diff --git a/core/pom.xml b/core/pom.xml
index 82b83d97d..6b89292a4 100644
--- a/core/pom.xml
+++ b/core/pom.xml
@@ -229,14 +229,6 @@
             <optional>true</optional>
         </dependency>
 
-        <!-- Plexus -->
-        <dependency>
-            <groupId>org.codehaus.plexus</groupId>
-            <artifactId>plexus-container-default</artifactId>
-            <version>1.0-alpha-10-SNAPSHOT</version>
-            <optional>true</optional>
-        </dependency>
-
         <!-- Spring -->
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/dispatcher/Dispatcher.java b/core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/dispatcher/Dispatcher.java
index 11190754f..1b5a5ceef 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/dispatcher/Dispatcher.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/dispatcher/Dispatcher.java
@@ -184,9 +184,9 @@ public class Dispatcher {
                 //       dependencies on spring, since it isn't technically required.
                 className = "org.apache.struts2.spring.StrutsSpringObjectFactory";
             } else if (className.equals("plexus")) {
-                // note: this class name needs to be in string form so we don't put hard
-                //       dependencies on spring, since it isn't technically required.
                 className = "org.apache.struts2.plexus.PlexusObjectFactory";
+                LOG.warn("The 'plexus' shorthand for the Plexus ObjectFactory is deprecated.  Please "
+                        +"use the full class name: "+className);
             }
 
             try {
diff --git a/plugins/plexus/pom.xml b/plugins/plexus/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d23b6bd85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/plexus/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+    <parent>
+        <groupId>org.apache.struts</groupId>
+        <artifactId>struts2-plugins</artifactId>
+        <version>2.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    </parent>
+    <groupId>org.apache.struts</groupId>
+    <artifactId>struts2-plexus-plugin</artifactId>
+    <packaging>jar</packaging>
+    <name>Struts 2 Plexus Plugin</name>
+    
+    <distributionManagement>
+        <site>
+            <id>apache-site</id>
+            <url>scp://people.apache.org/www/struts.apache.org/2.x/plugins/plexus</url>
+        </site>
+    </distributionManagement>
+    
+    <dependencies>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.codehaus.plexus</groupId>
+            <artifactId>plexus-container-default</artifactId>
+            <version>1.0-alpha-10-SNAPSHOT</version>
+            <optional>true</optional>
+        </dependency>
+   </dependencies>
+</project>
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusFilter.java b/plugins/plexus/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusFilter.java
similarity index 100%
rename from core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusFilter.java
rename to plugins/plexus/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusFilter.java
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusLifecycleListener.java b/plugins/plexus/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusLifecycleListener.java
similarity index 100%
rename from core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusLifecycleListener.java
rename to plugins/plexus/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusLifecycleListener.java
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusObjectFactory.java b/plugins/plexus/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusObjectFactory.java
similarity index 100%
rename from core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusObjectFactory.java
rename to plugins/plexus/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusObjectFactory.java
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusThreadLocal.java b/plugins/plexus/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusThreadLocal.java
similarity index 100%
rename from core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusThreadLocal.java
rename to plugins/plexus/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusThreadLocal.java
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusUtils.java b/plugins/plexus/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusUtils.java
similarity index 100%
rename from core/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusUtils.java
rename to plugins/plexus/src/main/java/org/apache/struts2/plexus/PlexusUtils.java