Titusville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hopewell Township, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 census, the population was 633. The area includes a post office with its own ZIP Code (08560), several restaurants, gas stations, a firehouse, and a small cluster of homes. Washington Crossing State Park, dedicated to George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River in 1776, is adjacent to the community.

History

The Titus family first settled the area in the early 1700s. By the time he died in 1797, Joseph Titus had assembled a family farmstead of almost 300 acres, from which he developed the village. Titusville is just north of the Johnson Ferry House in adjacent Washington Crossing, the scene of George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River during the American Revolutionary War. In 1831, the ferry was replaced by the Washington Crossing Bridge, linking it with Washington Crossing in Pennsylvania. In 1851, the Belvidere-Delaware Railroad opened to Titusville and a station was built in the town. Passenger service ceased at Titusville in April 1952 but passenger trains to other towns continued operating until October 1960. Freight continued to run on this portion of the line until 1976. Track was subsequently removed for the Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park recreational trail in the early 1980s.

Historic district

The Titusville Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 17, 1983, for its significance in architecture, industry, religion, and transportation. It includes 100 contributing buildings.

Geography

Titusville's central feature is a small village that sits on a bluff overlooking a picturesque stretch of the Delaware River, with stairwells connecting the village to private docks on the river. The community is bisected by New Jersey Route 29 (River Road), a busy road that runs along the east side of the Delaware. The Delaware and Raritan feeder canal runs parallel to the river just to the east of the village, which is connected to River Road by several two-lane bridges. A biking/walking trail follows the canal, constructed when the former Belvidere-Delaware Railroad line was removed in the early 1980s. Opposite the canal from the river, extending eastward, are a number of small residential streets, a county park centered about Baldpate Mountain, and the homes ringing the base of the mountain and county park. Washington Crossing State Park, an 800 acres tract of woods, fields, and streams, borders the community to the north and east. The park covers the gradual slope from Bear Tavern Road down to the Delaware River. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Titusville CDP has a total area of 0.55 sqmi, of which 0.47 sqmi are land and 0.08 sqmi, or 15.2%, are water. Titusville is home to Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a division of Johnson and Johnson.

Education

All of Hopewell Township, including Titusville, is served by the Hopewell Valley Regional School District.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Titusville include:

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