Princeton, Indiana, United States

🇺🇸 Princeton is the largest city in and the county seat of Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana, United States. It is part of the greater Evansville, Indiana, Metropolitan Area.

Economy Major employers in Princeton include Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana (TMMI), located 3 miles to the south, nearly halfway between Princeton and Fort Branch, where the Toyota Sequoia, Sienna and Highlander are manufactured; and Hansen Corporation. Many Toyota suppliers have facilities between the plant site and the city. These suppliers include EnovaPremier, Vuteq, TISA, Millennium Steel, Gibson County Quality Assurance, and Product Action International. All of these facilities were either built or converted from other uses to furnish supplies, part and services to TMMI. Siemens at one point had research and manufacturing facilities in Princeton, but the manufacturing plant was closed in the early 1990s and the research facility was closed soon after. In 2008 the former Siemens property was acquired by Menards and demolished. A Menards store currently occupies the former Siemens site.

Toyota's announcement in late 1995 that it would be building a $1 billion manufacturing facility in Princeton created an economic boom, as many of Toyota's suppliers also built plants in or near Princeton to minimize shipping and logistical expenses. Additionally, many service businesses located in town to satisfy the needs of the employees, many of whom would be relocating to the Princeton area from elsewhere. However, the arrival of Toyota was not without controversy. Many objected to the ten-year tax abatement offered as part of the incentive package to induce Toyota to locate in the area, and others were worried by the fact that it would likely not be unionized (as of 2019, it is not).

More recently, many retail and restaurant chains such as Applebee's, Sears, and Menards have opened locations in Princeton. Analysts attribute much of this to the planned extension of Interstate 69—at the time many of these businesses were sited in Princeton, the leading proposal for the project was to upgrade U.S. 41 (it was later decided to build Interstate 69 over a new-terrain route, which would travel between nearby Oakland City and Francisco).

Princeton is served by two freight rail lines: CSX and Norfolk Southern. For people who enjoy watching trains online, Virtual Railfan, via YouTube, provides northbound and southbound cams along the tracks at W. Broadway St. for 24-hour viewing when the cameras are in operation. The cams are hosted by the Gibson County Visitors and Tourism Bureau. Greyhound Bus Lines stops at curbside to pick up and discharge passengers outside a Burger King restaurant at 2740 W. Broadway St.