

According to John Quincy Adams, who was aboard the train and who wrote in his diary about it, the train was 3 miles (4.8 km) from Hightstown when the disaster struck, putting the accident near what is now Cranbury Station. The so-called Hightstown rail accident occurred in or near Cranbury, in 1833. The name has been attributed to wild cranberries that grew in the area. 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. During its earliest years, the location was usually spelled as "Cranberry". 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. This continued pursuit led to the fated events of the Battle of Monmouth (which took place nearby in modern day Freehold Township and Manalapan Township, preserved now as Monmouth Battlefield State Park), a major turning point for the Revolutionary War. George Washington also made Cranbury his headquarters during this visit, as it was here where plans were laid out to intercept the British's retreat from Philadelphia to New York City, during the tail end of Britain's Philadelphia campaign.

A home in Cranbury was used by Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette as a headquarters during the American Revolutionary War, and they were visited by General George Washington on June 26, 1778. History Ī deed for a sale of land and improvements dated March 1, 1698, is the earliest evidence of buildings constructed in present-day Cranbury. Cranbury has become a hub in central New Jersey for the logistics industry, and the municipal taxes generated by these industrial properties have helped to keep residential property taxes steady over time. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 3,842, a decrease of 15 (−0.4%) from the 2010 census count of 3,857, which in turn had reflected an increase of 630 (+19.5%) from the 3,227 counted at the 2000 census. state of New Jersey, Located within the Raritan Valley region, Cranbury is roughly equidistant between New York City and Philadelphia in the heart of the state. Cranbury is a township in southern Middlesex County, within the U.S.
