The Washington Crossing Park Association of New Jersey has received a $75,000 National Park Service Semiquincentennial grant to update the National Historic Landmark (NHL) Boundary for Washington’s Crossing.
Americans have the image of “Washington Crossing the Delaware” engraved into our national soul, thanks to the famous painting by Emmanuel Leutze. Some know that the site of the Crossing is marked by two State Parks: Washington Crossing State Park in New Jersey and Washington Crossing Historic Park in Pennsylvania. However, few people are aware that the National Historic Landmark that marks this vitally important historic site is one of the few that straddle two states. The Washington Crossing Park Association is pleased to announce that it will be undertaking this NHL update in collaboration with colleagues at our Pennsylvania sister park, who have received a similar grant of their own.
The original 1961 NHL listing for both parks was incomplete. Thanks to this funding, the two parks will undertake a complete update to the current boundary delineation of this bi-state National Historic Landmark. This includes an analysis of existing NHL boundaries of both parks’ state and national register nominations, along with updating descriptions for all the Landmark’s cultural/historic resources to incorporate current research and present a more inclusive interpretation of the site.
This National Historic Landmark update is being supported in whole by a Semiquincentennial grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
The update will make the park eligible for much-needed future funding as it prepares for a restoration which will include a new Visitor Museum, new roadways and signage, and the installation of a stunning mural of Washington Crossing the Delaware, painted in 1921 by military artist George Matthew Harding.
The Washington Crossing Park Association (WCPA), which is the officially recognized Friends organization of New Jersey’s Washington Crossing State Park, has also received funding to renovate the Park’s charming Nelson House, near the Delaware River.
