When developers come to the township with plans for a new residential “subdivision” — the usual term to describe a bunch of new houses built close together on somebody’s old farm — the names of the new roads that go with the houses are usually already on the plans. And unless there is a good reason for the township to disapprove of a name, the names proposed by the developer are what the roads are known by from then on.
Sometimes the road names have a “theme” that is consistent with the name of the development. Thus in a development called Bird’s Nest Acres you might find Robin Court, Crow Place, and Blue Jay Drive. But if there are a lot of new roads in a large development, a consistent theme may be difficult to achieve, so the names may end up being a mixture without a common theme. In West Windsor we have all kinds. And sometimes what seems to be a common theme for the names may be surprising.
For example, we have all heard how so many of the newer — and some of the older — roads in West Windsor have been named for famous Americans of the past. Our roads bear the names of presidents like Washington, Harrison, Wilson, Monroe, and a few others. There are well known writers such as Milton, Melville, and Longfellow, and others of equal stature in politics, literature, and other fields. With all these names, it’s easy to assume that they represent people who are famous in the history of our country and culture.
“Oh, everyone knows who Washington was. He was our first president, the father of our country,” most everyone is likely to say when they are asked about the origin of the name of Washington Road. But it’s a safe bet that practically nobody really knows the truth — or, at least, what the rumor was nearly two centuries ago.
It was said that Washington Road was actually named in honor of Oscar Washington, the man who ran a very popular book store on Nassau Street during the early 19th century. Some people referred to it as “Oscar’s Maze.” When the town fathers were deciding what to call the main road leading out of town to the southeast, they decided to honor Oscar by naming it for him.
Similar examples abound, including Washington’s business partner Charlie “Duke” Wellington, who ran a pub at the rear of the book store. He is remembered in Wellington Drive. It’s been suggested that the Washington and Wellington business may have been referred to as “Twin-W.” Using that moniker when referring to West Windsor came much later.
Another president’s name listed is Monroe. Is it really meant to honor James Monroe, our fifth president? Well, not really. It turns out that the father of the man who helped plan the development off Southfield Road that contains Monroe Drive was a huge New York Knicks basketball fan, and Earl “The Pearl” Monroe was his favorite player. It was logical to name a street for him. Monroe was a member of the famous Knicks team that won the NBA championship in 1973. He also played for the Baltimore Bullets.
The only other member of the starting five on that Knicks team whose name appears on a West Windsor road is Reed, as in Reed Drive. Could that be named for Willis Reed? In that case, absolutely not, since Reed is one of the most prominent and venerated family names in the history of West Windsor, with several branches of the family still represented here. Their name belongs on a West Windsor street without question. Now, if a future development were to need a reference to the famous Knick, they could use Willis as in, say, Willis Circle.
Speaking of that Knicks team, it’s strange that there is no road in West Windsor that bears the name Bradley, as in Bill Bradley. A Princeton graduate, Rhodes Scholar, Knicks star, and U.S. Senator from New Jersey for 18 years, he should be remembered with a road, or a drive, or, at least a court in his name. Among other name possibilities from that Knicks team are Phil Jackson, Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, Jerry Lucas, and Harthorne Wingo. I remember them all.
Probably the most familiar president to people in the Princeton area is Woodrow Wilson, a Princeton University graduate, professor, and president, as well as New Jersey governor and 28th president of the United States. Surely Wilson Way off Rabbit Hill Road was named in his honor. Well, no.
It turns out that one of the developers of that area — which contains “Old Mill Farms” — was a big New York Mets fan and named the road for their star center fielder Mookie Wilson. But in this case there have been other stories that it really wasn’t named for Mookie Wilson at all, but to memorialize the developer’s father-in-law Marvin “Chip” Wilson, a one-time golf pro at the Devious Fairways Golf Club in South Amboy.
It’s really hard to find a presidential name that does not match that — first or last — of someone in the entertainment or professional sports business. Try it. There aren’t many. Maybe not Fillmore or Eisenhower, but only a few others.
What about some of the famous writers? Milton, for example, as in Milton Court. To be sure, the English poet John Milton wrote the classic “Paradise Lost.” Is he the one honored with the street name? Well, no. The street was actually named for Fred Milton, a good friend of one of the paving contractors who worked on the development.
Usually street names are all set before construction begins, and the poet was the original choice. But as construction proceeded the contractor forgot what Milton’s first name was supposed to be in the records. Since the first name wasn’t going to appear on the road signs, he decided to use Fred, since he knew who that was. Simple solution.
Another poet’s name is Browning, as in Browning Court. Could that refer to Robert Browning or his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the English poets of the 19th century? Again, probably not. During the laying out of the development east of Edinburg Road, one of the architects insisted that his mother-in-law be honored by having a street named for her. He got his wish when a road was named for Hilda Browning. But it was later learned that she didn’t approve of the idea, and thought the street should have been named for her husband Sid Browning. And so it was.
The list goes on, and there are many possibilities. Female first names to be found on West Windsor’s roads include: Margaret, Sarah, Ginnie, Emily, Jill, Alice, Shelly, Edith, Ann, Jean, Marie, Allison, Heather, Marian, Victoria, and several more.
There aren’t nearly as many male names, however, but what we have include Emil, Ross, Danny, Brian, Caleb, Robert, Douglas, Jeffrey, Randolph, Arnold, Benjamin, and Jason. One of the male names we have is Renfield, as in Renfield Drive in The Estates at Princeton Junction. Could that really be named for Count Dracula’s assistant in the Mel Brooks movie?
Then there are the colleges. Oxford, Auburn, Colgate, Wellesley, Stanford, and Barnard are among them. The main reference to Princeton in a road name is when it’s paired with Hightstown, as in Route 571. There’s also little Princeton Place in Colonial Park.
I wonder how much you have to know about the names of West Windsor’s roads before you get to be a roads scholar.
