The earliest mention of the local area in the 17th century refers to it as a wilderness with several Native American camps. Founded in 1818, it was named Centerville because it was the geographical center of the state. Until then, adjacent heavily wooded lands were called Magrilla (origins unknown).

In 1814, after the completion of the Bordentown and South Amboy stagecoach turnpike, William McKnight, director of the turnpike company, built a tavern at the intersection of the turnpike and present-day Windsor-Perrineville Road. A major thruway between New York City and Philadelphia, the turnpike was an improved route versus the Old York Road, originally the Tuckaraming Trail, a Native-American path prior to European settlement. In 1816 the local section of the stagecoach turnpike between New York and Philadelphia ran along Main Street. In late 1831, the Camden and Amboy Railroad was constructed through Centerville. The village became a stopover for rail travelers, and a thriving center for the bountiful farms and mills which serviced the growing population. It quickly became the largest village between Yardville (Sand Town) and Hightstown and was renamed “Windsor” in 1846 to avoid any confusion with a Centerville post office in Hunterdon County.

Windsor was located within its namesake, Windsor Township, until 1797, at which point Windsor Township was divided into East Windsor and West Windsor townships, with the community of Windsor located in East Windsor. East Windsor was subsequently divided in 1860, with the southern portion including Windsor becoming Washington Township (present-day Robbinsville Township).