Trenton audiotours

On the night of December 25-26, 1776, George Washington led 2,400 Continental soldiers across an ice-filled Delaware River in the dark and cold, marched nine miles to Trenton, and surprised the Hessian garrison in a battle that lasted less than two hours. The victory at Trenton was a turning point of the American Revolution, following months of defeats that had reduced Continental morale to near collapse. Washington Crossing Historic Park, on the Pennsylvania side where the crossing began, and the Old Barracks Museum in downtown Trenton, where captured Hessian soldiers were held, together preserve one of the most consequential military sites in American history.

Trenton became New Jersey's state capital in 1790, and the New Jersey State House on West State Street has been in continuous use since 1792, making it the second-oldest state capitol still in use in the country.

The building has been expanded and altered many times, but its dome, visible from much of downtown, remains the city's most recognizable landmark. The New Jersey State Museum beside it holds a surprisingly strong permanent collection of American art and natural history.