Local city information for Plainsboro, NJ

Plainsboro Township is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 20,215.

Plainsboro was incorporated as a township on May 6, 1919. Prior to that date, all lands north of Plainsboro Road and Dey Road were part of South Brunswick Township and all lands south of Plainsboro Road and Dey Road were part of Cranbury Township. Inadequate school facilities were the catalyst for creating the township.

Plainsboro Center (2000 Census population of 2,209) and Princeton Meadows (13,436) are census-designated places and unincorporated areas located within Plainsboro Township.

The original residents of Plainsboro were the Unami Native Americans. In the 1600s, the Dutch settled the area for its agricultural properties.

The oldest developed section of Plainsboro is at the intersection of Dey and Plainsboro Roads. It is thought that the road was named after a Dutch built tavern that sat at the intersection, called "The Planes Tavern," in the early 1700s or earlier. The building still stands and was featured on HGTV's "If These Walls Could Talk" along with the historic Plainsboro Inn building (circa 1790) which was built adjacent to "Planes Tavern" at Plainsboro Road and Dey Road.

In 1897, The Walker Gordon Dairy Farm opened up, which, among many other things, contributed Elsie the Cow, the most famous cow ever, and The Walker Gordon Diner, which has since been closed.

Other family farms moved in the first three quarters of the 20th Century, notably the Parker, Simonson, Stults, and Groendyke farms. The Parker Farm was eventually integrated into the Groendyke farm, which both became part of Walker-Gordon's Dairy Farm, which is now a housing development. The Simonson and Stults Farms still stand and thrive in Plainsboro.

Plainsboro was officially founded on May 6, 1919 and was formed from sections of Cranbury and South Brunswick townships. Plainsboro Township was created in response to Cranbury and South Brunswick refusing to build a new fireproof and larger school in Plainsboro Village. Every year, the date is celebrated with a parade, festival, and a concert.

In 1971, Princeton University (which owned most of the town) and Lincoln Properties, Inc., together developed the area into what it is now, a large suburban town still holding on to its rural past. In response to the development, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South was opened in nearby Princeton Junction, then just called WWP High. To accommodate the additional growth, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North was opened in Plainsboro in September 2000, beginning the young but heated North-South rivalry, between the Pirates and the Knights.

The latest addition to Plainsboro includes the long awaited Village Center, which is adjacent to the historic village area. The Village Center, when completed, will essentially become "downtown" Plainsboro. Along with the commercial space, the Village Center includes several residential areas that were built in the same (former) field. The Village Center will also house the much awaited new Plainsboro Library, which is scheduled to break ground in 2008.

The township has no gas stations or convenience stores.

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