

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.''
 * Svetlana Alliluyeva, daughter of Joseph Stalin, defected to United States and lived in Princeton.
 * Trey Anastasio (1964–), of the band Phish. Anastasio lived in Princeton with his family and attended Princeton Day School, before attending the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, and later the University of Vermont.
 * Milton Babbitt, composer and Princeton University professor.
 * Chris Barron, lead singer of the Spin 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.
 * Avery Brooks, actor, singer, educator
 * George Harold Brown (1908–1987), Research Engineer at RCA, lived in Princeton.
 * Aaron Burr (1756–1836), Third Vice President of the United States (under Thomas Jefferson); killed Alexander Hamilton in duel, grew up in Princeton and buried there.
 * Aaron Burr, Sr. (1715–1757), co-founder of Princeton University and its second president.
 * Sim Cain (1963–), drummer for Rollins Band, grew up in Princeton.
 * Frances Folsom Cleveland, First Lady, died in and buried in Princeton.
 * Grover Cleveland (1837–1908), 22nd and 24th President 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 at Princeton Cemetery.
 * Chris Conley, lead singer of Saves the Day, born and grew up in Princeton.
 * Mary Chapin Carpenter, country/folk singer, born and grew up in Princeton.
 * Whitney Darrow, Jr, New Yorker cartoonist, born in Princeton.
 * Freeman Dyson, theoretical physicist and fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study.
 * Jonathan Edwards, Congregationalist Church theologian 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 the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and president of Ricks 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 the Gallup 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 from The Hun School).
 * Joseph Hewes, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, born in Princeton.
 * Charles Hodge, theologian and Principal of Princeton Theological Seminary.
 * Robert Wood Johnson II, Chairman of Johnson & Johnson, and his wife Basia Johnson, lived in Princeton.
 * Indiana Jones, movie and television character, born in Princeton but attended University 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.
 * John Lithgow, actor, lived in Princeton in his late teens.
 * Arthur Lithgow, actor, director, educator, and managing director of Princeton's McCarter Theatre.
 * Emily Mann, artistic director of Princeton's McCarter Theatre.
 * Henry Martin, New Yorker cartoonist, 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.
 * Steve "Buddy" Miller, noted Nashville session musician, grew up in Princeton and attended Princeton High School.
 * Toni Morrison, author, Nobel Laureate, Princeton University professor.
 * John Forbes Nash, Jr., mathematician, Nobel Prize winner, subject of A Beautiful Mind, Princeton University professor.
 * 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 the American Civil War, born and buried in Princeton.
 * J. Robert Oppenheimer theoretical physicist, director of the Institute for Advanced Study
 * John Popper, lead singer of the band Blues Traveler, attended Princeton High School.
 * Christopher Reeve, actor, grew up in Princeton, attended Princeton 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 Baseball player for the Milwaukee Brewers and California Angels, Brewers commentator for Fox 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, actress Elisabeth 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.
 * Tom Snow, musician
 * 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 the United 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 Navy commodore, first territorial governor of California, lived in Princeton.
 * Jon Tenney, actor, born and grew up in Princeton.
 * Paul Tulane, benefactor and namesake of Tulane University.
 * Immanuel Velikovsky, controversial theorist and acquaintance of Albert Einstein.
 * Andrew Wiles, mathematician who proved Fermat's Last Theorem, Princeton University professor.
 * Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, 13th president of Princeton University and Governor of New Jersey
 * John Witherspoon, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, president of Princeton University.
 * Edward Witten, mathematician and physicist, fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study
 * Sarah Zelenka, rower at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Also:
 * All of the members of Blues 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 at Morven and since 1982 at Drumthwacket, 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. However, many scenes of "Princeton" were actually filmed at Fordham University's Rose Hill campus in the Bronx.

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: Revenge of the Fallen were filmed in Princeton. Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf were filming on Princeton University campus for two days during the summer of 2008.

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.

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 was set in Princeton, at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, and establishing shots for the hospital display the Frist Campus Center of Princeton University. The actual University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro opened in May 2012.

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
 * The D&R Canal State Park including Turning Basin Park
 * Drumthwacket
 * Forrestal Village
 * Herrontown Woods Arboretum
 * Hun School of Princeton
 * Institute for Advanced Study and Institute Woods
 * Lake Carnegie
 * Marquand Park
 * McCarter Theatre
 * Maybury Hill
 * 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
 * The Washington Oak
 * Westminster Choir College

Local media
The Princeton Packet http://www.princetonpacket.com
 * Princeton Town Topics