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History · Princeton Junction

13% of Princeton Junction’s homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1980.

1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Princeton Junction’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Princeton Junction are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Princeton Junction change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Princeton Junction’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Princeton Junction’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Princeton Junction on the map, 1888 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Princeton Junction. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Princeton Junction on the 1888 USGS mapPrinceton Junction on the 1894 USGS mapPrinceton Junction on the 1906 USGS mapPrinceton Junction on the 1942 USGS mapPrinceton Junction on the 1954 USGS mapPrinceton Junction on the 1970 USGS mapPrinceton Junction on the 1981 USGS mapPrinceton Junction on the 1995 USGS map1888Princeton sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Princeton Junction.

The story

How Princeton Junction came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Princeton Junction.

Read it all →

Following the mid-1860s relocation of the Camden & Amboy rail line from next to the Delaware & Raritan Canal to the present location of the Northeast Corridor, and the subsequent construction of a train station south of the intersection of Washington Road and the new rail line, a community called "Princeton Junction" developed. This community originally featured several farmhouses, a hotel, a general store, a feed mill, and several other businesses centered around the intersection of Station Drive and Washington Road, profiting off of access to other cities provided by the rail line.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Princeton Junction, 1888 to 1978

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1970Born hereJames Murphy is born here
  5. 1978Born hereKevin Barry is born here
By decade

Princeton Junction, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Princeton Junction, NJ along CR 6152015Princeton Junction, NJ along CR 615Princeton junction cdp nj 0212005Princeton junction cdp nj 021Acela20072005Acela2007
On the National Register

1 historic place in Princeton Junction

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Princeton Junction, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,500198020002020Peak: 2,475

Between 2,362 and 2,475 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Princeton Junction’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Princeton Junction

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
James MurphyAmerican musician · b. 1970
K
Kevin BarryAmerican baseball player · b. 1978
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Plainsboro TownshipIts storyCWest Windsor Township3 historic placesB−

Questions about Princeton Junction’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.