A century or so ago when a lot of the flat part of New Jersey was used as farmland, it was normal for areas near population centers to be identified with whatever name went with that center. When you said Trenton, you didn’t have to explain exactly where the city’s boundaries were, people knew what you were talking about — the city on the Delaware River north of Philadelphia and over on the west side of the state.
That was enough unless you needed to know where a specific address or neighborhood was located. Then you needed details. But usually, “oh, that’s in Trenton,” was enough. And forget about what county it was in or that it was the state capital. Those weren’t things that most people cared about.
“So, where’s the state fair this year?”
“In Trenton as usual.”
Now, that’s something that’s important. Yes, there was a state fair every fall. I went to it in 1947. Today a place called Grounds For Sculpture occupies part of what was then the fair grounds. Many students from Princeton went to it to be entertained. There were all kinds of entertaining events, and not just agricultural show-off stuff like the best corn on the cob or the healthiest sheep. There were bands and other music groups showing off and even a burlesque show. In short, it offered anything that would attract a crowd, which it did year after year.
Of course getting there was a challenge that usually involved hitch-hiking and riding a bus. Princeton students were not allowed to have cars then, so they had to resort to other ways of getting there. But when people talked about the state fair, it was sufficient to say it was in or near Trenton.
In more recent times, though, around here the first place mentioned when somebody asks, “where is that?” would be Princeton. The name “Princeton” seems to get attached to all sorts of things and places whether they have anything to do with it or not. It’s as if the name “Princeton” were seeping into all kinds of things that really have nothing to do with the place.
As time has gone on, the seeping effect has increased, especially if you live anywhere in central New Jersey and are within about 30 miles of the place, especially to the north and east. It doesn’t matter which county or township you’re in, the effect is the same.
Some of the seeping effect is due to the fact that the town that surrounds the university has grown and has developed an identity of its own that is relatively independent of the university. “Relatively” independent, but not completely so, since much of the business in the area does depend on the presence of the university to survive.
And many, many of the people who live in the nearby towns are employees of the university. Quite a few are former students who decided to stay nearby. So it’s not surprising if when someone is asked, “were is that?” the answer is, “down (up, over) near Princeton.” That means more to most people than if you had said West Windsor or Plainsboro.
Since I have lived in West Windsor for a long time, I have noticed how the way people refer to different parts of the area has changed over the years. Several decades ago, if someone from more than 40 miles from here asked me where I lived, I would have to say “near Princeton.” That was a good answer for most people, since my house is actually just five miles from Nassau Hall, the first building of the university.
And if that person was from more than 40 miles from here, they would have had no idea what “West Windsor” was: a town, a crossroads, or a field out in the sticks. If I had said Princeton Junction, that would have helped a little, but they would probably have said, “Oh, you mean the railroad station?”
I’m sure that the same understanding about Princeton’s dominance of the names in this part of the state would have applied for other locales surrounding that town, including places like Rocky Hill, Robbinsville, Hopewell, Lawrenceville, Hightstown, and many more. But as time has gone on that has changed, and today many people who live in West Windsor or Plainsboro will find that strangers really do know what they are talking about when they say the name of their town or even neighborhood. Many even know where it is and how to get there.
There are a few odd ones, of course, such as “Grovers Mill Estates,” which is nowhere near Grovers Mill. But when developers get hold of a map there’s no telling what names they’ll decide are suitable for their new houses.
There’s also a development called “Princeton View.” It’s on Hightstown Road east of Rabbit Hill Road. It’s hard to say that anyone who lives there would have anything like a view of Princeton, unless they were in a balloon several hundred feet in the air over their house. But, as we know, real estate names don’t have to make sense. They just have to be appealing enough to make the houses sell. How about “Princeton Oaks”? That’s a huge place even farther from Princeton than “View.”
Obviously, the reason for the change in identity is the population growth. There are a lot more people in the area now than there were three or four decades ago. The population of West Windsor now is about 10 times what it was in 1960. Princeton has grown, too. But it will be a long time before people who live in Princeton will say, “Oh, I live near West Windsor.”
Getting back to the fairgrounds for a moment. The place that now occupies a large part of that area, Grounds For Sculpture, was founded in 1984 by the sculptor J. Seward Johnson, a grandson of one of the founders of the Johnson & Johnson Company. At first there was the Johnson Atelier, in 1974, where original sculptures of plaster or other materials could be cast in bronze. The student sitting reading a book at Palmer Square in Princeton was made there.
But as Johnson and other sculptors began to produce larger works, the need for exhibition space led to the formation of the display area we see there today. If you visit the place, which is in Hamilton Township, watch out for the live peacocks walking around. And although the outdoor sculpture park is the main attraction, there’s also a very nice indoor sculpture gallery with many interesting works, as well. There’s also a restaurant called “Rat’s.”
If you think the name Princeton hasn’t seeped into far-away places, consider these (in order of “farness”): Princeton Terrace at West Windsor; Princeton Arms in East Windsor; Princeton Court in Hamilton; Princeton Court in Frederick, Maryland; and Princeton Court someplace in Tennessee. And the last two of these aren’t in states where there really is a town named Princeton.
By the way, there’s still a state fair in New Jersey. But now it’s in the Meadowlands, where it has been for many years. But when the fair was still near Trenton, what we now call the Meadowlands was known as the “Jersey swamp.”
