Windsor is a small historic

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 Robbinsville Township (known as Washington Township until 2007) 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 ...

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 ...

. The area is served as

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

ZIP Code 08561. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 330, an increase of 104 (+46.0%) above the 226 counted at the 2010 census.DP-1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 from the 2010 Demographic Profile Data
,

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 June 3, 2015. The community, covering , 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 ...

in 1992.

History

Earliest mention of the local area in the 17th century refers to it as a wilderness with several Native American camps. Founded in 1818, it was named Centerville because it was the

geographical center In geography, the centroid of the two-dimensional shape of a region of the Earth's surface (projected radially to sea level or onto a geoid surface) is known as its geographic centre or geographical centre or (less commonly) gravitational centre. I ...

of the state. Until then, adjacent heavily wooded lands were called Magrilla (origins unknown). In 1814, after the completion of the Bordentown and South Amboy stagecoach turnpike, William McKnight, director of the turnpike company, built a tavern at the intersection of the turnpike and present-day Windsor-Perrineville Road. A major thruway 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 ...

, the turnpike was an improved route versus the

Old York Road Old York Road, originally York Road, with reference to New York, is a roadway that was built during the 18th century to connect Philadelphia with New York City. The road was built along the Raritan tribe, Raritan tribe's Naraticong Trail, als ...

, originally the Tuckaraming Trail, a Native-American path prior to European settlement. In 1816 the local section of the stagecoach turnpike between New York and Philadelphia ran along Main Street. In late 1831, the

Camden and Amboy Railroad The Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company, usually shortened to the Camden and Amboy Railroad (C&A), was a railway company in New Jersey. It was incorporated in 1830 and opened its first line in 1832, making it one of the oldest r ...

was constructed through Centerville. The village became a stopover for rail travelers, and a thriving center for the bountiful farms and mills which serviced the growing population. It quickly became the largest village between Yardville (Sand Town) and

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 ...

, and was renamed "Windsor" in 1846 to avoid any confusion with a Centerville post office in

Hunterdon County Hunterdon County is a County (United States), county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the county was the state's List of counties in New Jersey, 4th-least populous ...

. Windsor was located within its namesake, Windsor Township, until 1797, at which point Windsor Township was divided into East Windsor and West Windsor townships, with the community of Windsor located in East Windsor. East Windsor was subsequently divided in 1860, with the southern portion including Windsor becoming Washington Township (present-day Robbinsville Township).Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 165. Accessed September 12, 2012.

Demographics

Windsor first appeared as a

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 ...

in the 2020 U.S. Census. Prior to 2020, the community was defined using the Zip Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA5 08561).

Education

The school district covering the CDP is Robbinsville Township School District.

Notable residents

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Windsor include: * Elijah C. Hutchinson (1855–1932), represented from 1915–1923. * Edmund Yard Robbins (1867–1942),

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

, who was a professor of Greek language and literature at

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 ...

"Edward Yard Robbins '89 Dies here last Saturday"
''

Daily Princetonian ''The Daily Princetonian'', originally known as ''The Princetonian'' and nicknamed the Prince, is the independent daily student newspaper of Princeton University. The newspaper is owned by The Daily Princetonian Publishing Co. and boasts a cir ...

'', June 1, 1942. Accessed May 21, 2025, via

Princeton University Library Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...

. "Professor Robbins, who was 75years old, was born in Windsor and won his M.A. at Princeton in 1890."

References

External links

Windsor, NJ Community Association

Livewell Church (located in the original Windsor United Methodist church)
{{Authority control 1818 establishments in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Mercer County, New Jersey Populated places established in 1818 Robbinsville Township, New Jersey Census-designated places in Mercer County, New Jersey Census-designated places in New Jersey Unincorporated communities in Mercer County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in New Jersey Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey