Downtown – Trenton, New Jersey

Isaac Kremer/ November 10, 2022/ downtown, preservation, public art/ 0 comments

1. Trenton Battle Monument. Opened in 1896 to commemorate the American victories at the Battles of Trenton.
2. St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 140 North Warren St. Built 1747-48; used as a hospital after the Battles of Trenton; buried in the churchyard is David Brearley, a signer of the U.S. Constitution.
3. Quaker Meeting House, 142 East Hanover Street. Built 1739; during the Second Battle of Trenton the meeting house was occupied by British forces; buried here is Charles Clymer, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
4. After the Crossing mural, East Hannover Street. A second mural by Illia Barger, with scenes from the First Battle of Trenton arranged a central image of the final result – the surrender of the English.
5. First Presbyterian Church Burial Ground, 120 East State Street. Buried here are the Reverend John Rosbrugh, killed by the British on January 2, 1777, and Moore Furman, Revolutionary War patriot and Trenton’s first mayor.
6. Petty’s Run Archaeological Site, 125 West State St. Stabilized ruins of the Trenton Steel Works (circa 1745-84); the steel works and a nearby plating mill both supplied war material to the Continental Army.
7. N.C. Wyeth Painting, 101 West State Street. Acclaimed painting by N.C. Wyeth showing George Washington passing through Trenton en route to his inauguration as the nation’s first President in 1789.
8. Old Barracks Museum, 101 Barrack Street. National Historical Landmark, erected 1768-69 during the French and Indian War; served as an army hospital for American soldiers during the Revolution.
9. Old Masonic Lodge, 102 Barrack St. Built in 1793, provides visitor information about the Trenton area and an exhibit explaining the military maneuvers of the Battle of Trenton.
10. The Winds of Change Mural, South Warren St. Eye-catching mural that captures the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Trenton on July 8, 1776.
11. Trenton Mills, Hill Park (South Broad Street). Established by Trenton’s founder settler Mahlon Stacy in 1679; once the leading colonial gristmill in all of West Jersey and a focus of the Second Battle of Trenton.
12. Douglass House, Mill Hill Park (East Front Street). Current location of thrice-moved house where George Washington planned the American withdrawal from Trenton on January 2, 17777 and the surprise victory at Princeton on the following day.
13. George Washington Statue, Mill Hill Park. Italian marble statue of George Washington leaning forward in his classic “Crossing the Delaware” pose; carved for the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876 and relocated to Mill Hill Park in 1976.
14. 1719 William Trent House Museum, 15 Market Street. Built 1719 by William Trent, the Philadelphia merchant for whom Trenton is named; owned by loyalist Dr. William Bryant at the time of the Battles of Trenton.
15. Eagle Tavern, 431-433 South Broad Street. Built as a dwelling around 1765 by Philadelphia merchant Robert Waln; occupied by British and Hessian forces prior to the Battles of Trenton.

Other Sites of Interest in New Jersey

1. New Jersey State Museum, 205 W State St, Trenton.
2. Washington Crossing State Park, Washington Crossing Pe Rd, Titusville.
3. Princeton Battlefield State Park, 500 Mercer Rd, Princeton.

War Memorial Theater

Famed theater and stage that hosted Rachmaninoff (1940), Eleanor Roosevelt (1940), Paul Robeson (1942), Marion Anderson (1942)James Brown (1984), “They shall grow not old as we who are left grow old: at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.” Inscription over entrance.

Old Barracks. A National Historical Landmark is the finest xamples of colonial barracks in the United States. Built in 1758 as winter housing for British troops during the French and Indian War. Played an important role in the Battle of Trenton. On December 26, 1776 occupied by Loyalist refugees and civilians attached to the Hessian brigade then in control of the town. After Washington was successful leading his force in battle, housed both American troops and British prisoners. Later served as a Continental Army smallpox hospital and was integral in the first successful mass inocuplation in the western hemisphere. Later Beulah A. Oliphant, regent and founder of the Captain Jonathan Oliphant Chapter of the DAR, raised funds for purchase of the building and to preserve its important role. Opened as a museum in 1903.

Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area

Mill Hill Park

Downtown Trenton is one of the most significant battlefields of the Revolutionary War. The street network is essentially the same as it was when the twon center served as setting for two engagements that saw the Continental Army turn the tide of military conflict against British and Hessian forces. The first battle occurred on the streets between the Battle Monument down to the Assunpink Creek on the morning of December 26, 1776. Fighting culminated with capitulation of HEssian troops where Captain von Viesenrodt surrendered the von Knyphausen Regiment to Brigadier General Arthur St. Clair. The Second Battle of Trenton, also known as the Battle of the Assunpink, was fought across what is Mill Hill Park on January 2, 1777. Wahsington successfully repelled a British trust into town by deploying troops on the south bank of the Assunpink Creek. More than 5,000 British soliders under the command of Lord Cornwallis attempted to force their way across the bridge and creek, facing an onslaught of American gunfire. The British made at least three attempts before retreating. While the British regrouped and planned a renewed assault for the next day, Washington moved his army off to Princeton under the cover of darkness. At Princeton, Washington scored another victory against the British rearguard, foretelling how fast-moving American actions would ultimately win the War of Independence.

After the Crossing mural, East Hannover Street. A second mural by Illia Barger, with scenes from the First Battle of Trenton arranged a central image of the final result – the surrender of the English.

Trenton Selfie. Just to show there is more to Trenton that the Revolutionary War, here is the #TrentonSelfie station with the iconic phrase “Trenton Makes” by artist Jonny Lank (Instagram @Jonny_Lank).