Old Town Hall

Old Town Hall, likely in the 1970s, by E. Little.

Historical Overview

Before the early 1900s, West Windsor's government, like those of other municipalities, met in various houses and inns across town. At first, the old Dutch Neck Inn (which still stands in the historic community of Dutch Neck) was the meeting ground for virtually all Township conventions from the time of the town's formation in 1797 until 1808. After that, and until the early 1900s, the same inn and others - in Clarksville, Edinburg, Penns Neck, Port Mercer, Princeton Basin, Vanhiseville, and more - alongside various houses - hosted municipal meetings.[1] However, the early 1900s brought a period of change.

Following the submittal of a petition in May 1912 to have a town hall constructed, the Township Committee set out to do so. They initially considered two lots in centrally-located Dutch Neck: one owned by Wyndham Smallbone (around where the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church's parking lot exists today) and one owned by Hiram A. Cook, between the old Dutch Neck inn and the Chapel.[2]

After securing architectural plans for a 2-story, 24-by-40 foot building, they opted for Cook's lot. By September, a cellar had been dug by H. R. Scott for $45, and local contractor Lewis C. Bowers (who later owned the nearby house at 210 South Mill Road) was hired to erect the new town hall for $2,661.50. On December 31, 1912, municipal government met in the completed building for the first recorded time.[3]

Over the years, old Town Hall, like the current municipal center, hosted not just Township Committee meetings but community get-togethers of all sorts. Elections were held there. The West Windsor Volunteer Fire Company had its first station in the building, with a garage bay on the eastern side (where the double-stairs are in the painting at the top of this page) before they opened their brick firehouse in 1952. Long-gone community groups such as a local Patriotic Order Sons of America chapter met on the second floor.[4]

Old Town Hall, early 1900s. Children unknown. In the back is the old Dutch Neck Inn (now at 212-214 South Mill Road). Photo from the Danser family.

Upon its formation in 1968, the West Windsor Police Department reserved a portion of the town hall for its operations and would stay there for almost the next decade.[5] Longtime residents remembered there being no jail cells and people being handcuffed to a radiator instead.[6]

In the 1970s, amid West Windsor's rapid suburban growth, discussions mounted about the need for a new Town Hall. In the mid-1970s, a site was chosen - the old Courtney farm off of Clarksville and North Post Roads - and by 1977, a new Municipal Building - part of the larger Municipal Center - had been constructed. Around the same time, the old Town Hall was demolished, sixty-five years after it rose in Dutch Neck.[7]

At some point, the township's World War II memorial - which had been dedicated in 1947 on the corner of Village Road West and South Mill Road - was moved back a few dozen feet to its current location.[8],[9] It sits on the old footprint of the old Town Hall, whose foundation can still likely be found underneath the small park that now calls that plot of land in the center of Dutch Neck "home."

Back when farming still reigned, corn used to grow up to Old Town Hall's walls!

Go to Dutch Neck

Bibliography

"West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center. Minutes collectively tell of the roles of various township officers as well as town development. Several thousand pages. For this citation, review minutes from the years 1797-1912.
"West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center. Minutes collectively tell of the roles of various township officers as well as town development. Several thousand pages. For this citation, review minutes from the year 1912.
"West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center. Minutes collectively tell of the roles of various township officers as well as town development. Several thousand pages. For this citation, review minutes from the year 1912 and onward.
Ibid.
"West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center. Minutes collectively tell of the roles of various township officers as well as town development. Several thousand pages. For this citation, review minutes from the year 1968-78.
“Joy Holman's Comment When Sharing the Historical Society of West Windsor's ‘Old Town Hall’ Facebook Post.” Facebook: Facebook, April 24, 2020. Full comment, written by Joy Holman on April 24, 2020, when sharing the Historical Society of West Windsor's Facebook post (posted the same day) about the Old Town Hall: "This was right down the street. No jail cells so people would be handcuffed to the radiator! I loved this old building."
"West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center. Minutes collectively tell of the roles of various township officers as well as town development. Several thousand pages. For this citation, review minutes from the year 1970-78.
West Windsor's Old Town Hall Being Demolished, c. 1977. Photograph. West Windsor, NJ , n.d. West Windsor History Museum.
“World War II Monument.” West Windsor: 501 Village Road West, Dutch Neck.