The village was originally named for Maidenhead, a historic English town on the Thames River, about 30 miles west from London. The Colonial Supreme Court at Burlington officially confirmed the name on February 20, 1697. "Maidenhead" derives from the Anglo Saxon word "Maidenhythe," meaning "new wharf", though it acquired a secondary meaning as a term for virginity.[15]
The Rev. Issac V. Brown, the first full-time pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville and the founder of the Academy of Maidenhead (now the Lawrenceville School), led a movement to petition the Legislature to change the town's name. The petition said "... it must be the wish of every good citizen... to be relieved of the necessity of using a term which may offend the delicacy of modesty, or disturb the feelings of seriousness, or excite the sneers of the willing".[16]
The Legislature officially changed the name from Maidenhead to Lawrence on January 24, 1816, at a meeting in John Moore's Tavern. The township took its name from Captain James Lawrence, a naval hero of the War of 1812. The village was renamed Lawrenceville at the same time. In 1838, Mercer County was formed from parts of three counties, and Lawrence Township was included in the new County. The Township's boundaries and geographic relationships have remained the same since that time.
Cornwallis stayed overnight in Maidenhead on December 8, 1776, en route to Trenton. Cornwallis recorded the moment in his diary, a portion of which was found years later in John Moore's Tavern, which is now a residential house at 2695 Main Street. His opinion of the village was that "one night in Maidenhead was more than enough".[17]
When the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville was built in 1698, it was called the Meetinghouse of Maidenhead. It is still serving the community at 2688 Main Street.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 1.043 square miles (2.701 km2), including 1.042 square miles (2.698 km2) of land and 0.001 square miles (0.002 km2) of water (0.09%).[18][19]
U.S. Route 206 changes its name from "Lawrenceville-Princeton Road" to "Main Street", and then to "Lawrenceville-Trenton Road" in the center of Lawrenceville. The local historic district fronts along Main Street and US 206 stretch for more than two miles between Franklin Corner Road and an area slightly north of Fackler Road. Homes situated more than 250 feet from the road are excluded, however. One exception is the section of The Lawrenceville School known as the Circle and several other buildings in its vicinity, the oldest buildings on the campus. This area itself has been designated a National Historic Landmark.[14]
Lawrenceville generally comprises the area contained within Lawrenceville-Pennington Road to the south, Fackler Road to the north, Keefe Road to the west, and US 206, part of which turns into Main Street in Lawrenceville, to the east. The Lawrenceville School, across Route 206, is usually considered part of the village as well. Before tract development, beginning in the early 1970s, Lawrenceville was broadly defined as stretching two to three blocks back from Route 206. The boundary became less clear as residential developments replaced farmland behind the historic village.
Lawrence Township is occasionally and mistakenly referred to as Lawrenceville. The confusion is partly caused because the local post office is located in the Lawrenceville CDP and the Postal Service once instructed Lawrence Township residents to use Lawrenceville, Princeton or Trenton as their mailing address. In 1973, voters approved a nonbinding referendum to petition the U.S. Postal Service to adopt a single municipal post office address known as Lawrenceville for the entire township; The effort failed. A township resident appeared before Township Council in July, 2007, to request to designate the 08648 ZIP code for Lawrence Township. Council approved a resolution in support of the request that was then forwarded to the U.S. Postal Service. Township officials had fought, off and on, for the change since 1969, when then-U.S. Rep. Frank Thompson tried unsuccessfully to convince U.S. Postal Service authorities to grant a Lawrence name tag for the entire township, according to a letter on file at the Municipal Clerk's Office. The United States Postal Service notified the township authorities in October 2007 that the preferred designation for the 08648 would be changed to "Lawrence Township".[20]
Lawrenceville is equidistant between Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey and approximately fifteen miles closer to Philadelphia than to New York City. Major transportation corridors have passed through Lawrenceville since the town's inception, including The King's Highway, which in the 18th century approximated today's U.S. Route 206.[21] The predominant highway and commercial corridor through Lawrenceville is New Jersey State Route 1.
Of the 1,734 households, 27.1% had children under the age of 18; 48.5% were married couples living together; 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 39.7% were non-families. Of all households, 33.1% were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.90.[11]
20.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 35.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 82.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 78.6 males.[11]
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States Census[5] there were 4,081 people, 1,747 households, and 1,070 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,515.1/km2 (3,926.5/mi2). There were 1,776 housing units at an average density of 659.3/km2 (1,708.7/mi2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 88.12% White, 3.58% African American, 0.07% Native American, 6.30% Asian, 0.54% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.46% of the population.[12]
Of the 1,747 households, 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them; 48.7% were married couples living together; 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present; and 38.7% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.99.[12]
In the CDP the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18; 5.8% from 18 to 24; 32.2% from 25 to 44; 27.7% from 45 to 64; and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.7 males.[12]
The median income for a household in the CDP as of the year 2000 was $74,107. The median income for a family was $98,972. Males had a median income of $65,189 versus $37,972 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $37,919. About 0.6% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.[12]
The Lawrenceville Elementary School, one of Lawrence Township Public Schools' four elementary schools, is located in Lawrenceville.
Lawrenceville is home to the Lawrenceville School, a private boarding and day high school founded in 1810. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious prep schools in the United States.
Historically, the Lawrenceville School was the dominant economic force in the village. Since World War II, Lawrenceville has become a commuter town, serving educational and corporate employment centers in Lawrence Township, in Princeton and Trenton, in the surrounding cluster of corporate and research campuses, and to a lesser extent in New York City. There are no large businesses in Lawrenceville itself, but Lawrence Township is home to several large corporate facilities outside of the village, including the world headquarters of Educational Testing Service, offices for the Lenox division of Department 56, the main research facility for Bristol Myers Squibb, and the offices of the Peterson's division of Nelnet.
The village businesses share an organization, Lawrenceville Main Street, which organizes events, such as the Music in the Park series, the annual Jubilee, and Taste of Lawrenceville, and promotes the business district to visitors. The Lawrenceville Farmers Market is held every Sunday, from about June to November.[22]
The Lawrenceville Fire Co., Lawrenceville Water Co. (now part of Aqua America), Lawrenceville Fuel, and a U.S. Post Office are also located in Lawrenceville.
Lawrenceville was formerly home to a family grocery, hardware store, pharmacy, and, most famously, the Jigger Shop, which served generations of Lawrenceville School students as a school store and soda fountain.[23] A fire destroyed the shop on August 10, 1990. Caused by faulty electrical cords that ran to a store refrigerator, the fire burned through the store's ceiling into the second-floor apartment, which was unoccupied [1]. A new Jigger Shop then opened at The Lawrenceville School and was located on the first floor of the Noyes History Building, until its relocation to the Irwin Dining Center in 2011. After the demolition of the Irwin Dining Center in early 2023, the Jigger Shop was renamed to the Big Red Store and relocated to the newly-built Tsai Field House.[24]
Richard J. Coffee (born 1924), founder of Mercer County Park and a former state senator[34]
Oliver Crane (born 1998), rower, who set the record as the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, when he completed the 3,000-nautical-mile (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) journey in 2018[35]
^ abMain Street Historic District, Township of Lawrence. Accessed November 21, 2012. "When listed in the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places in 1972, the Main Street Historic District was one of the first registered historic districts in the State."
^Pictorial History of Lawrence Township 1697-1997, published by Lawrence Township, 1997
^Lawrence Township Assigned ZIP Code Designation, Lawrence Township, October 31, 2007. Accessed November 19, 2012. "The United States Postal Service (USPS) has notified Lawrence Township Officials that the postal ZIP Code 08648 has been approved for designation as Lawrence Township."
^Staff. "Brackett Making Impact As Nittany Lions Receiver", Centre Daily Times, September 4, 2008. Accessed October 10, 2012. "Now the fourth receiver in an offense that routinely utilizes four-wide sets, the redshirt sophomore from Lawrenceville, NJ, poses a big problem for opposing defenses... Brackett threw for 46 touchdowns and ran for 23 more during his career at Lawrence High School...."
^Katz, Michael. "The Education Of Quarterback Brunner", The New York Times, September 20, 1982. Accessed October 23, 2019. "Scott, who was born in Sellersville, Pa., grew up in Middletown, N.Y.; West Chester, Pa., and Lawrenceville, N.J.... The family moved to Lawrenceville just before Scott's junior year in high school."
^Staff. "Tony DeNicola: Obituary", The Times, September 4, 2006. Accessed September 17, 2015. "Tony DeNicola, 79, died Saturday in the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Born in Pennington, he had resided in Lawrenceville for 40 years."
^Piehler, Kurt; and Marley, Lynn. Kroesen, Frederick, Rutgers University Oral History Archives, March 16, 1998. Accessed May 4, 2020. "When I was ten-years-old, we moved to Eggerts Road in, what is now, Lawrenceville."
^Acampora, Rob. "Tonic Comes Home To N.J. in June – Prepares For Their American Reboot", WSJO. Accessed October 3, 2017. "Bassist Dan Lavery comes from Lawrenceville (and graduated from Rutgers), has ties in his early days starting out with Jersey cover band Brian Kirk and The Jirks (always worth checking out for a fun night out), and worked with The Fray a few years back."
^Plaks, Andrew H.; Peterson, Willard J.; Tang, Hai-tao; and Yu, Ying-shih. "James T. C. Liu (1919-1993)", The Journal of Asian Studies, Volume 53 / Issue 03 / August 1994, pp 1044-1045. Accessed June 27, 2015. "James T. C. Liu (Liu Tzu-chien) died at his home in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, on September 30, 1993, after a long illness."
^"Whitecaps FC Sign 2017 MLS SuperDraft Pick Jake Nerwinski", OurSportsCentral, February 9, 2017. Accessed October 23, 2017. "The Lawrenceville, New Jersey native was an All-District player in each of his four years at his hometown's Notre Dame High School."
^Frassinelli, Mike; and Calefati, Jessica. "Norman Schwarzkopf remembered as a 'genuine native son' of N.J.", The Star-Ledger, December 28, 2012. Accessed October 15, 2013. "He grew up in Lawrenceville and returned for New Jersey State Police functions, including as a keynote speaker for the State Police's 75th Anniversary in 1996 and as a guest of honor at a State Police-sponsored Boy Scout event in the early 2000s, State Police spokesman Lt. Stephen Jones said."
^Morton, Ryan. "Jon Solomon: Quirky Carols", Northwestern University Alumni Life, Winter 2011. Accessed November 21, 2012. " Solomon also runs an independent music label, Comedy Minus One, that produces post-punk, and he writes for various publications, while living in Lawrenceville, N.J."
^Carino, Jerry. "A win, and some reflection by Princeton Renaissance man Myles Stephens", Courier News, February 19, 2019. Accessed May 7, 2022. "Myles Stephens, Princeton’s senior guard, said after posting 17 points and 8 rebounds in the win. Stephens, a Lawrenceville, N.J. native, went to The Pennington School before transferring to St. Andrew’s School in Delaware."
^Condran, Ed. "Captain Noah gave Jon his big break", Bucks County Courier Times, February 27, 2004. Accessed March 13, 2008. "Jon Stewart has a considerable history with Philadelphia, growing up in Lawrenceville, N.J."
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