The Ayres Farm
Overview
Until the summer of 2019, a large, white house stood abandoned, forlornly looking over the road it had been built next to hundreds of years prior. This structure sat next to series of barns and outbuildings strung out along the road to the north, straddling the border of East Windsor and West Windsor, but is primarily located in our township.
The farmhouse first definitively appears on an 1860 map of West Windsor under ownership by E. Ayres. 11 years prior, the property appeared on a different map, albeit with a seemingly different building. The 1875 map shows a 120 acre property owned by Enos Ayres - possibly after whom Ayres Way off of Southfield Road was named. The farmhouse was built in at least 3 sections. featuring a central 3 bay section, a lower wide wing to the north, and southern wing with an octagonal projection.
Although the house was torn down in 2020, the barn still stands, albeit as a decaying wooden construct. In 2019, it is still used to house various farm equipment, as the property is still being farmed. In 2018, the Greater Muslim Center of Princeton was established next door, removing a bit of the historic farmland of this property. However, the Ayres farm continues to retain the majority of its land. It won't for long, however - plans for 185 town homes would remove this part of West Windsor's agrarian identity forever.
Until the summer of 2019, a large, white house stood abandoned, forlornly looking over the road it had been built next to hundreds of years prior. This structure sat next to series of barns and outbuildings strung out along the road to the north, straddling the border of East Windsor and West Windsor, but is primarily located in our township.
The farmhouse first definitively appears on an 1860 map of West Windsor under ownership by E. Ayres. 11 years prior, the property appeared on a different map, albeit with a seemingly different building. The 1875 map shows a 120 acre property owned by Enos Ayres - possibly after whom Ayres Way off of Southfield Road was named. The farmhouse was built in at least 3 sections. featuring a central 3 bay section, a lower wide wing to the north, and southern wing with an octagonal projection.
Although the house was torn down in 2020, the barn still stands, albeit as a decaying wooden construct. In 2019, it is still used to house various farm equipment, as the property is still being farmed. In 2018, the Greater Muslim Center of Princeton was established next door, removing a bit of the historic farmland of this property. However, the Ayres farm continues to retain the majority of its land. It won't for long, however - plans for 185 town homes would remove this part of West Windsor's agrarian identity forever.
The Ayres farm in 2018
