Cranbury is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township’s population was 3,857.
A deed for a sale of land and improvements dated March 1, 1698, is the earliest evidence of buildings constructed in present-day Cranbury. A home in Cranbury was used by Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette as a headquarters during the American Revolutionary War, and they were visited by General George Washington on June 26, 1778. 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. During its earliest years, the location was usually spelled as “Cranberry”. Rev. Joseph G. Symmes argued in 1857 that the name was spelled improperly and that the suffix “bury” was more appropriate, leading the name of the community and brook to be changed to “Cranbury” in 1869. The name has been attributed to wild cranberries that grew in the area.
The so-called Hightstown rail accident occurred in or near Cranbury, in 1833. According to John Quincy Adams, who was aboard the train and who wrote in his diary about it, the train was 3 miles (4.8 km) from Hightstown when the disaster struck, putting the accident near what is now Cranbury Station. Among the passengers aboard were Tyrone Power and Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Cranbury was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 7, 1872, from portions of both Monroe Township and South Brunswick Township. Portions of the township were taken on April 1, 1919, to form Plainsboro Township.
George Washington’s headquarters were located in Cranbury while planning for the Battle of Monmouth, a major turning point during the Revolutionary War.
Many buildings on Cranbury’s Main Street and in the surrounding area date to the 18th or 19th century. The entire downtown area is designated as a Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as District #80002502.
The township celebrated its tricentennial in 1998.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 13.397 square miles (34.697 km2), including 13.247 square miles (34.309 km2) of land and 0.150 square miles (0.389 km2) of water (1.12%).
Cranbury CDP (2010 Census population of 2,181) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Cranbury Township. Despite the match between the name of the Township and the CDP, the two are not one and the same, as was the case for most paired Township / CDP combinations (i.e., a CDP with the same as its parent township) before the 2010 Census, when most such paired CDPs were coextensive with a township of the same name.
Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Brain Grove Lake, Cranbury Station, Wescott and Wyckoffs Mills.
The township borders Plainsboro Township, Monroe Township and South Brunswick Township in Middlesex County; and East Windsor Township in Mercer County.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 3,857 people, 1,320 households, and 1,059.960 families residing in the township. The population density was 291.2 per square mile (112.4/km2). There were 1,371 housing units at an average density of 103.5 per square mile (40.0/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 80.53% (3,106) White, 3.45% (133) Black or African American, 0.10% (4) Native American, 13.74% (530) Asian, 0.03% (1) Pacific Islander, 0.36% (14) from other races, and 1.79% (69) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.57% (99) of the population.
Source: Wikipedia
