Washington Crossing Historic Park is a 500-acre (2 km²) state park operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in partnership with the Friends of Washington Crossing Park. The park is divided into two sections. One section of the park, the "lower park," is headquartered in the village of Washington Crossing located in Upper Makefield Township in Bucks County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. It marks the location of

George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River 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 organized by George Washington, t ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. 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 Boat The Durham boat was a large wooden, flat-bottomed, double-ended freight boat used on interior waterways in North America beginning in the middle of the 18th century. They were replaced by larger, more efficient canal boats during the canal era be ...

s. Durham boats were large, open boats that were used to transport pig iron along the Delaware River at the time of the Revolution and these boats, along with the ferries and others, were used to transport soldiers, horses, and equipment across the river on the night of December 25–26, 1776. The replica boats are used each year when the nighttime crossing is reenacted in the park. Located 4.5 miles away in Solebury Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is the park's northern section, the "upper park." In its 100-acre area it contains (0.4 km²) Bowman's Hill Tower and the Thompson-Neely House, which was used as a military hospital during Washington's encampment in the area, and the graves of an estimated 40 to 60 soldiers who died there. The exact location of the graves is unknown, though they were partially unearthed during the construction of the nearby Delaware Canal in the early 19th century and during other nearby construction projects. Presently there are 23 memorial headstones as a reminder that the area is a gravesite. The lower park contains a visitor center, which was renovated from July 2011 to March 2013. The newly renovated visitor center was opened March 10, 2013. It features a small exhibition with some Revolutionary war artifacts, and an original letter written by George Washington while in the McConkey's Ferry Inn. The park also has obtained a full size digital copy of

Emanuel Leutze Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (May 24, 1816July 18, 1868) was a German-born American history painter, best known for his 1851 painting '' Washington Crossing the Delaware''. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Biography Leutze w ...

's 1851 painting, '' Washington Crossing the Delaware'', from the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, that is hanging in the auditorium.

History and mission of the park

The park was created in 1917 and the Washington Crossing Park Commission was established in 1919 to administer and develop the park. The park was formed to commemorate the famous ''Crossing'' as the "Turning point of the American Revolution." The commission's first objective was to develop the site as a historical shrine and its second objective was to preserve its natural beauty and develop its areas for recreational use. Bowman's Hill Tower was built to commemorate what may have been a lookout point for General George Washington's troops to watch the banks of the Delaware River for enemy activity. The park also contains the Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve and the surrounding area is the natural habitat for many native plants, trees, animals and birds. Today the park serves to preserve and interpret the site of the Washington's Crossing of the Delaware. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources(DCNR). Cuts in funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania forced the PHMC to reduce park staffing, which resulted in closing the park to the public in late November, 2009. In 2013, the Pennsylvania state budget and fiscal code mandated that the park transfer from PHMC to DCNR. The switch was finalized in early 2016. The Friends of Washington Crossing Park, a 501(c)(3) private, non-profit corporation, was incorporated in January 2010 to support the PHMC in operating Washington Crossing Historic Park, and the park re-opened to the public in the spring of that same year. The Friends of Washington Crossing Park re-opened the park's gift shop in December 2010. Current full-time, on-site staffing consists of 2 museum professionals and 2 maintenance personnel provided by the PHMC, who work in conjunction with the part-time staff of historical interpreters provided by the Friends of Washington Crossing Park. Washington Crossing Historic Park is open for guided tours Monday through Sundays from 10am – 4pm, April 1 – December 31. The recreational areas of the park, including the picnic pavilions, are open to the public from dawn to dusk all year. The park holds a reenactment of General Washington's nighttime crossing every year, plus other public programs on related themes throughout the year. The park was included in the Washington's Crossing

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

designation in 1961, and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1966. and

McConkey's Ferry

On the night of December 25–26, 1776, General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and a small army of 2,400 men crossed the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

at McConkey's Ferry, on their way to attack a Hessian garrison of 1,500 in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

. The crossing, made during a time when morale was at its lowest point during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, renewed hope among the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and the general population. On the morning of December 26, at the

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington's George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, crossing of the ...

, they were able to force the Hessian soldiers to surrender, without any American casualties. The ferry was first established by Henry Baker in 1684. His grandson, Samuel Baker Jr., sold it to Samuel McConkey (also spelled McKonkey) 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.

Gallery

File:McConkey's Ferry Inn, Washington Crossing Historic Park - Dec 2024.jpg, McConkey's Ferry Inn File:Washington Crossing Historic Park, PA history marker.jpg, Monument near the crossing site File:Washington Crossing Historic Park, PA Washington statue.jpg, Washington Crossing Monument File:Thompson-Neely (Pidcock) House.jpg, Thompson-Neely House File:Bowman's Hill Tower.jpg, Bowman's Hill Tower

References

External links

*
National Park Service
{{Authority control Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Bucks County, Pennsylvania State parks of Pennsylvania American Revolutionary War sites Museums in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Open-air museums in Pennsylvania History museums in Pennsylvania American Revolutionary War museums in Pennsylvania Parks in Bucks County, Pennsylvania History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River

History and mission of the park

McConkey's Ferry

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links