The Historical Society of West Windsor— a 100% volunteer nonprofit that preserves and promotes local history—explores the story of another West Windsor educational institution, built during the start of
West Windsor and Plainsboro have long been known not only for their shared school district, but also for the omnipresent population growth that the school district attracts. This is not a new phenomenon; expansion has been a fact of life in town since the late 1950s.
In the early 1960s, West Windsor was near the beginning of its suburban growth. As more and more families began to move into town, the youth population began to grow. As early as 1961, West Windsor began discussions for the construction of a new elementary school. That year, the decision was made to name the new school after Maurice H. Hawk, a longtime local icon. Tradition says that Maurice (pronounced “Morris”) was born in 1881 at the Schenck Farmstead, now home to the West Windsor History Museum. He joined the West Windsor Board of Education in 1914 and served as its Secretary for the next 44 years. He was also West Windsor Township’s Treasurer for 39 years (1931-70).
On May 8, 1962, referendum voters approved the construction of a $725,000 school to be built on a 20-acre tract on Clarksville Road, directly next to the old, wooden, mid-1800s “Princeton Junction Parsonage” schoolhouse (which, by that point, had long since turned into a small house). This schoolhouse had, itself, been constructed in the mid-1800s, but made obsolete in 1917 when Dutch Neck School and a long-gone identical twin, the Penns Neck School, were erected. It was moved in the 1990s to the Schenck Farmstead.
Plans for the Maurice Hawk School, designed to accommodate 425 students, were conceptualized by architects Albert Micklewright and Samuel Mountford, architects of Trenton. Prior to construction, one newspaper noted that it would boast “14 classrooms, a library, kindergarten, multi-purpose room, conference room, administrative offices, health facilities, teachers’ workroom, faculty room, and service areas. The exterior will be church brick and the interior will be stacked bound concrete block with glazed structural tile wainscotting.”
At the time, Maurice Hawk School was to be just one of three educational institutions in West Windsor, the other two being Dutch Neck School and the Penns Neck School. As Maurice Hawk School was being built, discussions accelerated about relocating the now-obsolete Penns Neck School’s students to Maurice Hawk, due to the Penns Neck School’s outdated and smaller facilities. Penns Neck School shut down as an educational institution in 1967, and after serving as the home of a variety of institutions over the next few decades, was demolished in 1995 to make way for the Alexander Road overpass over Route 1.
The Maurice Hawk school opened on April 6, 1964, with an initial class of 64 students. Its first acting principal was West Windsor School District Superintendent Frank J. Walton, who served while a permanent replacement was found. This was five years before West Windsor and Plainsboro consolidated their school districts. Within a few months of Maurice Hawk’s opening, Shelton Stern was hired as the first permanent principal. However, by 1966, a new Principal had assumed leadership: Anthony Razzano. Following him were several others:
• Arthur C. Downs (from 1969-1978);
• Donald M. Rizzo (1978-1998);
• Denise A. Mengani (1998-2013);
• Patricia Buell (2014-2022); and
• Sara Bright (2022-Present).
Over the years, the school has expanded significantly as West Windsor’s population has grown. In 1967— just three years after the school opened—a wing of about a dozen classrooms was added to the rear.
Some 28 years later, eight more classrooms were added to the east of that wing. Further modular renovations were made in 2007. Finally, in 2018, construction began on a 30,000 square foot addition designed by FVHD Architects—a descendant of Micklewright and Mountford’s business. This new addition, which covered the original front façade, houses many more classrooms, resource rooms, an administrative office, and a secured main entry.
Maurice Hawk school is much larger than and updated from its original structure. However, in the center of it all is the original section built in the mid-1960s. It remains a memorial to a longtime township leader and continues to serve local children year after year, as it has done over several generations.
We invite you to contact, support, or volunteer for the Historical Society and purchase our West Windsor history book (published 2022). We’re always looking for new volunteers! Visit westwindsorhistory.com to learn more. We are also on social media. Search “@SchenckFarmstead” on Facebook and Instagram.
Paul Ligeti is the president of the Historical Society of West Windsor.
,
