West Windsor Township is a Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 21,907.

Princeton Junction is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within West Windsor Township.

A small portion of Princeton University is located in West Windsor Township.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 26.3 square miles (68.2 km²), of which, 26.0 square miles (67.4 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it (1.22%) is water.

West Windsor Township borders Princeton Township, Lawrence Township, Hamilton Township, Robbinsville Township, East Windsor Township, and Plainsboro Township in Middlesex County.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 21,907 people, 7,282 households, and 5,985 families residing in the township. The population density was 842.4 people per square mile (325.2/km²). There were 7,450 housing units at an average density of 286.5/sq mi (110.6/km²). 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.

As of the 2000 census, 8.31% of West Windsor Township's residents identified themselves as being of Chinese 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.

West Windsor is ranked 30th among the highest-income places with a population of at least 10,000 in the United States.

Landmarks

Grover's Mill in West Windsor was the site Orson Welles chose for the Martian invasion in his 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds.

Government

Local government

West Windsor Township was established by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 9, 1797, and incorporated on February 21, 1798. From the time of its formation, until 1993, the Township was governed by a Township Committee, which had both executive and legislative authority. In May 1993, West Windsor Township residents voted to change their form of government from a Township Committee to a Mayor-Council form under the Faulkner Act. The new form of government was initiated on July 1, 1993.

Under the current 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 election and serves for a four-year term. The Mayor may attend Council meetings but is not obliged 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, staggered terms. At the annual organizational meeting held during the first week of July 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.

The Mayor of West Windsor Township is Shing-Fu Hsueh. Members of the West Windsor Township Council are Council President William Anklowitz (term ends June 30, 2011), Council Vice-President George Borek (2011) Linda Geevers (2009), Heidi Kleinman (2009) and Charles C. Morgan (2011). On July 1, 2007, George Borek replaced Franc Gambatese, with a term ending in 2011.

Federal, state and county representation

West Windsor Township is in the Twelfth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 14th Legislative District.

Education

Colleges and universities

West Windsor is the site of the West Windsor Campus of the Mercer County Community College.

Part of the Princeton University campus is located in West Windsor.

Primary and secondary schools

Plainsboro Township and West Windsor are part of a combined school district, the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are four K-3 elementary schools: Dutch Neck Elementary School (657 students), Maurice Hawk Elementary School (767), Town Center Elementary School (726) and J.V.B. Wicoff Elementary School (353); both Millstone River Elementary School (826) and Village Elementary School (665) for grades 4-5; Community Middle School (1,121) and Thomas Grover Middle School (1,182) for grades 6-8; and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North (1,401) and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South (1,595) for grades 9-12.

West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South was ranked ninth and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North was the eighteenth ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2006 cover story on the state's Top Public High Schools.

Transportation

U.S. Route 1 serves the township, as does Route 64.

Princeton Junction station, a Northeast Corridor stop on Amtrak and New Jersey Transit, is located within West Windsor. Amtrak's Keystone Service, Regional, and Pennsylvanian routes stop at Princeton Junction station. A traditional gathering spot, the "Lick It" ice cream stand, recently went out of business and was demolished to make room for a new PNC Bank location.

Running between the Princeton Junction and Princeton stations is what is known to locals as the "Dinky." The Dinky is a one-car train that shuttles back and forth many times a day between the two stations. Traveling only 2.7 miles each way, it is the shortest regularly-scheduled passenger route in the United States. It is also the most expensive per-mile train route in the country.

NJ Transit bus service to Trenton is provided via the 600, 603, 609, with other area service on the 605 route.

Noted residents

Notable current and former residents of West Windsor Township include:

• Fernando Perez (1983-), is a Tampa Bay Rays outfielder.
• Kevin Barry (1978-), is an Atlanta Braves relief pitcher.
• Ethan Hawke (1970-), actor.
• Ben H. Love, the eighth Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America serving from 1985 to 1993.
• Timothy Patrick Murphy (1959-1988), television and movie actor, best known for his the television soap Dallas, playing the character of "Mickey Trotter" from 1982-84.
• John Forbes Nash is a Nobel Prize-winning mathematician. The film A Beautiful Mind was loosely based on his life. He has resided in West Windsor for many years.
• Steve Rogers (1949-), former pitcher for the Montreal Expos.
• Bryan Singer (1965-), film director, for such films as Public Access, Apt Pupil, X-Men, X2, and Superman Returns. His break out film was The Usual Suspects. He has also worked on television shows including House.

References

External links

• Official township web site
• West Windsor-Plainsboro School District
• Data for the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, National Center for Education Statistics
• West Windsor/Plainsboro Today: local online news and chat site
• The Not So Rinky Dinky (news article about the local rail shuttle service)