West Windsor, New Jersey
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West Windsor 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 Mercer County, in 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 ...
of
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 ...
. Located at the cross-roads between the Delaware Valley region to the southwest and the Raritan Valley region to the northeast, the township is considered to be an outer-ring
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 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 ...
in 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 ...
, as defined by 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 ...
. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 29,518, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 2,353 (+8.7%) from the 27,165 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 5,258 (+24.0%) from the 21,907 counted in the 2000 census. West Windsor and adjacent East Windsor were established 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 February 9, 1797, and incorporated on February 21, 1798, as two of the state's initial group of 104 townships, by partitioning provincial Windsor Township. The
Borough of Princeton The Borough of Princeton was a borough of New Jersey that existed from 1813 until the end of 2012. On January 1, 2013, it merged with Princeton Township to form Princeton, New Jersey; both the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township were d ...
, now part of
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 ...
, was formed from a portion of the township on February 11, 1813.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 175. Accessed May 30, 2024.
The township is closely associated with the more widely known municipality and several localities within West Windsor use ''Princeton'' in their name, the most notable of those being Princeton Junction. The Princeton 08540 post office facility is located within West Windsor, and covers parts of the township designated by Princeton mailing addresses. A portion of
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, covering south of
Lake Carnegie Lake Carnegie is a reservoir that straddles the borders of the towns of Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, West Windsor, New Jersey, West Windsor, Plainsboro, New Jersey, Plainsboro and South Brunswick, New Jersey, South Brunswick in Mercer County ...
, is located in West Windsor.The Campus as a Work in Progress
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
. Accessed July 19, 2014.
The university agreed in 2009 to make an annual
payment in lieu of taxes A payment in lieu of taxes, abbreviated as PILT or PILOT, is a payment made to compensate a government for some or all of the property tax revenue lost due to tax exempt ownership or use of real property. Canada In Canada, payment in lieu of taxes ...
of $50,000 that would be indexed to inflation to cover of land in the township that the university had purchased in 2002. West Windsor is frequently ranked among some of the highest-income municipalities in New Jersey. In 2008, ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' listed West Windsor as the 15th most affluent neighborhood in the U.S. Using 2012–2016 data from the U.S. Census Bureau,
NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore reports that ...
listed the township as the 9th highest-income in the state in its January 2018 article "The 19 wealthiest towns in New Jersey, ranked." Based on data from the
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 ...
for 2013–2017, West Windsor residents had a
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 ...
of $175,684, ranked 4th in the state among municipalities with more than 10,000 residents, more than double the statewide median of $76,475.


History

Prior to individual European land acquisition and settlement around the turn of the 18th century, the primary residents of West Windsor were the
Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...
Native Americans. The Assanhicans (Assunpinks) were the subtribe that inhabited the greater Trenton area; artifacts from their society are still found in West Windsor.Indigenous Peoples
Historical Society of West Windsor. Accessed December 17, 2024.
In 1634, and English captain named Thomas Yong explored the Delaware River, up to the general Trenton area. Had his crew followed the Assunpink northeastward, their path would have taken them to the general West Windsor area. However, they did not, and the identity of the first European person to set foot in West Windsor is unknown. The West Windsor area was within Piscataway Township when it was chartered on December 18, 1666. This changed upon the formation of Middlesex County in 1683.West Windsor's Predecessors
Historical Society of West Windsor. Accessed December 17, 2024.
New Windsor Township (West Windsor's predecessor), known later as Windsor Township, was unofficially formed in 1730/1731, and officially created by
Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
on March 9, 1751, from a partition of Piscataway Township. Its borders encompassed today's West Windsor Township, East Windsor Township, Hightstown Borough and Robbinsville Township, as well as present-day Princeton southeast of Nassau Street and portions of present-day Millstone Township and Monroe Township. In 1756,
The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, ...
relocated to
Nassau Hall Nassau Hall, colloquially known as Old Nassau, is the oldest building at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. In 1783 it served as the United States Capitol building for four months. ...
in the village of Princeton. When West Windsor and East Windsor were created from the division of Windsor Township on February 9, 1797, West Windsor's boundaries extended up to Nassau Street. Following the 1838 formation of Mercer County and further land acquisitions by Princeton in 1843 and 1853, West Windsor's borders were again redefined to reflect the township's current . Historically, West Windsor relied heavily upon agriculture. Common products were wheat, tomatoes, rye, and potatoes. This farming identity dominated the township from its first settlement until the last half of the 20th century, and was really only extinguished upon the township's most rapid period of growth from the late 1970s-the 2000s. However, this agrarian dominance incentivized the institution of slavery as well. Although records are sparse, township censuses indicate 190 slaves in Windsor Township in 1790. In West Windsor, there were 21 slaves in 1830 and 3 in 1840. Additionally, several late 1700s wills and 1800s "abandonments" show the presence of slavery in the township around the turn of the 19th century. West Windsor never developed a centralized "downtown." Instead, The township contained within it (entirely or partly) several small hamlets whose names and locations are still identifiable and/or in use in contemporary times. They are as follows: :* Aqueduct Mills – centered at Mapleton Avenue, Lower Harrison Street, and the Millstone River. Partly located in Plainsboro. :* Canal/Princeton Basin – at the intersection of Alexander Road and the Delaware & Raritan Canal. Partially located in Princeton. :* Clarksville – at the intersection of Route 1 and Quakerbridge Road. :* Dutch Neck – at the intersection of Village Roads East/West and South Mill Road. :* Edinburg – at the intersection of Old Trenton and Edinburg Roads. :* Jugtown/Queenston – at the intersection of Nassau and Harrison Streets. Now fully located in Princeton. :* Grovers Mill – at the intersection of Cranbury and Clarksville Roads. :* Penns Neck – Centered at the intersection of Washington Road and Route 1. :* Port Windsor/Mercer – at the end of Quakerbridge Road at the Delaware Canal. Partially located in Lawrence. :* Princeton Junction – Initially centered at the Princeton Junction Train Station. Manifested after the mid-1860s relocation of the Camden and Amboy Railroad line (now the Northeast Corridor) and opening of the current station. Grover's Mill in West Windsor was the site
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
chose for the Martian invasion in his infamous 1938 radio broadcast of ''
The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...
''.History
Township or West Windsor. Accessed April 6, 2012. "Martians from the Orson Welles produced radio drama based on the book The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. In this drama, the audience was told that an alien spacecraft had landed on a farm near Grovers Mill, located in West Windsor."
During the later part of the 20th century the township underwent dramatic changes, driven mainly by a major boom in new housing developments. For generations, West Windsor had existed mostly as a sparsely populated agricultural community according to a 1999 article in ''
The New York Times ''The 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 ...
'', the township "has grown into a sprawl of expensive houses in carefully groomed developments, and home to nearly 20,000 people", since the 1970s. The West Windsor post office was found to be infected with anthrax during the
2001 anthrax attacks The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax (a portmanteau of "United States, America" and "anthrax", from its FBI case name), occurred in the United States over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, one week after th ...
.Kleinfeld, N. R
A Nation Challenged: The Sites; Anthrax Closes a 3rd New Jersey Post Office
''
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 ...
'', October 28, 2001. Accessed September 17, 2011. "New Jersey health officials said the bin at the Princeton Main Post Office in neighboring West Windsor tested positive for what they said was a tiny, 'single colony' of anthrax. Some 60 to 70 people work at the center."
In April 2002, a memorial was dedicated to the seven residents of West Windsor who died in the
September 11 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. In October 2019, the Historical Society of West Windsor published an online museum exploring the history of West Windsor.


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 26.25 square miles (68.00 km2), including 25.55 square miles (66.17 km2) of land and 0.71 square miles (1.83 km2) of water (2.69%). Princeton Junction (with a 2010 Census population of 2,465) 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 ...
located within West Windsor.New Jersey: 2010 – Population and Housing Unit Counts – 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32)
United States Census Bureau, August 2012. Accessed July 23, 2013.
Other unincorporated communities in the township include Berrien City, Dutch Neck, Edinburg, Grover's Mill,
Millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, used for triturating, crushing or, more specifically, grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a s ...
, Penns Neck, Port Mercer, Post Corner, and Princeton Ivy East. The township borders the municipalities of East Windsor,
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, Lawrence Township,
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 ...
and Robbinsville in Mercer County; and
Plainsboro Plainsboro Township is a Township (New Jersey), township situated in southern Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Centrally located in the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region, the township is an ou ...
in Middlesex County. The
Howard Hughes Corporation Howard Hughes Holdings Inc., formerly the Howard Hughes Corporation, is a real estate development and management company based in The Woodlands, Texas. It was formed in 2010 as a spin-off from General Growth Properties (GGP). Most of its holding ...
has proposed redevelopment of a tract of land bounded by the Northeast Corridor train line, Route 1, and Quakerbridge Road, which includes land once owned by
American Cyanamid American Cyanamid Company was an American manufacturing conglomerate. It began as a fertilizer company and added many additional lines of business before merging with American Home Products in 1994. The combined company sold off most of its di ...
and last used up until 2002 as an agricultural research facility by
BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...
; in of 2017 a plan was proposed to create
mixed-use development Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...
that would include 2,000 residences along with of retail and commercial space on the site, which is currently zoned for commercial use. The local school district has developed a report identifying significant potential growth in the number of students enrolling from this and other residential development in both West Windsor and Plainsboro. In 2019, Atlantic Realty purchased the property, and in November 2020 they and the township reached an agreement to restrict the tract to non-residential use and convert it to warehouse space. The West Windsor Planning Board granted approval to build 5.5 million square feet of warehouse space (called "Bridge Point 8") on June 29, 2022."


Climate

According to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, West Windsor Township has a Hot-summer
Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(''Dfa'').


Ecology

According to the
A. W. Kuchler August William Kuchler (born ''August Wilhelm Küchler''; 26 July 1907 – 17 June 1999) was a German-born American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system that has become widely used in the United Sta ...
U.S.
potential natural vegetation In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental constraints (climate, geomorphology, geology) without human intervention or a hazard event ...
types, West Windsor Township would have a dominant vegetation type of Appalachian
Oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
(''104'') with a dominant vegetation form of Eastern
Hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...
Forest (''25'').U.S. Potential Natural Vegetation, Original Kuchler Types, v2.0 (Spatially Adjusted to Correct Geometric Distortions)
Data Basin, Accessed November 26, 2019.


Demographics

AOL/NeighborhoodScout named West Windsor in 2009 as the best neighborhood to raise children because of its school district (top 7% in New Jersey, top 3% nationwide), prevailing family type (families with school-aged children), and neighborhood safety (safer than 97% of neighborhoods). As of January 2018 the township's population was the second most educated in the state of New Jersey, according to an analysis by NJ.com. The percent of residents with a bachelor's degree or higher was 81.7%, with 48% of residents holding advanced graduate or professional degrees.


2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 27,165 people, 9,449 households, and 7,606 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 . There were 9,810 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 54.94% (14,924)
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 ...
, 3.67% (998) Black or African American, 0.09% (25) Native American, 37.71% (10,245) Asian, 0.04% (10)
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 ...
, 0.97% (263) from other races, and 2.58% (700) from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...
of any race were 4.47% (1,213) of the population. Of the 9,449 households, 45.5% had children under the age of 18; 73.0% were married couples living together; 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 19.5% were non-families. Of all households, 16.7% were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.23. 28.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.6 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 91.4 males. The Census Bureau's 2006–2010
American Community Survey 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 In economics, nominal value refers to value measured in terms of absolute money amounts, whereas real value is considered and measured against the actual goods or services for which it can be exchanged at a given time. Real value takes into acco ...
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 $137,265 (with a margin of error of +/− $12,610) and the median family income was $156,110 (+/− $6,769). Males had a median income of $120,662 (+/− $6,410) versus $71,151 (+/− $9,841) for females. The per capita income for the township was $59,946 (+/− $3,307). About 3.6% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.


2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census there were 21,907 people, 7,282 households, and 5,985 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 7,450 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 71.53% White, 2.76% African American, 0.08% Native American, 22.76% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.08% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.07% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for West Windsor township, Mercer County, New Jersey
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 ...
. Accessed April 23, 2012.
DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 – Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for West Windsor township, Mercer County, New Jersey
,
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 ...
. Accessed July 13, 2012.
As of the 2000 Census, 8.31% of West Windsor's residents identified themselves as being of
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
ancestry. This was the fourth highest percentage of people with Chinese ancestry in any place in New Jersey with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry. There were 7,282 households, out of which 50.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.3% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.8% were non-families. 14.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.36. In the township the population was spread out, with 31.8% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $116,335, and the median income for a family was $127,877. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $56,002 for females. The per capita income for the township was $48,511. About 2.0% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.


Economy

West Windsor's economy includes a mix of corporate, retail and local services.
NRG Energy NRG Energy, Inc. is an American energy company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. It was formerly the wholesale arm of Northern States Power Company (NSP), which became Xcel Energy, but became independent in 2000. NRG Energy is involved in energ ...
, a company specializing in electricity generation and retail, has its corporate headquarters located in West Windsor. The township benefits from its proximity to New York City and Philadelphia, making it an attractive location for businesses and sectors such as finance, technology, and healthcare. Several small and medium-sized enterprises operate within the township, ranging from local startups to regional offices of larger corporations. Retail centers, such as the
MarketFair MarketFair (also referred to as MarketFair Mall) is a shopping mall in West Windsor, New Jersey, with a Princeton mailing address. With a gross leasable area of , the mall is located along U.S. Route 1, between New York City and Philadelphia. Ab ...
in West Windsor, and the nearby
Quaker Bridge Mall Quaker Bridge Mall is a two-level super-regional mall located in the Clarksville section of Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey. As of 2022, the mall features the traditional anchors Macy's and JCPenney. The mall currently features pr ...
in Lawrence Township, also drive commerce and attract customers from surrounding communities. Agriculture remains a small but notable part of West Windsor's economy, with local farms contributing to the region's farmers' markets and community-supported agriculture programs. These farms offer fresh produce and promote agricultural practices that appeal to environmentally-conscious residents. The township's support for green initiatives and environmentally-friendly policies has also made it an appealing place for businesses and residents focused on sustainability.


Arts and culture

The West Windsor Arts Center is the junction where the arts and community meet. They offer performances, classes, workshops, exhibitions, literary arts events and various other special events. It is located in the historic Princeton Junction Firehouse. The Mercer County Italian-American Festival, established in 2000 and held annually in West Windsor, celebrated its 20th annual event in September 2019.


MCTV 26

Mercer County Television channel 26 is an Educational-access television station in West Windsor that is owned and operated by
Mercer County Community College Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is a Public university, public, community college in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. More than 7,000 students enroll in one or more credit courses each year. Esta ...
. The
student television station A student television station is a television station run by university, high or middle school students that primarily airs school/university news and in many cases, student-produced soap operas, entertainment shows, and other programming. At the h ...
is transmitted to all of
Mercer County, New Jersey Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...
, via cable TV channel 26 on
Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications business segment and division of the Comcast Corporation. It is used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless servic ...
and
Optimum Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled ''optimisation'') or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criteria, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfiel ...
, reaching an excess of 90,000 households. MCTV was added as Verizon FiOS channel 20 in Mercer County starting in 2009.


Parks and recreation

Richard J. Coffee Mercer County Park is located on Old Trenton Road. Administered by the
Mercer County Park Commission Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (automobile), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City, US * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or tra ...
and located primarily in West Windsor, it has athletic fields, a dog park, picnic grounds, a newly renovated boathouse and marina on
Mercer Lake Mercer Lake, also known as Lake Mercer, is a man-made lake within Mercer County Park in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, West Windsor, Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. History The lake came into being with ...
, bike trails and an ice skating rink that is home to the Mercer Bulldogs special hockey team. The West Windsor Community Park is a public park which serves as the primary park for active recreation. Facilities include a playground, jogging/bicycling paths, basketball courts, dog parks, a skate park, tennis courts and
pickleball Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played i ...
courts. This park also features 3 baseball fields and an indoor baseball facility where many children go to train. The park is also home to the West Windsor Waterworks Family Aquatics Center. Duck Pond Park is a park under construction located off Meadow Road between the intersections with Clarksville Road and Bear Brook Road, bordering
Duck Pond Run Duck Pond Run is a tributary of the Stony Brook in Mercer County, New Jersey in the United States. Course Duck Pond Run starts at , within West Windsor. It flows west, crossing Penn Lyle Road and North Post Road before flowing through the Du ...
. It is designed to be a "second community park" for the township. As of 2015, lighted soccer fields have been completed and in use by the West Windsor–Plainsboro Soccer Association, as well as tennis, volleyball and basketball courts. Future plans include a playground, picnic areas, an amphitheater, and a fishing pond.


Government


Local government

West Windsor is governed under the
Faulkner Act The Optional Municipal Charter Law or Faulkner Act (, et seq.) provides New Jersey municipalities with a variety of models of local government. This legislation is called the Faulkner Act in honor of the late Bayard H. Faulkner, former mayor ...
(formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law) within the mayor-council form of New Jersey municipal government (Plan 6), implemented based on the recommendations of a
Charter Study Commission The Optional Municipal Charter Law or Faulkner Act (, et seq.) provides New Jersey municipalities with a variety of models of local government. This legislation is called the Faulkner Act in honor of the late Bayard H. Faulkner, former mayor ...
as of July 1, 1993.''2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'', Rutgers University – Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 70. The township is one of 71 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government. From the time of its formation in 1797, until 1993, the township was governed by a township committee, which combined both executive and legislative authority. In May 1993, West Windsor residents voted to change their form of government to a Faulkner Act form of government. The governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the five-member Township Council. Under the township's mayor-council form of government, the mayor and council function as independent branches of government. The mayor is the chief executive of the township and heads its administration. The mayor is elected in a
non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...
election and serves for a four-year term. The mayor may attend council meetings but is not obligated to do so. The council is the legislative branch. The five members of the township council are elected on a non-partisan basis for four-year terms on a staggered basis, with either two seats (and the mayoral seat) or three seats up for vote in odd-numbered years as part of the November general election. At the annual organizational meeting held during the first week of January of each year, the Council elects a president and vice president to serve for one-year terms. The council president chairs the meetings of the governing body. Starting in 2011, the township's elections were shifted from May to November as part of an effort to lower costs of running standalone municipal elections and as part of an effort to increase voter participation. , the mayor of West Windsor is Hemant Marathe, whose term of office ends December 31, 2025;Office of the Mayor
West Windsor Township. Accessed June 14, 2022.
Marathe is the first Indian-American to serve as the township's mayor. Members of the West Windsor Township Council are Council President Andrea Sue Mandel (2023), Council Vice President Michael Ray Stevens (2023), Sonia Gawas (2023), Linda Geevers (2023) and Martin Whitfield (2025).Mercer County Elected Officials
Mercer County, New Jersey Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...
, as of January 6, 2021. Accessed April 28, 2022.
General Election November 2, 2021 Official Results
Mercer County, New Jersey Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...
, updated November 20, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.
General Election November 2019 Official Results (Amended November 25, 2019)
Mercer County, New Jersey Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...
, updated December 9, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020.
In June 2017, council president Peter Mendonez resigned from office. Council vice president Allison Miller was chosen to serve as acting council president and Jyotika Bahree was appointed to fill the vacant seat left by Miller expiring in December 2019. In the November 2018 general election, Yingchao "YZ" Zhang was elected to serve the balance of the term of office.General Election November 6, 2018 Official Results
Mercer County, New Jersey Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...
, updated November 13, 2018. Accessed January 1, 2019.
In June 2015, the township council selected Hemant Marathe to fill the vacant seat expiring December 2015 of Kristina Samonte, who had resigned from office in the previous month as she was relocating out of the township.


Federal, state and county representation

West Windsor 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 15th 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 16,034 registered voters in West Windsor, of which 5,384 (33.6%) were registered as Democrats, 2,968 (18.5%) 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 7,672 (47.8%) were registered as unaffiliated. There were 10 voters registered as
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 63.1% of the vote (7,769 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 35.7% (4,401 votes), and other candidates with 1.2% (148 votes), among the 14,045 ballots cast by the township's 17,891 registered voters (1,727 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 78.5%. In the 2008 presidential election, Obama received 64.3% of the vote (7,895 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 33.3% (4,092 votes) and other candidates with 1.0% (125 votes), among the 12,273 ballots cast by the township's 16,548 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.2%. In the 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 63.0% of the vote (4,983 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 35.3% (2,793 votes), and other candidates with 1.7% (137 votes), among the 8,181 ballots cast by the township's 17,648 registered voters (268 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 46.4%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat
Jon Corzine 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 ...
received 49.5% of the vote (3,918 ballots cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 43.4% (3,436 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 6.0% (474 votes) and other candidates with 0.4% (34 votes), among the 7,914 ballots cast by the township's 16,267 registered voters, yielding a 48.7% turnout.


Education


Colleges and universities

West Windsor is the site of the West Windsor Campus of
Mercer County Community College Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is a Public university, public, community college in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. More than 7,000 students enroll in one or more credit courses each year. Esta ...
. Princeton University's satellite campus is located in West Windsor.


Public

West Windsor and
Plainsboro Plainsboro Township is a Township (New Jersey), township situated in southern Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Centrally located in the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region, the township is an ou ...
are part of a combined school district, the
West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District The West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District is a comprehensive high achieving regional public school district in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from West Windsor Township (in ...
, which serves students in
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
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 ...
from the two communities. The district has four elementary schools (grades Pre-K/K–3), two upper elementary schools (grades 4 and 5), two middle schools (grades 6–8) and two high schools (grades 9–12). As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of 10 schools, had an enrollment of 9,386 students and 773.2 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 12.1:1.District information for West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional 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 15, 2022.
Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the
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 ...
) are Dutch Neck Elementary School (located in West Windsor: 704 students; in grades K-3), Maurice Hawk Elementary School (West Windsor: 723; K-3), Town Center Elementary School (Plainsboro: 431; PreK-2), J.V.B. Wicoff Elementary School (Plainsboro: 349; K-3), Millstone River School (Plainsboro: 967; 3–5), Village School (West Windsor: 617; 4–5), Community Middle School (Plainsboro: 1,131; 6–8), Thomas R. Grover Middle School (West Windsor: 1,208; 6–8),
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North (also known as WW-P North or North) is a four-year public comprehensive high school located in Plainsboro Township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school serves students in n ...
(Plainsboro: 1,521; 9–12) and
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South (known locally as WW-P South or South) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in the Princeton Junction section of West Windsor in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, ser ...
(West Windsor: 1,649; 9–12). The district is overseen by a directly elected nine-member
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, ...
whose seats are allocated to the two constituent municipalities based on population, with five of the nine seats allocated to West Windsor. Three of the district's schools have been recognized by the
National Blue Ribbon Schools Program 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, ...
. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South was recognized during the 1992–1993 school year and Maurice Hawk Elementary School was recognized in 1993–1994,Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982–1983 through 1999–2002 (PDF)
, United States Department of Education. Accessed December 2, 2013.
while West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North was recognized in the 2006–2007 school year. Eighth grade students from all of Mercer County are eligible to apply to attend the high school programs offered by the
Mercer County Technical Schools Mercer County Technical Schools (MCTS), also known as the Area Vocational Technical Schools of Mercer County, is a public technical school district serving Mercer County, New Jersey. Its two campuses are located in West Windsor and Penningt ...
, a county-wide vocational school district that offers full-time career and technical education at its Health Sciences Academy, STEM Academy and Academy of Culinary Arts, with no tuition charged to students for attendance.


Private

The
Wilberforce School The Wilberforce School is a private, classical Christian school in Princeton, New Jersey, serving students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Founded in 2005, the school is named in honor of abolitionist William Wilberforce. The Head of S ...
, a K–12 school founded in 2005 that offers a
Classical Christian education The classical education movement or renewal advocates for a return to a traditional European education based on the liberal arts (including the natural sciences), the Western canons of classical literature, the fine arts, and the history of W ...
, moved to new facilities in the township in 2014.


Infrastructure


Transportation


Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Mercer 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 ...
.
U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, ...
is the largest and busiest highway in West Windsor, crossing the northwestern sections of the township, oriented southwest to northeast. CR 533 (Quakerbridge Road) passes along the western border with Lawrence. CR 526 and CR 571 are multiplexed together from the northwestern part of the township until they split in the center of the municipality. CR 535 passes through in the south and serves Mercer County Community College. Route 64 is a short, unsigned state highway that runs concurrent with CR 526/CR 571 where they cross the
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...
rail line. Other major roads that are accessible in neighboring municipalities include: Interstate 295 in Hamilton and Lawrence, Interstate 195 in Hamilton and Robbinsville, and 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 ...
(
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 ...
) in Robbinsville (Exit 7A) and East Windsor (Exit 8).


Public transportation

Princeton Junction station Princeton Junction station (signed as Princeton Junction at West Windsor) is a railroad station in Princeton Junction, a section of West Windsor Township, Mercer County, New Jersey. The station services both New Jersey Transit's Northeast Cor ...
, a
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...
stop on
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
and
NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...
, is located within West Windsor. Amtrak's
Keystone Service The ''Keystone Service'' is a 195 mile (314 km) regional passenger train service from Amtrak, that operates between the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, running along the P ...
and
Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busie ...
routes stop at Princeton Junction which is ranked as one of the ten busiest train stations in the Northeast. The station had 6,800 average weekday boardings in 2012, the fourth-highest of any NJ Transit station in the state.NJ Transit Facts at a Glance – Fiscal Year 2012
, New Jersey Transit. Accessed December 2, 2013.
Running between the Princeton Junction station and the Princeton station is what is known to locals as the "
Dinky Dinky may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dinky Toys, a brand of die-cast toy vehicles * Dinky (film), a 1935 film starring Jackie Cooper * Dinky Bossetti, protagonist of the 1990 film ''Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael'', played by Winona Ryde ...
." The Dinky is a one-car train that shuttles back and forth many times a day between the two stations. Traveling each way, it is the shortest regularly scheduled passenger route in the United States. NJ Transit bus service to Trenton is provided via the
600 __NOTOC__ Year 600 ( DC) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 600 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for ...
,
603 __NOTOC__ Year 603 ( DCIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 603 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe ...
,
609 __NOTOC__ Year 609 ( DCIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 609 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europ ...
, with other area service on the
605 Year 605 ( DCV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 605 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming yea ...
route. The Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association offers service on Route 130 between the West Windsor Campus of
Mercer County Community College Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is a Public university, public, community college in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. More than 7,000 students enroll in one or more credit courses each year. Esta ...
and East Windsor Township /
Hightstown Hightstown is a borough in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nestled within the Raritan Valley region, Hightstown is an historic, commercial, and cultural hub of Central New Jersey, along with being a diverse outer-ring commuter ...
.


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
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 ...
region in
Central 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 toponym. While New Jersey is often divided into North Jersey and South Jersey, many resi ...
. It is owned by the Penn Medicine Health System and is the only such hospital in the state of New Jersey. The PMC network offers a wide array of services at its main campus location in Plainsboro, along with its network of primary and specialty care through its family-based physician practice locations across Central Jersey. One of those physician practices has a primary and specialty care unit in West Windsor, located on Princeton-Hightstown Road. 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 nearby Freehold Township, the Old Bridge Township division of Raritan Bay Medical Center, and the Hamilton Township division of
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital The Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) is a 965-bed hospital with campuses in New Brunswick, New Jersey, New Brunswick (Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick), and Somerville, New Jersey, Somerville, New Jersey (Rober ...
. Saint Peter's University Hospital and
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital The Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) is a 965-bed hospital with campuses in New Brunswick, New Jersey, New Brunswick (Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick), and Somerville, New Jersey, Somerville, New Jersey (Rober ...
are also located nearby in
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 West Windsor include: *
Jack Aker Jackie Delane Aker (born July 13, 1940) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Seattle Pilots, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, ...
(born 1940), former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
and
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
*
Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier and medical student who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in a ...
(born 1978), former
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...
* Kevin G. Chapman, author and attorney *
Aneesh Chopra Aneesh Paul Chopra (born July 13, 1972) is an American executive who served as the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States. He was appointed in 2009 by President Barack Obama and was at the White House through 2012. Chopra previously s ...
(born 1972), first
Chief Technology Officer of the United States The United States Chief Technology Officer (US CTO) is an official in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The U.S. CTO helps the President of the United States, president and their team harness the power of technology and data to benefit a ...
*
Stanley Dancer Stanley Franklin Dancer (July 25, 1927 – September 8, 2005) was an American harness racing driver and trainer. He was the only horseman to drive and train three Triple Crowns in horse racing. In total, he drove 23 Triple Crown winners. He ...
(1927–2005), harness racing driver and trainer *
Eileen Filler-Corn Eileen Robin Filler-Corn (born June 5, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Minority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates from January to April 2022, a position she previously held from 2019 to 2020. She previously s ...
(born 1964), member of 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 ...
since 2010 who was chosen in 2019 to become the first woman to serve as
Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...
* Douglas Forrester (born 1953), former mayor of West Windsor Township who was the Republican Party nominee for U.S. Senator in 2002 and for Governor of New Jersey in 2005 * John W. Hartmann (born 1967), politician who served in the
New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...
from the 15th Legislative District from 1992 to 1994 *
Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor, author, and film director. He made his film debut in ''Explorers (film), Explorers'' (1985), before making a breakthrough performance in ''Dead Poets Society'' (1989). Hawke starr ...
(born 1970), actor * Sachidananda Kangovi (born 1948), engineer and author * Katie Kellner (born 1991),
distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...
and coach who specializes in the
marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...
*
Kris Kolluri Kris Kolluri (born c. 1969) was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Gateway Development Commission, an agency formed under the auspices of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to construct a new railroad tunnel under the Hudson Ri ...
(born ), former Commissioner of 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 ...
* Matt Lalli (born 1986), professional lacrosse player for the
Boston Cannons The Boston Cannons are a professional field lacrosse team based in Boston, Massachusetts, that competes in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The team plays its home games at Harvard Stadium. The team competed in Major League Lacrosse (MLL) fro ...
of
Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001 Major League Lacrosse season, 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This w ...
*
Paul Lansky Paul Lansky (born June 18, 1944, in New York City) is an American composer. Biography Paul Lansky (born 1944) is an American composer. He was educated at Manhattan's High School of Music and Art, Queens College and Princeton University, studyi ...
(born 1944), composer * Ben H. Love (1930–2010), the eighth Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America serving from 1985 to 1993 *
Brad Mays Brad Mays (born May 30, 1955) is an independent filmmaker and stage director, living and working in Los Angeles, California. Background and education Mays was raised in the Edinburg section of West Windsor Township, New Jersey, attending the ...
(born 1955), screenwriter, award-winning stage and film director * Ramesses McGuiness (born 2000),
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who plays for the U.S. Virgin Islands national team *
Christopher McQuarrie Christopher McQuarrie (born October 25, 1968) is an American filmmaker. He received the BAFTA Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the neo-noir mystery film ''The Usual Suspects'' (1995). He made hi ...
(born 1968), screenwriter, director and producer who is a regular collaborator of director
Bryan Singer Bryan Jay Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed, as well as multiple television series. After graduating from the Univ ...
, with whom he co-wrote the screenplay of Singer's '' Public Access'', wrote the screenplay for ''
The Usual Suspects ''The Usual Suspects'' is a 1995 crime thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite and Kevin S ...
'', co-wrote and produced ''
Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...
'' and co-wrote ''
Jack the Giant Slayer ''Jack the Giant Slayer'' (previously titled ''Jack the Giant Killer'') is a 2013 American heroic fantasy, fantasy adventure film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Darren Lemke, Christopher McQuarrie and Dan Studney, from a story by Lemke ...
'' and ''
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'' *
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(born 1968), notorious 1990s California convicted criminals *
Glenn Michibata Glenn Michibata (born 13 June 1962) is a former professional tennis player and former head coach of the Princeton University Tigers tennis team. Playing career Collegiate career Before turning pro, Michibata was an All-American player at Pepp ...
(born 1962), retired professional tennis player who has been tennis coach of the
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* James Murphy (born 1970), singer, songwriter, DJ, electronic musician (as
LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American Dance-punk#Contemporary dance-punk, dance-punk revival band from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals ...
) *
John Forbes Nash Jr. John Forbes Nash Jr. (June 13, 1928 – May 23, 2015), known and published as John Nash, was an American mathematician who made fundamental contributions to game theory, real algebraic geometry, differential geometry, and partial differentia ...
(1928–2015), Nobel Prize-winning mathematician who was the subject of the film '' A Beautiful Mind'' * Taktin Oey (born 1986), composer * Fernando Perez (born 1983), former
Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...
outfielder, current
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
coach *
Steve Rogers Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely Comics ...
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*
Bryan Singer Bryan Jay Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed, as well as multiple television series. After graduating from the Univ ...
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David Zhuang David Zhuang (, born September 1, 1963) is a professional Chinese-born American table tennis player. Zhuang began playing table tennis competitively at age 11, and was a professional player at age 12. One of his schoolmates was Jiang Jialiang, t ...
(born 1963), Olympic table tennis playerMagaraci, Joel
"West Windsor's David Zhuang knocked off in table tennis"
''
The Star-Ledger ''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 ...
'', August 19, 2008. Accessed July 6, 2014.


References


External links


Official township web siteHistorical Society of West Windsor web site
{{Authority control 1798 establishments in New Jersey Faulkner Act (mayor–council) Populated places established in 1798 Townships in New Jersey Townships in Mercer County, New Jersey