Four Revolutionary War sites in Mercer County will receive federal funding through the state’s budget for restoration and preservation efforts in preparation for America’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026.
Gov. Phil Murphy joined by legislative, state, county and municipal officials at Washington Crossing State Park in Hopewell Township announced on Nov. 29 that $25 million in American Rescue Plan funds allocated in the state budget will be invested in 10 Revolutionary War historic sites.
“We are here to underscore the importance of the investment of $25 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds through our state budget,” Murphy said.
“That $25 million will be invested in 10 Revolutionary War sites across our state to not only help restore them, but make them ready for future visitors including making them all ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) complaint.”
The 10 Revolutionary War historic sites are: Washington Crossing State Park in Hopewell Township, Trenton’s Old Barracks, Battle Monument in Trenton, Princeton Battlefield State Park, Monmouth Battlefield State Park, Proprietary House in Perth Amboy, The Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield, Wallace House in Somerville, Boxwood Hall in Elizabeth, and Rockingham in Kingston.
“All across our state in every county is a house, a field or a public building that points directly to our Revolutionary history,” Murphy said. “This is the history we must keep alive as our country nears its 250th birthday. It is this history, which this investment aims to preserve and protect.”
The country’s Semiquincentennial anniversary marks the signing of the Declaration of Independence and 250th year of independence.
“Our state and local community here in Hopewell has a great storied history of facing and overcoming enormous challenges,” Hopewell Township Mayor Courtney Peters-Manning said. “As you know we are standing right where George Washington and his troops landed when they crossed the Delaware River on the way to the Battle of Trenton.”
She further said, “These brave Americans faced inadequate supplies, a cold unforgiving winter, and a deadly enemy, but they got in their watery boats and faced the challenge with bravery, commitment to each other and to our uniquely American ideals.”
According to the Governor’s Office, the $25 million investment from federal American Rescue Plan funds will be allocated to the New Jersey Department of the Treasury and distributed to Revolution NJ, in partnership with the New Jersey Historical Commission and Crossroads of the American Revolution, to help restore the Revolutionary War sites.
Carrie Fellows, executive director of Crossroads of the American Revolution Association, noted that Crossroads together with the New Jersey Historical Commission forms Revolution NJ, which is the state designated public private partnership tasked with planning New Jersey’s Commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.
“We are so grateful for funding, which will enable major visitor readiness projects to occur at state owned Revolutionary War sites,” she said.
Crossroads and state officials identified key needs at 10 state owned sites that have the potential, along with a handful of county and privately owned sites to serve as the visitor ready core for Revolutionary War Heritage Tourism.
“We developed an investment plan for those 10 sites that included three primary components, (one) address historic restoration needs, (second) upgrade facilities to meet industry standards for visitor readiness and third was to develop a plan for sustainable staffing and visitor readiness into the future,” Fellows said.
Fellows further said that they will seek to secure private donors to participate in building on the $25 million investment from the state.
According to Murphy, the $25 million is not the last of the monies that will be spent on this effort and the monies can come from a variety of sources including philanthropic, private, corporate or others.
“New Jersey is incredibly historic and our role in the Revolutionary War is second to none, but often overlooked, even for New Jerseyans,” Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-19) said. “The Battles of Princeton and Trenton singlehandedly reenergized the fighting efforts of the men and women involved in that fight.”
He added that the $25 million investment is part of the process to recapture New Jersey’s rightful place in American History.
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12) noted New Jersey’s story includes the contributions of Black and Indigenous soldiers during the war.
“It was an integrated regiment that ferried Washington across the Delaware on Christmas 1776. By the end of the war, a full quarter of the American soldiers marching to Yorktown were Black or Indigenous,” she said. “Their contributions must also be remembered as we celebrate the 250th year of the greatest country in the world.”
