Editing Cranbury, New Jersey (section)

== History ==
A deed for a sale of land and improvements dated March 1, 1698, is the earliest evidence of buildings constructed in present-day Cranbury. A home in Cranbury was used by [[Alexander Hamilton]] and the [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]] as a headquarters during the [[American Revolutionary War]], and they were visited by General [[George Washington]] on June 26, 1778. It was during this visit, when George Washington hedged out plans to intercept the British's retreat from [[Philadelphia]] to [[New York City]], during the tail end of Britain's [[Philadelphia campaign]].<ref>[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-15-02-0591 From George Washington to Major General Lafayette, 26 June 1778], Founders Online at [[National Archives and Records Administration]]. Accessed December 3, 2019.</ref> This continued pursuit led to the fated events of the [[Battle of Monmouth]] (which took place nearby in modern-day [[Freehold Township, New Jersey|Freehold Township]] and [[Manalapan Township, New Jersey|Manalapan Township]], preserved currently as [[Monmouth Battlefield State Park]]), a major turning point for the Revolutionary War.<ref name=NYT1997>Cheslow, Jerry. [https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/16/realestate/historic-sparsely-settled-and-loving-it.html "Historic, Sparsely Settled -- and Loving It"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 16, 1997. Accessed July 14, 2011. "The Middlesex County community is celebrating the 300th anniversary of the first documented European settlement in the area.... Cranbury pays tuition to send 106 high school students to nearby Princeton High School. According to Cranbury's Chief School Administrator, Robert J. Bartoletti, 87 percent of the town's youngsters go on to higher education.... As part of the addition, the 28,000-volume Cranbury Public Library, which shares space with the school library, is also being expanded to 6,000 square feet from 4,000 and the school's computers are to be enhanced through the networking of all of the classrooms into the library."</ref><ref>[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-15-02-0572 To George Washington from Major General Lafayette, 25 June 1778], Founders Online at [[National Archives and Records Administration]]. Accessed December 3, 2019.</ref> As part of orders issued during the presidency of George Washington, maps of Cranbury were made showing the presence of a church, a mill and 25 other buildings. Fleeing after he killed [[Alexander Hamilton]] in [[Burr–Hamilton duel|their 1804 duel]], [[Aaron Burr]] stopped in Cranbury to exchange horses and eat a local inn.<ref>Cheslow, Jerry. [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/29/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-of-living-in-cranbury.html "If You're Thinking of Living in: Cranbury"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 29, 1991. Accessed February 20, 2024. "Aaron Burr, fleeing to Philadelphia after killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel in Weehawken in 1804, stopped at what is now the Cranbury Inn at the southern end of Main Street to eat and change horses."</ref>

During its earliest years, the location was usually spelled as "Cranberry". Rev. Joseph G. Symmes argued in 1857 that the name was spelled improperly and that the suffix "bury" was more appropriate, leading the name of the community and brook to be changed to "Cranbury" in 1869.<ref name=History>[https://www.cranburytownship.org/history_main.html History], Cranbury Township. Accessed December 3, 2019. "The marshy land near the mill site might have grown cranberries, hence the name. On 18th Century maps, the name appears as Cranberry and Cranberry Town. In 1857, Reverend Joseph G. Symmes felt the name was incorrectly spelled and suggested it be changed to Cranbury. In Old English 'bury' (connoting 'burgh') could be spelled bury, bery, or berry. In 1869, the town and the brook were renamed Cranbury."</ref> The name has been attributed to wild cranberries that grew in the area.<ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=11 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 28, 2015.</ref> The so-called [[Hightstown rail accident]] occurred in or near Cranbury, in 1833. According to [[John Quincy Adams]], who was aboard the train and who wrote in his diary about it, the train was {{convert|3|mi}} from Hightstown when the disaster struck, putting the accident near what is now Cranbury Station.<ref>[http://www.masshist.org/jqadiaries/doc.cfm?id=jqad39_179 John Quincy Adams diary 39, 1 December 1832 - 31 May 1835, page 179], [[Massachusetts Historical Society]]. Accessed September 2, 2013.</ref><ref>A history book on Cranbury says the accident happened 4 miles from Hightstown, putting the accident near today's retirement communities in Monroe Township. However, the book refers to John Quincy Adams' diary. See Chambers, John Whiteclay. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SkQp8XKVXEwC&pg=PA50 ''Cranbury: A New Jersey Town from the Colonial Era to the Present''], p. 50. [[Rutgers University Press]], 2012. {{ISBN|9780813553580}}. Accessed November 10, 2015.</ref> Among the passengers aboard were [[Tyrone Power (1795-1841)|Tyrone Power]] and [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]].

Cranbury was incorporated as a township by an act of the [[New Jersey Legislature]] on March 7, 1872, from portions of both [[Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey|Monroe Township]] and [[South Brunswick, New Jersey|South Brunswick Township]]. Portions of the township were taken on April 1, 1919, to form [[Plainsboro Township, New Jersey|Plainsboro Township]].<ref name=Story>Snyder, John P. [https://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''], Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 169-170. Accessed July 5, 2012.</ref> The township celebrated its tricentennial in 1998. [[Updike Parsonage Barn]], originally constructed {{circa}} 1759, was disassembled, relocated and reconstructed in 2010 at its current location in Barn Park.<ref>[https://www.cranburytownship.org/Parks/Barn_Park.html Barn Park], Cranbury Township. Accessed December 3, 2019. "The Parsonage barn originally belonged to the Parsonage Plantation, c. 1759, of the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury. It was dismantled in 2004 and stored for five years. In 2010, a foundation was laid and the repaired timbers were re-erected with funding from the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society, Cranbury Landmarks, Inc., and the Township of Cranbury."</ref>

In 2017, Cranbury, along with the municipalities of [[Bellmawr, New Jersey|Bellmawr]], [[Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey|Egg Harbor Township]], [[Montclair, New Jersey|Montclair]], and [[Woodbridge Township, New Jersey|Woodbridge Township]], were the original five municipalities that had authorized dispensaries for the sale of [[Cannabis in New Jersey|medical cannabis]] in their municipality, years before the [[Cannabis in New Jersey|legal sale of recreational cannabis]] began in 2022.<ref>Guion, Payton. [http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2017/11/marijuana_legalization_would_mean_tough_choices_fo.html#incart_most-commented_hudson_article "Marijuana legalization would force tough choice for N.J. towns"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], November 15, 2017. Accessed November 15, 2017. "NJ Advance Media reached out to mayors in all five towns that have medical dispensaries: Bellmawr, Cranbury, Egg Harbor, Montclair and Woodbridge."</ref> However, in July 2021 the township reversed the previous ordinance and unanimously passed a new ordinance that banned all types of cannabis businesses from operating within the municipality.<ref>Duggan, Julia. [https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/middlesex-county/2021/07/14/cranbury-joins-long-list-nj-towns-ban-weed-businesses/7917550002/ "Cranbury joins long list of NJ towns to ban weed businesses"], ''[[Courier News]]'', July 15, 2021. Accessed November 17, 2022. "The Cranbury Township Council unanimously passed an ordinance Monday that bans all types of marijuana businesses from operating here."</ref>

In 2019, the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society saved the 1713 East Jersey Cottage from demolition and had the building relocated across Old Trenton Road, onto its original 1693 Fullerton tract, the 1752 Philipse property and the 1760 Bodine farm. The building retained its intact hand-hewn post and beam structure with pegged [[mortise and tenon]] joints and rubble nogging.<ref>[https://www.cranburyhistory.org/post/1700s-house-a-rediscovered-connection-to-18th-century-cranbury "1713 East Jersey Cottage - A Rediscovered Connection to 18th Century Cranbury"], Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society, August 31, 2022. Accessed May 10, 2023. "The Cranbury Museum is once again open, and features an exhibit telling the story of the 1713 East Jersey Cottage. Rediscovered and saved by the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society, the 1700s House was relocated to Millstone Park in late 2019."</ref>