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Washington Crossing State Park
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Washington Crossing State Park

parks, New Jersey-Pennsylvania, United States
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History

Washington Crossing State Park, two parks on the Pennsylvania and New Jersey shores of the Delaware River 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Trenton. The parks mark the site where, in a blinding snowstorm on the night of December 25, 1776, General George Washington crossed the river with 2,400 colonial troops and captured 1,000 Hessian mercenaries. The Pennsylvania park has an area of 478 acres (193 hectares); the New Jersey park, 369 acres (149 hectares).

Among the sites in the Pennsylvania park is the McConkey Ferry Inn, a building that sheltered Washington and some of his men prior to the historic crossing. Other historic landmarks are Bowman’s Hill Observation Tower on the site of the Continental Army’s lookout station; the Memorial Flagstaff, marking the graves of Continental troops who died there; and the Point of Embarkation.

Across the bridge in the New Jersey park is the Johnson Ferry House, a building that possibly was used by Washington on the night of the crossing. The New Jersey park’s visitor center houses the Swan Collection, a trove of hundreds of artifacts from the Revolutionary era.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.
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