Cranbury is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in southern Middlesex County, within the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. 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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, contributing to it being a regional historical, cultural, and commercial hub of

Central New Jersey Central Jersey, or Central New Jersey, is the middle region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation Central Jersey is a distinct administrative division, administrative toponymy, toponym. While New Jersey is often divided into North Je ...

(the township is known for its

logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

industry) and as an outer-ring

commuter Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of New York City within the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

. 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 Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

and the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

as a headquarters during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, and they were visited by General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

on June 26, 1778. It was during this visit, when George Washington hedged out plans to intercept the British's retreat from

, during the tail end of Britain's

Philadelphia campaign The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British military campaign during the American Revolutionary War designed to gain control of Philadelphia, the Revolutionary-era capital where the Second Continental Congress convened, formed the ...

. This continued pursuit led to the fated events of the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near the Village of Monmouth Court House, New Jersey, Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey and Manalapan, New Jersey, Manalapan, on J ...

(which took place nearby in modern-day Freehold Township and Manalapan Township, preserved currently as

Monmouth Battlefield State Park Monmouth Battlefield State Park is a New Jersey state park located on the border of Manalapan and Freehold Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. This park preserves the historical battlefield on which the American Revoluti ...

), a major turning point for the Revolutionary War.Cheslow, Jerry
"Historic, Sparsely Settled -- and Loving It"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', March 16, 1997. Accessed July 14, 2011. "The Middlesex County community is celebrating the 300th anniversary of the first documented European settlement in the area.... Cranbury pays tuition to send 106 high school students to nearby Princeton High School. According to Cranbury's Chief School Administrator, Robert J. Bartoletti, 87 percent of the town's youngsters go on to higher education.... As part of the addition, the 28,000-volume Cranbury Public Library, which shares space with the school library, is also being expanded to 6,000 square feet from 4,000 and the school's computers are to be enhanced through the networking of all of the classrooms into the library." 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

in their 1804 duel,

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 d ...

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.History
Cranbury Township. Accessed December 3, 2019. "The marshy land near the mill site might have grown cranberries, hence the name. On 18th Century maps, the name appears as Cranberry and Cranberry Town. In 1857, Reverend Joseph G. Symmes felt the name was incorrectly spelled and suggested it be changed to Cranbury. In Old English 'bury' (connoting 'burgh') could be spelled bury, bery, or berry. In 1869, the town and the brook were renamed Cranbury." 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 John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

, who was aboard the train and who wrote in his diary about it, the train was from Hightstown when the disaster struck, putting the accident near what is now Cranbury Station. Among the passengers aboard were

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

and

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

. Cranbury was incorporated as a township by an act of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

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.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 169-170. Accessed July 5, 2012. The township celebrated its tricentennial in 1998. Updike Parsonage Barn, originally constructed 1759, was disassembled, relocated and reconstructed in 2010 at its current location in Barn Park. Cranbury, along with the municipalities of Bellmawr, Egg Harbor Township, Montclair, and Woodbridge Township, were the original five municipalities that had authorized dispensaries for the sale of

medical cannabis Medical cannabis, medicinal cannabis or medical marijuana (MMJ) refers to cannabis products and cannabinoid molecules that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has a long history, but has not ...

in their municipality in 2017, years before the legal sale of recreational cannabis began in 2022. However, in July 2021 the township reversed the previous ordinance and unanimously passed a new ordinance that banned all types of cannabis businesses from operating within the municipality. 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 in 2019. The building retained its intact hand-hewn post and beam structure with pegged

mortise and tenon A mortise and tenon (occasionally mortice and tenon) is a Woodworking joints, joint that connects two pieces of wood or other material. Woodworking, Woodworkers around the world have used it for thousands of years to join pieces of wood, mainly ...

joints and rubble nogging. The Town Committee voted unanimously on May 12, 2025 to use

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

to seize a 175 year old

family farm A family farm is generally understood to be a farm owned and/or operated by a family. It is sometimes considered to be an Estate (land), estate passed down by inheritance. Although a recurring conceptual model, conceptual and archetype, archet ...

in order to allow the construction of

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

. The Mount Laurel doctrine established by the

Supreme Court of New Jersey The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases cha ...

in 1975 requires municipalities in New Jersey to change their

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

laws to enable the construction of low and middle income housing. The family is fighting the decision and enlisted the support of former Cranbury mayor, Jay Taylor.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, 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 An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) located within Cranbury Township.New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32)

, August 2012. Accessed November 28, 2012. 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 Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

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 White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.45% (133) Black or African American, 0.10% (4) Native American, 13.74% (530) Asian, 0.03% (1)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 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 The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars)

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $55,236 (+/− $5,718). About 3.1% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census there were 3,227 people, 1,091 households, and 877 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,121 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 88.78%

, 2.26%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 7.41% Asian, 0.22% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 1.70% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Pompton Lake borough, New Jersey
,

. Accessed July 5, 2012.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Cranbury township, Middlesex County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed November 22, 2012. There were 1,091 households, out of which 46.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.6% were non-families. 16.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.31. In the township the population was spread out, with 30.4% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males. The median income for a household in the township was $111,680, and the median income for a family was $128,410. Males had a median income of $94,683 versus $44,167 for females. The

for the township was $50,698. About 0.7% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the

, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 0.9% 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 A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

Pinewood Derby cars is also here. Cranbury was noted for a used

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

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 Associated University Presses (AUP) was a publishing company based in the United States, formed and operated as a consortium of several American university presses. AUP was established in 1966, with the first titles published through AUP appearing ...

is an academic publishing company supplying textbooks to colleges and universities.

Government

Local government

Cranbury Township is governed under the

form of government, one of 141 municipalities (of the 564) statewide governed under this form. The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle; all terms of office end on December 31.''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'',

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, p. 70. At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as mayor. In 1990, the Cranbury Township Committee was expanded from three to five members and the position of Township Administrator was established by ordinance. , members of the Cranbury Township Committee are Mayor Lisa Knierim ( D, term on committee and as mayor ends December 31, 2025), Deputy Mayor Eman El-Badawi (D, term on committee ends 2027; term as deputy mayor ends 2025), Robert Christopher (D, 2027), Barbara F. Rogers (D, 2025) and Matthew A. Scott (D, 2026).Township Committee
Cranbury Township. Accessed January 5, 2025. "The Township Committee is the governing body established by State law for the Township form of government. The membership of the Cranbury Township Committee was expanded from three to five in January 1990. The terms of the members are for three years, staggered, so that at least one member is up for election every year. The membership annually chooses one of the members as Mayor."Tuesday, November 5 General Election Official Results

Middlesex County, New Jersey Middlesex County is a County (United States), county located in the North Jersey, north-Central Jersey, central part of the U.S. state of New Jersey, extending inland from the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region to the northern portion of the ...

, updated November 27, 2024. Accessed January 1, 2025.November 7, 2023 General Election Official Results

, December 7, 2023. Accessed January 1, 2024.November 8, 2022 General Election Official Results

, updated November 22, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023. In 2023, the township had the lowest effective property tax rate in Middlesex County at 1.621%. In 2018, the township had an average property tax bill of $11,960, the highest in the county, compared to an average bill of $8,767 statewide.

Federal, state and county representation

Cranbury Township is located in the 12th Congressional DistrictPlan Components Report

New Jersey Redistricting Commission The New Jersey Redistricting Commission is a constitutional body of the government of New Jersey tasked with redrawing the state's Congressional election districts after each decade's census. Like Arizona, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, and Washington ...

, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020. and is part of New Jersey's 14th state legislative district.Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District

New Jersey Department of State The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing New Jersey State Council on the Arts, artistic, cultural, and New Jersey Historical Com ...

. Accessed February 1, 2020.''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
New Jersey

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

. Accessed October 30, 2019.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 2,768 registered voters in Cranbury Township, of which 836 (30.2%) were registered as Democrats, 684 (24.7%) were registered as

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and 1,246 (45.0%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 2 voters registered as either

Libertarians Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

or Greens. In the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

, Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

received 52.0% of the vote (1,076 cast), ahead of Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

with 46.9% (971 votes), and other candidates with 1.1% (22 votes), among the 2,082 ballots cast by the township's 2,839 registered voters (13 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 73.3%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 53.0% of the vote (1,153 cast), ahead of Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

with 45.3% (986 votes) and other candidates with 1.3% (29 votes), among the 2,176 ballots cast by the township's 2,777 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.4%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

received 50.8% of the vote (1,044 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

with 48.0% (987 votes) and other candidates with 0.9% (23 votes), among the 2,055 ballots cast by the township's 2,510 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 81.9. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...

received 67.1% of the vote (941 cast), ahead of Democrat

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

with 31.3% (439 votes), and other candidates with 1.6% (22 votes), among the 1,421 ballots cast by the township's 2,850 registered voters (19 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 49.9%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 54.6% of the vote (901 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006, and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran f ...

with 35.5% (585 votes), Independent

Chris Daggett Christopher Jarvis Daggett (born March 7, 1950) is an American businessman who is the president and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, one of the largest foundations in New Jersey. A former regional administrator of the United States En ...

with 8.7% (144 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (11 votes), among the 1,649 ballots cast by the township's 2,711 registered voters, yielding a 60.8% turnout.

Education

The

Cranbury School District Cranbury School District is a public school district located in and serving students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Cranbury, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, ...

serves children in public school for

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

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 The student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio refers to the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers or staff in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that ...

of 7.7:1.District information for Cranbury Township School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

. Accessed February 1, 2024. For the 2016–17 school year, Cranbury School was formally designated as a

National Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

, 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 In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

s, students move on to Princeton High School in

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

, as part of a

sending/receiving relationship A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts hav ...

with the Princeton Public Schools. Cranbury Township is granted a seat on the Princeton Regional Schools

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

, 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

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 Magnet Schools The Middlesex County Magnet Schools, formerly known as the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools, is a public school district that provides a network of high schools serving the vocational and technical education needs of students i ...

, a county-wide vocational school district that offers full-time career and technical education at its schools in

East Brunswick East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York metropolitan area and is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to New Br ...

, Edison,

Perth Amboy Perth Amboy is a city in northeastern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", re ...

Piscataway Piscataway may refer to: *Maryland (place) **Piscataway, Maryland, an unincorporated community ** Piscataway Creek, Maryland ** Piscataway Park, historical park at the mouth of Piscataway Creek ** Siege of Piscataway, siege of Susquehannock fort sou ...

and Woodbridge Township, 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

The Cranbury Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

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 The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on September 18, 1980, for its significance in architecture and commerce. The district includes 177

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

, including the Old Cranbury School, which was added individually to the NRHP in 1971. With Many buildings on Cranbury's Main Street and in the surrounding area date to the 18th or 19th century. File:1 North Main Street, Cranbury, NJ.jpg, The John S. Silvers Mansion, built in 1886 File:Cranbury, New Jersey 005.jpg, 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 Queen Anne style of British architecture refers to either the English Baroque architecture of the time of Queen Anne (who reigned from 1702 to 1714) or the British Queen Anne Revival form that became popular during the last quarter of th ...

. 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 A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more List of types of mill#Manufacturing facilities, mills or factories, often cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe ...

during the 18th/19th centuries. It was located along

Cranbury Brook Cranbury Brook, also known as Cranberry Brook, is a tributary of the Millstone River in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties, New Jersey in the United States. Course Cranbury Brook starts at , near the intersection of SR-33, Dugans Grove Road, and ...

, a tributary of the

Millstone River The Millstone River is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002. The Millstone River begins in western Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth Co ...

(which in turn is a major tributary of the

Raritan River The Raritan River is a river of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its Drainage basin, watershed drains much of the mountainous areas in the North Jersey, northern and Central Jersey, central sections of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay near ...

). File:6 South Main Street, Cranbury, NJ.jpg, Elizabeth M. Wagner History Center File:Cranberry Mills, Cranbury, NJ - information sign.jpg, Information on Cranberry Mills

Places of worship

The First Presbyterian Church was founded and the current church was built in 1839. The United Methodist Church was built in 1848. Both are contributing properties of the historic district. File:1stPresbyterianCranbury.jpg, First Presbyterian Church File:United Methodist Church, Cranbury, NJ.jpg, United Methodist Church

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Middlesex County and by the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transport ...

and by the

New Jersey Turnpike Authority The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) is a state agency responsible for maintaining the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, which are two toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The agency is headquartered in Woodbridge Town ...

. Several major roads and highways pass through the township Cranbury hosts a section of

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

(the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although ma ...

). 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 U.S. Route 130 (US 130) is a United States Numbered Highway System, U.S. Highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 30 in New Jersey, U.S. Route 30, located completely within the state of New Jersey. It is signed with north and south cardinal di ...

, 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 is a 355-bed regional

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

and

academic medical center The Academic Medical Center (Dutch: ''Academisch Medisch Centrum''), or AMC, was the university hospital affiliated with the University of Amsterdam. After merging with the VU University Medical Center, it now operates as the Amsterdam Universi ...

located in neighboring Plainsboro Township. The hospital services the greater

region in

central New Jersey Central Jersey, or Central New Jersey, is the middle region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation Central Jersey is a distinct administrative division, administrative toponymy, toponym. While New Jersey is often divided into North Je ...

. 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 CentraState Healthcare System is a non-for-profit community health organization located in Freehold Township, New Jersey, Freehold, New Jersey. CentraState Healthcare serves patients in western Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, northe ...

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 New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

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 The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...

women's basketball team *

Todd Beamer Todd Morgan Beamer (November 24, 1968 – September 11, 2001) was an American passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was aircraft hijacking, hijacked and crashed as part of the September 11 attacks in 2001. He was one of the passenger ...

(1968–2001), passenger aboard

United Airlines Flight 93 United Airlines Flight 93 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda terrorists on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The hijackers planned to crash the plane into a feder ...

, who said "

Let's roll "Let's roll" is a colloquialism that has been used extensively as a command to move and start an activity, attack, mission or project. They were the last recorded words of passenger Todd Beamer on board United Airlines Flight 93 during the Septe ...

" to fellow passengers with whom he was planning an attack on terrorists who had taken over the cockpit * Scott Brunner (born 1957),

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

who played in the NFL from 1981 to 1986, most notably for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

* Ronald C. Davidson (1941–2016), physicist, professor and scientific administrator who served as the first director of the

MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center The Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a university research center for the study of Plasma (physics), plasmas, Nuclear fusion, fusion science and technology. It was originally founded i ...

and as director of the

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is know ...

Wendy Gooditis Gwendolyn Wallace Gooditis is an American real estate agent, educator, and politician, known as Wendy Gooditis. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Gooditis was elected in November 2017 to represent Virginia's 10th House of Delegates di ...

(born Gwendolyn Wallace in 1960), politician who represents

Virginia's 10th House of Delegates district Virginia's 10th House of Delegates district elects one of the 100 members of the Virginia House of Delegates, the lower house of the state's bicameral legislature. The district includes portions of Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County. The di ...

in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

* Noah Harlan,

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

maker * Ralph Izzo, businessman and former nuclear physicist; chairman, president and CEO of

Public Service Enterprise Group The Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc. (PSEG) is a publicly traded energy company based in Newark, New Jersey. It was founded in 1985, with its roots tracing back to 1903. Its largest subsidiary is Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE ...

* Hughie Lee-Smith (1915–1999), artist * Cicero Hunt Lewis (1826–1897), merchant * Robert Lougy, judge on the

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts: under Article Six of the State Consti ...

who served as acting

New Jersey Attorney General The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confi ...

in 1996 * Charles McKnight (1750–1791), physician during and after the American Revolutionary War *

Jan Morris Catharine Jan MorrisJan Morris, Paul Clements, University of Wales Press, 2008, p. 7 (born James Humphry Morris; 2 October 192620 November 2020) was a Welsh historian, author and travel writer. She was known particularly for the '' Pax Brita ...

(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 Henry Perrine (5 April 1797 – 7 August 1840) was a physician, horticulturist, United States Consul in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico, and an enthusiast for introducing tropical plants into cultivation in the United States. Early life Henry Edwa ...

(1797–1840), physician, horticulturist and enthusiast for introducing tropical plants into cultivation in the US * Jessica Lee Ware (born 1977), Canadian-American

evolutionary biologist Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes such as natural selection, common descent, and speciation that produced the diversity of life on Earth. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biol ...

and

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

In popular culture

Cranbury is referenced in the 2014 movie ''

Edge of Tomorrow ''Edge of Tomorrow'' is a 2014 American science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Doug Liman and written by Christopher McQuarrie and the writing team of Jez Butterworth, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, loosely based on th ...

'', as the hometown of Major William Cage (played by

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...

). When asked if people of Cranbury plant cranberries, Cage answered: "Tomatoes, best I've ever had."Whitty, Stephen
"''Edge of Tomorrow'' review: Tom Cruise saves the world, maybe"
''

Inside Jersey ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'', May 28, 2014. Accessed August 25, 2022. "Tom Cruise is the hero (from Cranbury, N.J. no less) and he does the usual heroic Tom Cruise things — running hard, riding a motorcycle and acting cocky."

References

External links

Cranbury Township official website

Cranbury Public Library website

Cranbury Township School District
*
Data for Cranbury Township School

Princeton High School

Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society
* {{Authority control 1872 establishments in New Jersey Cannabis in New Jersey Populated places established in 1872 Township form of New Jersey government Townships in New Jersey Townships in Middlesex County, New Jersey