Robbinsville Township, New Jersey

Robbinsville Township is a township in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the border of the New York metropolitan area and the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 15,476, its highest decennial count ever. Inspired by its central geographical location within New Jersey, Robbinsville's motto is Be at the Center of it All.

The township was incorporated as in 1859 as Washington Township. It changed its name to Robinsville in 2008, the name of a settlement within the township, after the politician George R. Robbins.

Robbinsville has the only team to reach the Little League Softball World Series four times in seven years. It is home to the BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, one of the largest Hindu temples in the world.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 20.58 square miles (53.30 km2), including 20.44 square miles (52.94 km2) of land and 0.14 square miles (0.36 km2) of water (0.68%).

Located at the cross-roads between the Delaware Valley region to the southwest and the Raritan Valley region to the northeast, the township is considered part of the New York Metropolitan area as defined by the United States Census Bureau, but borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is part of the Federal Communications Commission's Philadelphia Designated Market Area.

The township borders East Windsor, Hamilton Township, and West Windsor Township in Mercer County; and Allentown, Millstone Township and Upper Freehold Township in Monmouth County.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Allens Station, Carsons Mills, Hillside Terrace, Meadows Terrace, New Canton, New Sharon, Pages Corners, Robbinsville Center and Windsor.

History
What is now Robbinsville Township was originally incorporated as Washington Township (named for George Washington ) by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1859, from portions of East Windsor.

On November 6, 2007, voters approved by a vote of 1,816 to 693 a measure that changed the township's name from Washington Township (the name of five other municipalities in New Jersey) to Robbinsville, named after a settlement within the township. The official changeover took place January 1, 2008, as signs and other items with "Washington" on them began to be changed. It is named for George R. Robbins, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1855 to 1859 and lived in the area.

2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 13,642 people, 5,087 households, and 3,591 families in the township. The population density was 671.5 /sqmi. There were 5,277 housing units at an average density of 259.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup was 81.59% (11,131) White, 3.12% (426) Black or African American, 0.10% (13) Native American, 12.67% (1,729) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.71% (97) from other races, and 1.80% (246) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.13% (564) of the population.

Of the 5,087 households, 41.7% had children under the age of 18; 60.0% were married couples living together; 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present and 29.4% were non-families. Of all households, 25.8% 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 2.66 and the average family size was 3.26.

28.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 91.3 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 87.8 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $92,440 (with a margin of error of +/− $11,773) and the median family income was $124,816 (+/− $10,353). Males had a median income of $96,156 (+/− $4,577) versus $65,327 (+/− $8,597) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $44,149 (+/− $2,813). About 2.7% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census there were 10,275 people, 4,074 households, and 2,815 families residing in the township. The population density was 501.8 PD/sqmi. There were 4,163 housing units at an average density of 203.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the township was 91.00% White, 2.89% African American, 0.14% Native American, 4.31% Asian, 0.55% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.72% of the population.

There were 4,074 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the township the population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 37.9% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $71,377, and the median income for a family was $90,878. Males had a median income of $61,589 versus $44,653 for females. The per capita income for the township was $35,529. About 2.5% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Local government
In November 2004, township residents voted to change their form of government from a Township Committee to a Mayor-Council form under the Faulkner Act. The new form of government took effect as of July 1, 2005. The Mayor-Council form of government is used by 71 of the state's 564 municipalities. In this form, the governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the Township Council, each functioning as an independent branch of government, with all members elected at-large to four-year terms of office on a non-partisan basis as part of the November general election. The Mayor is the Chief Executive of the Township and heads its Administration. The Mayor may attend Council meetings but is not obliged to do so. The Council is the legislative branch. Elections are held in odd-numbered years with three council seats up together and the two other seats (and the mayoral seat) up for election two years later. At the annual organizational meeting held during the first week of January of each year, the Council selects a President and Vice President to serve for one-year terms. The Council President chairs the meetings of the governing body. Following an ordinance passed in December 2011, municipal elections were shifted from May to November, with the terms of all township council members then serving extend by six months, to December 31.

, the Mayor of Robbinsville Township is David Fried, whose term of office ends December 31, 2025. Members of the Township Council are Council President Michael Cipriano (2025), Vice President Deborah Blakely (2025), Christine "Chris" Ciaccio (2023), Michael Todd (2023; elected to serve an unexpired term) and Ronald C. Witt Jr. (2023).

In January 2021, Deborah Blakely was appointed to fill the term expiring in December 2023 that had become vacant following the resignation of Dan Schuberth. Blakely served on an interim basis until the November 2021 election. In the November 2021 general election, Michael Todd was elected to serve the balance of Schuberth's term of office, while Deborah Blakely ran for and won a full four-year term.

Federal, state, and county representation
Robbinsville Township is located in the 3rd Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 14th state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 8,361 registered voters in Robbinsville Township, of which 2,186 (26.1%) were registered as Democrats, 2,068 (24.7%) were registered as Republicans and 4,101 (49.0%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 6 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.

In the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden won the town 58.0% to 40.8%, a margin that was to the left of the state as a whole. In the 2016 election, Hillary won the town 51.6% to 43.9%. In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 49.6% of the vote (3,332 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 49.1% (3,297 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (88 votes), among the 7,310 ballots cast by the township's 9,099 registered voters (593 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 80.3%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 51.3% of the vote here (3,406 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 46.7% (3,099 votes) and other candidates with 1.1% (76 votes), among the 6,643 ballots cast by the township's 8,413 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.0%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 52.9% of the vote here (3,215 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 44.7% (2,718 votes) and other candidates with 0.6% (43 votes), among the 6,075 ballots cast by the township's 7,447 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 81.6. This remains the last Republican presidential victory in the township.

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 60.6% of the vote (2,102 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 35.4% (1,228 votes), and other candidates with 3.9% (136 votes), among the 4,433 ballots cast by the township's 9,076 registered voters (967 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 48.8%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 57.9% of the vote here (2,508 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 34.7% (1,503 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 6.0% (262 votes) and other candidates with 0.6% (28 votes), among the 4,331 ballots cast by the township's 8,379 registered voters, yielding a 51.7% turnout.

Education
The Robbinsville Public School District serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 3,073 students and 253.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.1:1. Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are Sharon Elementary School with 1,005 students in grades PreK-4, Pond Road Middle School with 992 students in grades 5–8 and Robbinsville High School with 1,057 students in grades 9–12.

Prior to the 2006–07 school year, high school students from here were sent to Lawrence High School in Lawrence Township as part of a now-ended sending/receiving relationship with the Lawrence Township Public Schools. Robbinsville High School serves all of Robbinsville Township's high school students on site and graduated its first class of 150 students in June 2008.

Eighth grade students from all of Mercer County are eligible to apply to attend the high school programs offered by the Mercer County Technical Schools, a county-wide vocational school district that offers full-time career and technical education at its Health Sciences Academy, STEM Academy and Academy of Culinary Arts, with no tuition charged to students for attendance.

Development
Robbinsville Town Center, near the intersection of U.S. Route 130 and Route 33, is a mix of about 1,000 housing units, including loft-style condominiums, townhouses, duplexes, single-family homes, and real estate space.

Plans are underway to redevelop the portion of the township which lies to the south of Route 33, between the Hamilton Township border and U.S. Route 130. In December 2010, the state approved designating this property as an area in need of development, which allows the township to draft a plan and appoint a redeveloper to revive stalled construction projects there.

Robbinsville is home to a large warehouse colony, located on West Manor Way, just adjacent to the entrances and exit ramps to exits 7 and 8 off of Interstate 195. It is home to a variety of companies' distribution centers, including Scholastic Books, JDSU, Sleepy's, and Grainger Products. The Robbinsville Field House is a large membership gym located at the entrance to the warehouse colony near Route 526. An Amazon.com Fulfillment Center warehouse opened in the Matrix Business Park off of CR 539 in July 2014.

Roads and highways
, the township had a total of 100 mi of roadways, of which 78.26 mi were maintained by the municipality, 8.16 mi by Mercer County, 8.37 mi by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 5.20 mi by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

Four major U.S./State/Interstate routes pass through the township: the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95), Interstate 195 (the Central Jersey Expressway), U.S. Route 130 and Route 33. County routes that pass through include County Route 526 (which passes through the center of the township) and both County Route 524 and County Route 539 (Old York Road), which travel along the southeastern border of the township.

Interstate 195 is a major east-west artery that connects New Jersey's state capital of Trenton eastward to Robbinsville (at the New Jersey Turnpike's exit 7A) and then onward to the Garden State Parkway at Wall Township, thereby providing Robbinsville with direct access to the Jersey Shore region. Interchange 7A (for the Turnpike) is located within the township, with a 13-lane toll gate. Interstate 195 also provides access to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township.

Public transportation
NJ Transit provides bus service to and from Trenton on the 606 route.

Robbinsville Township is home to Trenton-Robbinsville Airport (identifier N87), an uncontrolled general aviation airport, with a 4275 ft long runway. The airport averages 30,000 aircraft operations per year.

Sports
Robbinsville Township reached the Little League Softball World Series in four of the seven years from 2008 to 2014, the only program in the nation to do so. The team won the championship in 2014 with a 22–0 postseason record and a 4–1 win against Bossier City, Louisiana in the tournament final. the team was featured in a story by ESPN as "arguably the biggest hotbed of girls' softball players in the country."

Wineries

 * Working Dog Winery

Restaurants

 * Papa's Tomato Pies
 * De Lorenzo's Tomato Pies

Religious institutions
BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, a Hindu temple inaugurated in 2023, was constructed by 12,500 volunteers on a 180 acres site and has a spire reaching 191 feet. It is the largest Hindu temple outside of Asia and the largest to be built in modern times.

Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Robbinsville Township has a Hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa).

Ecology
According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. potential natural vegetation types, Robbinsville Township would have a dominant vegetation type of Appalachian Oak (104) with a dominant vegetation form of Eastern Hardwood Forest (25).

Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Robbinsville Township include:


 * Shobhan Bantwal (born 1950), Indian American writer
 * Ross Colton (born 1996), center for the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) who scored the series-clinching goal in a 1-0 victory in Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals
 * Frank Eliason (born 1972), corporate executive and author
 * John Friedberg (born 1961), fencer who competed in the team sabre event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona
 * Elijah C. Hutchinson (1855–1932), represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district from 1915–1923
 * Samantha Josephson, a college student whose 2019 murder led to the passage of Sami’s Law
 * Robert "Bobby" Smith (born 1951), retired U.S. soccer defender and National Soccer Hall of Fame member, owner of Bob Smith Soccer Academy in Robbinsville Township