Washington's Crossing Historic Park

1112 River Rd, Washington Crossing, PA 18977, USA

Pennsylvania

state

PA - Bucks

county

NJ - Trenton

city

MUSEUM

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Washington Crossing Historic Park is a 500-acre state park operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in partnership with the Friends of Washington Crossing Park. The lower park includes 13 historic buildings including McConkey's Ferry Inn, where General George Washington and his aides ate dinner and made plans prior to the crossing. Among the historic buildings is a 20th-century barn that houses 5 replica Durham Boats. Located 4.5 miles away in Solebury Township, is the park's northern section, the "upper park." In its 100-acre area it contains Bowman's Hill Tower and the Thompson-Neely House, which was used as a military hospital during Washington's encampment in the area.

SITE FEATURES

Gift Shop, Surviving Structures, Reconstructions, Programs, Exhibits

On this site...

The ferry was first established by Henry Baker in 1684. His grandson, Samuel Baker Jr., sold it to Samuel McConkey on December 5, 1774. McConkey sold it to Benjamin Taylor on March 21, 1777. The corresponding ferry on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River was known as Johnson's Ferry. The Johnson Ferry House, an 18th-century farmhouse and tavern near the Delaware River, was owned by Garret Johnson, who operated a 490-acre plantation and a ferry service across the Delaware.

FERRY

EST. 1684

CROSSING

DEC 25-26, 1776

George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, which occurred on the night of December 25–26, 1776 during the American Revolutionary War, was the first move in a complex and surprise military maneuver and attack organized by George Washington which culminated in their attack on Hessian forces garrisoned at Trenton.

Washington and his troops successfully attacked the Hessian forces in the Battle of Trenton on the morning of December 26, 1776. The military campaign was organized in great secrecy by Washington, who led a column of Continental Army troops from today's Bucks County, Pennsylvania across the icy Delaware River to today's Mercer County, New Jersey in what was one of the Revolutionary War's most logistically challenging and dangerous clandestine operations.

Washington's army then crossed the Delaware River a third time at the end of 1776 under difficult circumstances by the uncertain thickness of the ice on the river. They defeated British reinforcements under Lord Cornwallis at Trenton on January 2, 1777, and were also triumphant over his rear guard at Princeton the following day prior to retreating to his winter quarters in Morristown, New Jersey.