West Trenton is an unincorporated community within Ewing Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburban area located adjacent to the northwestern portion of the city of Trenton, from which it derives its name.[2] Located at the intersection of Bear Tavern Road/Grand Avenue and West Upper Ferry Road, it is one of the oldest settlements in Ewing Township.
West Trenton, New Jersey | |
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 The Trenton-Mercer Airport (IATA: TTN) in the West Trenton neighborhood of Ewing Township, New Jersey is a shared civilian-military airport. | |
  West Trenton Location of West Trenton in Mercer County Inset: Location of county within the state of New Jersey  West Trenton West Trenton (New Jersey)  West Trenton West Trenton (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 40°15′50″N 74°49′07″W / 40.26389°N 74.81861°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New Jersey |
| County | Mercer |
| Township | Ewing |
| Elevation | 164 ft (50 m) |
| GNIS feature ID | 881731[1] |
History
editThe community was known as Birmingham and then Trenton Junction before adopting its current name.[3] Today, West Trenton is primarily a residential neighborhood consisting of a mixture of detached, single-family homes and semi-attached, half-duplexes, the majority of which were built from the early 1900s through the 1950s.[4]
Points of interest
editIt is home to the New Jersey State Police Headquarters, Trenton–Mercer Airport, Trenton Country Club,[5] New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, The Homasote Company, The Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf,[6] and the nearby Villa Victoria Academy, a Catholic primary and secondary school for girls. Religious institutions include Our Lady of Good Counsel Church (Roman Catholic),[7] West Trenton Presbyterian Church, and Calvary Chapel of Mercer County (Evangelical). Interstate 295 is just northwest of the community and is linked to it by Bear Tavern Road. West Trenton Train Station is the outermost stop on the SEPTA Regional Rail West Trenton Line.
West Trenton was the site of the General Motors Inland Fisher Guide Plant owned by its Fisher Body division. During World War II, the TBM version of the Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber was produced here for the United States Navy. Women were employed to fly the bombers from the nearby airport to their deployment sites. The facility was demolished and the site is awaiting final environmental remediation and redevelopment.
The Naval Air Warfare Center Trenton operated on a 528-acre (214 ha) site in West Trenton from 1953 to 1997.[8]
Education
edit
As of other parts of the township it is a part of Ewing Public Schools, served by Ewing High School.
Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf, a statewide school, opened in West Trenton in 1923.[9]
Villa Victoria Academy is in West Trenton.
References
edit- ^ a b "West Trenton". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed January 7, 2015.
- ^ Jo Ann Tesauro (2002). Images of America: Ewing Township. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 7–8. ISBN 0-7385-1040-8.
Birmingham/Trenton Junction/West Trenton was a village whose main intersection was located at today's Bear Tavern and West Upper Ferry Roads. It contained a blacksmith shop, a cobbler, and several homesteads. Birmingham was renamed Trenton Junction in 1882. The Trenton Junction Station was built in the late 1880s, and c. 1930 it was renamed West Trenton Station.
- ^ "West Trenton, Ewing Township, New Jersey". livingplaces.com. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
West Trenton is a residential neighborhood of semi-attached twins and detached singles built from the early 1900s through the 1950s. Median age is ca. 1953. Median lot size is approximately 1/4 acre. Typical homes have 3 to 4 bedrooms with 1 to 2 baths; most of the homes have full basements; about half have 1-car, attached garages. The neighborhood is generally centered around the intersection of Upper Ferry Road West with Bear Tavern Road/Grand Avenue.
- ^ Trenton Country Club website
- ^ Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf website
- ^ Our Lady of Good Counsel Church website
- ^ Former Naval Air Warfare Center Trenton, United States Navy. Accessed December 28, 2022. "The property consists of approximately 528 acres of improved and unimproved land. The NAWC was operated by the U.S. Navy from 1951 until 1997 as a jet engine test facility."
- ^ Kull, Helen (February 27, 2017). "Ewing Then and Now: The first school for the deaf in N.J." Community News. Lawrence, New Jersey. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
External links
edit
Media related to West Trenton, New Jersey at Wikimedia Commons
