The Journal of the American Revolution (JAR) editorial board has selected a pair of articles written by staff of The Friends of Washington Crossing Park for inclusion in its next annual hardcover volume, scheduled for release this coming spring. These are among forty scholarly articles chosen for the 2024 print edition out of the total number published by the prestigious, peer-reviewed journal in its online format during the prior year. JAR, which claims to be “the leading source of knowledge about the American Revolution and Founding Era,” has attracted more than six million readers since its launch in 2013. On average, it Read More
News and Events
Rider College Reenacts the Famous Crossing
November 25th, 2023This article is an expansion of the Rider College Reenactment mentioned in last month’s article, “Early Reenactments of Washington Crossing the Delaware”, written by Denis J. Cooke. As we all look forward to another exciting reenactment of General George Washington’s daring crossing on Christmas night in 1776, it would do us well to understand and appreciate just how critically important it was. The six-month long struggle to achieve independence from Great Britain was not going well. Even after driving the British from Boston in early 1776, Washington’s army was having a terrible time. The defense of New York resulted in Read More
Early Reenactments of Washington Crossing the Delaware
October 23rd, 2023The verdict is still out in identifying the first commemorative reenactment of Washington Crossing the Delaware. I am talking about ad hoc reenactments that occurred prior to annual theatrical presentations, which began in 1953. This year’s reenactment will be number seventy-one, and counting. According to a 2019 article written by Jonathan Wilson, the first attempted reenactment was in 1844 with a rowdy crowd and drunken participants but, unfortunately, no other details were provided. Earlier reenactments held in 1931 and 1947 have been mentioned on the Washington Crossing Historic Park website. Here is a snippet from the May 24, 1931 Read More
Friends of Washington Crossing Park Receives $500,000 National Park Service Grant
September 28th, 2023The National Park Service recently awarded the Friends of Washington Crossing Park a $502,768 grant for the rehabilitation of the McConkey Ferry Inn. This was one of only 20 cultural resource preservation projects to be funded nationally. The grant will allow the park to continue renovations to the Inn, above and beyond last year’s $8.7 million capital project which funded renovations throughout the park. Specifically, this new grant will fund complete interior renovations to museum standards and help the park update the Inn’s National Register of Historic Places documentation. Created by Congress in 2020 and funded through the Historic Preservation Read More
Celebrating Our Summer 2023 Interns
August 23rd, 2023The Friends of Washington Crossing Park would like to thank all of our wonderful interns who supported the park this summer! JJ Miller (Shippensburg University), Brandon Fey (Gettysburg College), John Paul Corsilli (Ocean County Community College) and Ryan Thiel (Rowan University) assisted in site research, public living history programs and served as 18th century interpreters for thousands of school children for our Colonial Days Friend Trip Programs. The energy and innovation of all of our interns were a great asset to the park this summer and we are honored for the opportunity to steward the next generation of public historians. JJ Miller is a History Major and rising sophomore Read More
Friends of Washington Crossing Park Receives National Park Service Grant
June 27th, 2023The National Park Service recently awarded $61,995 to the Friends of Washington Crossing Park as part of the Historic Preservation Fund’s African American Civil Rights grant program. This program funds preservation projects and efforts of sites tied to the struggle of African Americans to gain equal rights. The Friends were one of only 37 projects nationally to be funded. The Friends’ grant will support in-depth research by a dedicated research fellow on African Americans who participated in and supported the Continental Army’s crossing of the Delaware River on December 25, 1776. This research will examine the “Ten Crucial Days” campaign, Read More
Constructing History
April 27th, 2023Washington Crossing Historic Park has seven new, reproduction tavern tables thanks to students in the Fine Woodworking program at the Bucks County Technical High School. The replica tables were delivered in late April and will be used in several of the park’s historic buildings. Scott Ribarchik, Fine Woodworking Instructor at the school, says the Friends of Washington Crossing Park approached him with the proposed project early in the New Year. “The tables we made were based on a replica table the park brought us,” he says. “Close to 50 students in our Fine Woodworking program worked on this project over a Read More
Shining the Spotlight on Our Volunteers 2023
March 31st, 2023Volunteers are vital to the day-to-day operations of Washington Crossing Historic Park. From special event support to tours, education and reenactments, volunteers help us provide thousands of visitors each year with a truly special experience. Every April, in honor of National Volunteer Month, we recognize several individuals and organizations who have helped us deliver upon our mission over the past year. Please join us in celebrating our 2023 honorees: Volunteer of the Year – Mary Jane Beck Mary Jane Beck is an integral part of the park’s volunteer program, and her contributions are many. Throughout 2019, she ran the Toys Read More