Brief history
From Lhi
From Environmental Resource Inventory - Final Draft 9/26/2007
Lawrence Township is one of the oldest municipalities in New Jersey. Although the township was officially established in 1798, the human history of the region dates back thousands of years. The earliest inhabitants of the land area today known as Lawrence Township were the Lenape Indians (called by the English “the Delawares”). These migratory people ranged throughout New Jersey along the banks of the Delaware River and its tributaries, leaving a legacy of stream names throughout the area. For example, Assunpink Creek, which makes up Lawrence's southern border is Lenape for “rocky place that is watery.” Creeks such as this provided rich natural resources for hunting, fishing, pottery-making and simple farming.
Early Native American communities relied on the township's natural resources until the arrival of Europeans. Towards the end of the seventeenth century, Quaker settlers began to come down into the township from New York by way of today's Route 206, the main road between New York and Philadelphia. They came in search of religious freedom and to farm the rich soils of Lawrence. The land was gently rolling, very fertile and watered by way of the Assunpink, Shabakunk, Little Shabakunk, Shipetauken and Stony Brook creeks.
Although the Lenape Indians were the original owners of the land, by 1801 (nearly a century after the arrival of the first settlers) they had sold virtually all of their land to the settlers and moved from the area. The first recorded purchases of lands in the township occurred in 1690 by Quaker settlers Mary Davis, Thomas Green and Richard Ridgeway. They purchased land north of the Assunpink Creek in what was then part of Burlington County and the colony of West Jersey.
In February of 1697, the Colonial Supreme Court at Burlington officially authorized the formation of the area north of the Assunpink Creek as the Township of Maidenhead. It was named for a suburb of London along the Thames River, which was later incorporated into the City of London. Maidenhead became the most important settlement in the area at that time because of its rich soils, easily cultivatable land, nearby stone quarries and central location between the Raritan and the Delaware rivers.
Maidenhead played an important role in the Revolutionary War. In December of 1776, Lord Cornwallis and some of his troops quartered on Main Street in what is today Lawrenceville. The following month, on January 2, 1777 the township was the site of a Revolutionary War engagement in which Colonel Edward Hand's riflemen delayed General Cornwallis's British troops at Shabakunk Creek. At this battle, Hand's men stationed near Lawrence Road prevented the British from entering the city of Trenton and allowed General Washington and the Continental Army time to escape during the night. Modern day re-enactments of this battle are held at this site each year.
Maidenhead was part of Burlington County and the colony of West Jersey until 1714 when the township became part of Hunterdon County. In 1798 the township was legally incorporated through an act of the New Jersey legislature. On January 24, 1816, the name of the township was changed to Lawrence. The municipality chose this name in honor of Captain James Lawrence, naval captain of the frigate USS Chesapeake during the War of 1812. Captain Lawrence was born in Burlington, New Jersey and is renowned for his final order, “Don't Give up the Ship.”
In 1838, Lawrence became part of Mercer County which was formed from part of Middlesex, Burlington and Hunterdon Counties. In 1844, Lawrence annexed an area of land across the Shabakunk Creek known as East Trenton. This area remained part of the township until 1882 when it seceded and became known as Millham Township (Millham was eventually incorporated into Trenton).
Lawrence was a popular place to settle throughout the 1800s because of its excellent agricultural soils. The village of Maidenhead (now Lawrenceville) became the center of trade for the farming community. Many acres of forest were cleared for farming up through the early 1900s. Since the 1930s, the acreage used for farming has declined as more and more land has been converted to residential and commercial uses. Even so, a large portion of northern Lawrence remains in agricultural use today as a result of farmland preservation efforts. These farms now produce vegetables, fruits, poultry, and dairy products.
The development of railways in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an electric trolley line extending from Trenton in the 1920s, and the rise of the automobile from the 1920s onward hastened Lawrence's growth. Lawrence's proximity to Trenton and accessibility by highway and train made the township an attractive location for commuters as well as large businesses and industries. By 1930, the population of Lawrence had swelled to 6,293 individuals. As a growing suburb to Trenton, Lawrence continued to grow rapidly following World War II. Between 1940 and 1950, the population grew from 6,522 to 8,449, an increase of almost 30 percent. By 1970 the total population reached 19,567, a 132 percent increase over the 1950 population. Nassau 1, Nassau 2, and Norgate, located between Princeton Pike and Route 206, were three of the major housing developments that sprang up in the township during the 1950s.
Although growth was relatively flat during the 1970s, Lawrence experienced a second housing and population boom during the 80s and 90s. The number of housing units increased by almost 53 percent from 6, 316 units in 1980 to 9,640 units in 1990, while total population increased by 30 percent during that decade. Between 1990 and 2000, the township's population increased by an additional 13 percent (from 25,787 to 29,159 residents), while the number of housing units increased by 16 percent, from 9,640 in 1990 to 11,180 in 2000. Lawrence's residential growth between 1980 and 2000 is indicative of the township's transformation into a suburban bedroom community. Because of its strategic location in the Mid-Atlantic region—only 54 miles from New York City and 33 miles from Philadelphia—the area is becoming part of the “commuter shed” for these two large cities. In fact, many new home buyers in Lawrence are professionals who have taken jobs in Manhattan and commute into the city.
During the early 1900s, in addition to agriculture, Lawrence's economy was underpinned by industrial and manufacturing activities. The township was home to a flour mill, sawmill, and an ice-cutting factory. Access to railroads made these operations possible. In the 1950s and 1960s Lawrence's economy underwent a transition to the research, development and knowledge industries with the arrival of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), Bristol Myers Squibb and a Shell Oil facility.
Despite the transition of Lawrence from a largely rural to a largely developed character, the town has been able to maintain much of it historic charm as well as significant areas of open space. The township's historic center, Lawrenceville, has become a vibrant hub, despite the rise and growth of suburban shopping centers such as the Quakerbridge Mall. Ten years ago, the Lawrenceville Main Street civic improvement organization formed to take the lead in revitalizing downtown Lawrenceville. In 1997, the organization became an official Main Street New Jersey Community. In 2005, Lawrenceville Main Street earned accreditation as a National Main Street Program under the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Lawrenceville Main Street Program continues to use its annual budget to recruit new businesses and organize events such as street fairs and free concerts. The organization also implements landscape and streetscape improvements such as better parking and lighting and has expanded the business district.
Today, Lawrence Township is renowned for its history, natural beauty and cultural diversity. It boasts Revolutionary War-era homes as well as modern residential, corporate and commercial communities. Although the township is located near the wealthy town of Princeton and has many million-dollar homes, it still boasts many affordable housing units. In fact, Lawrence is one of only a few central New Jersey communities to exceed its state mandated quota for affordable housing.
Lawrence is still experiencing development with new condominiums, single family homes, town houses, office complexes and shopping centers. While such growth poses challenges for the township, Lawrence has been successful at retaining much of its colonial charm, nurturing a productive agricultural industry, and protecting over 25 percent of its land area as open space.
