Alcohol Treatment Center in Cranbury, NJ.

A deed for a sale of land and improvements dated March 1, 1698, is the earliest evidence of buildings constructed in present-day Cranbury. A home in Cranbury was used by Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette as a headquarters during the American Revolutionary War, and they were visited by General George Washington on June 26, 1778.

George Washington also made Cranbury his headquarters during this visit, as it was here that plans were laid out to intercept the British’s retreat from Philadelphia to New York City, during the tail end of Britain’s Philadelphia campaign. This continued pursuit led to the fated events of the Battle of Monmouth (which took place nearby in modern-day Freehold Township and Manalapan Township, preserved now as Monmouth Battlefield State Park), a major turning point for the Revolutionary War. As part of orders issued during the presidency of George Washington, maps of Cranbury were made showing the presence of a church, a mill and 25 other buildings. During its earliest years, the location was usually spelled as “Cranberry”. Rev. Joseph G. Symmes argued in 1857 that the name was spelled improperly and that the suffix “bury” was more appropriate, leading the name of the community and brook to be changed to “Cranbury” in 1869. The name has been attributed to wild cranberries that grew in the area.

The so-called Hightstown rail accident occurred in or near Cranbury, in 1833. According to John Quincy Adams, who was aboard the train and who wrote in his diary about it, the train was 3 miles (4.8 km) from Hightstown when the disaster struck, putting the accident near what is now Cranbury Station. Among the passengers aboard were Tyrone Power and Cornelius Vanderbilt.