Princeton is a small friendly town of 13,590 people that is rich with academic and cultural sophistication. It has been shaped by a diversity of cultures and is famous for its historical relevance and architecture. It is a dynamic community, growing and changing with the times; elegantly casual while being lively and stylish. The cultural heart of New Jersey, Princeton has maintained its small college town charm while providing the cultural, social and educational opportunities usually only found in large cities. A wonderful place to live or visit!
Location
Princeton is located in a section of Mercer County, in the Trenton metro area of New Jersey. It lies in the heart of central New Jersey.
Princeton encompasses two legal municipalities; a township and a borough, with the township completely surrounding the borough.
Princeton is located 10 miles northeast of Trenton, 42 miles southwest of New York, NY, and 38 miles northeast of Philadelphia, PA.
It is situated along the Northeast corridor midway between New York City and Philadelphia. An excellent transportation system of bus, rail, and highways puts Princeton within easy reach of these major urban centers.
Geography
Princeton is situated on the Millstone River. The borough covers a total of 1.85 square miles in an area of gently rolling hills and some level terrain, at an altitude of 215 feet above sea level.
Jobs
Princeton is located in Mercer County, which is home to a number of dynamic businesses, skilled labor force and proximity to major markets. The county has become a major center for business, research, technology and entrepreneurship.
Princeton's prime location has attracted a number of major corporations that have based major research or corporate offices in the area.
Princeton University is the largest private employer in Mercer County and one of the largest in central New Jersey. The university has an overall workforce of 5,500 employees. Other major employers include The Medical Center at Princeton, Princeton University Press, The Gallup Organization, Church & Dwight and the Institute for Advanced Study. The city is also adjacent to the Route One corridor, with its state of the art office parks, high tech companies, research centers, corporate offices and shopping malls.
The median household income in Princeton is $95,710, and the average time it takes to travel to work is 20.3 minutes. The unemployment level is 3%.
Housing
The Borough of Princeton has charming, tree lined residential streets with a wide range of housing, including Victorian homes, stone and mortar structures, single-family homes, townhouses, condos and duplexes. The Borough has an urban quality, as typified by Nassau Street, its main street; whereas the surrounding Township is more suburban, with open spaces, larger properties, and a greater variety of residential areas.
Housing in the Borough is always in demand, and single homes below $800,000 tend to sell very quickly. The average sale price in the area is $811,000, although there are luxury homes that sell for over $2 million.
Recreation
The recreation facilities in Princeton are numerous. The Township and Borough jointly provide a wealth of community recreational activities, including a large pool complex, and tennis, basketball, baseball, and soccer facilities. There are also ice-skating, boating, and equestrian facilities nearby. The Princeton Arts Council, YWCA and YMCA also offer recreational, educational and cultural opportunities.
The Princeton Township area has many scenic parks, trails and open spaces including Barbara Smoyer Memorial Park, Herrontown Woods, Turning Basin Park, Woodfield Reservation and Greenway Meadows. These beautiful outdoor areas attract many joggers, bikers, climbers, bird-watchers and nature lovers.
Extraordinary gardens and sculpture are also an integral and enjoyable part of the region's landscape.
Additional popular recreation spots are the Delaware and Raritan Canal, for walking, picnicking or biking, and Lake Carnegie, for sailboating, sculling and winter ice-skating.
You can also play golf at one the many challenging local golf courses.
Bunker Hill Golf Course is a public 18-hole course, with heavily tree-lined fairways, and small, undulating greens.
Princeton Country Club is a public 18-hole course. It is flat terrain with tree-lined fairways and small, sloped greens.
Springdale Golf Club is a private 18-hole course that was built in the middle of Princeton University. It serves as the home course for the Princeton University golf team. Springdale has been listed by the USGA as one of the first 100 clubs established in the U.S. and was listed by Golf Magazine in its 1995 list of "The First 100 Clubs in America."
TPC at Jasna Polana is an exclusive, private 18-hole course. This course opened for play in June of 1998, and is the fifteenth Tournament Players Club. It was built on the 230-acre country estate of the late J. Seward Johnson of the Johnson & Johnson Company, and is distinguished as one of the most unique, elegant golf clubs in the world, primarily because of its outstanding clubhouse.
Special Attractions/Events
In the Borough of Princeton you can find a string of flourishing businesses, quaint shops, restaurants, and the historic Nassau Inn, which was once a stagecoach stop between Philadelphia and New York.
In the surrounding Township, there is a wealth of cultural activities. The McCarter Theater is the seventh busiest performing arts center in the nation.
Other notable venues are the Princeton Ballet, the Princeton Arts Council, the Westminster Choir College and the Princeton Pro Musica.
Visit Princeton University Art Museum, The Chapel, FitzRandolph Gateway, the Museum of Natural History, and Nassau Hall. The Grounds for Sculpture is a 35-acre sculpture park and museum exhibiting contemporary sculpture by both American and international artists.
Academically, the Borough is home to the Institute for Advanced Study, the Princeton Theological Seminary, and the American Boychoir School. The Institute for Advanced Study was founded in 1930 by Louis Bamberger and his sister, Mrs. Felix Fuld, and is dedicated to special research and study for advanced scholars and scientists. In addition to the prestigious Borough academic institutes, the Township boasts four of the nation’s best private schools.
Sports fans can watch a professional baseball or ice hockey game at nearby Waterfront Park or Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton.
Princeton has charming boutiques, interspersed with popular national stores that attract shoppers from far and wide. Princeton Shopping Center, the Township's core, has a wonderful blend of fine restaurants, gourmet food stores and interesting shops.
Throughout Princeton and the nearby communities, there are numerous fine restaurants with a variety of wine and food delights.
Interesting Facts/Historic Buildings and Places
Princeton is steeped in American history and is home to many historic sites. Major battles of the Revolutionary War were fought here, and Princeton's Battlefield State Park is a key attraction.
Bainbridge House is a 1766 Georgian brick house, which is both a museum and the headquarters of the Historical Society of Princeton.
Drumthwacket is a Greek Revival mansion built around 1834 for Charles S. Olden, Governor of New Jersey, and it is the current official residence of the New Jersey Governor.
Morven is a national historic landmark that was built in the 1750's by Richard Stockton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Princeton Theological Seminary is the oldest and largest Presbyterian Seminary in the nation.
The Quaker Meeting house was the first house of worship in Princeton. It was built around 1772, and American General Hugh Mercer died there after being wounded in the Battle of Princeton.
Other historical sites in the area are the Hopewell Museum, Princeton Cemetery, and the Thomas Clarke Farmhouse.
Princeton was formerly called Prince's Town. It was named for the Prince of Orange and Nassau, who later became King William III.
Princeton’s Nassau Street was once an Indian trail, which later became the King’s Highway.
Princeton was once a stop on the New York-Philadelphia Turnpike. Located midway between New York and Philadelphia, the town was the overnight stagecoach stop on the Trenton-New Brunswick line until the mid 1800’s. In the 1830s the building of a nearby canal and railroad encouraged further commerce and real estate development in the area.
Princeton has been the setting of several movies, most notably, A Beautiful Mind. The 1994 film "I.Q.", was also set in Princeton.
Princeton is the birthplace of Daniel Pearl, journalist and murder victim; Iris Chang, writer; William Bainbridge, naval commander; Alvin Pearman, NFL player for the Jacksonville Jaguars; Mary Chapin Carpenter, musician; and Michael Bradley, major league soccer player.
Well known residents have included Albert Einstein, scientist; Esther Dyson, venture capitalist and author; Paul Robeson, singer and dancer; John McPhee, writer; and Noah Savage, college basketball player for the Princeton Tigers.
Princeton University was chartered in 1746, and is one of two universities in New Jersey to be chartered before the American Revolution.
In July of 2005, CNN/Money and Money Magazine ranked Princeton 15th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States.
The Battle of Princeton, fought in 1777, was a decisive victory for General George Washington and his troops.
Two of Princeton's leading citizens signed the Declaration of Independence.
For a few months in the summer of 1783, Princeton served as the nation's capital, with Congress convening in Nassau Hall on the college campus.
Princeton has been a center for learning and culture throughout its history, and home to world-renowned scholars, scientists, writers, and statesman, including two United States presidents, Woodrow Wilson and Grover Cleveland. In 1894, during his second term as President, Grover Cleveland bought a house in Princeton, and later died there. In 1912, a former professor at Princeton and Governor of New Jersey named Woodrow Wilson was elected President.
In 1930, the Institute for Advanced Study was founded in Princeton and became the first residential institute for scholars in the country. Albert Einstein was appointed as one of its first professors. He arrived in and stayed until his death in 1955.
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