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-- Best New Jersey Day Trips - Trenton & Washington Crossing

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        A trip to Trenton might be scheduled in conjunction with a visit to the State House while the legislature is in session (typically Mondays and Thursdays, committee meetings in morning or early afternoon, full sessions of Senate and General Assembly generally in late afternoon or occasional evenings, long recesses in summer and during fall campaign seasons, see legislative calendar) Free tours are available of the legislative chambers and other portions of the building, but the front area and Governor's Office are closed as they undergo a major renovation. begun in 2017 and scheduled for completion in 2021).

​        The State House Complex also includes the New Jersey State Museum with permanent historical and art exhibits and rotating exhibits on special themes, as well as a Planetarium with an auditorium which can accommodate groups of up to 140,. Directly across the street from the State House is the World War II Memorial, a plaza featuring a Lady Victory at the center under a domed archway and flanked by a soldier and engraved timeline of the war.

Old Barracks. Image: Library of Congress

​ Old Barracks (Trenton)
A short walk from the State House is the Old Barracks, the building originally constructed in 1758 during the French and Indian War in which the Hessian mercenary soldiers fighting for the British were billeted when attacked by Continental soldiers commanded by George Washington on December 26, 1776. The assault followed Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware River on the previous evening. Old Barracks Museum, located 100 yards from current State House, open daily except Sunday year-round, advance reservation for groups of 15 or more.​ Another symbol of the Christmas attack located a few blocks from the Barracks is the Trenton Battle Monument dedicated in 1893--a 150-foot tall column topped by a bronze statue of Washington directing cannon fire  which marks the site of a Continental artillery emplacement, with one detachment commanded by Alexander Hamilton.

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       Trenton's founder and namesake is commemorated at the William Trent House Museum, the home first built around 1719 by William Trent, a Scottish immigrant who became a wealthy landowner and merchant exporting products such as tobacco, flour and furs while importing wine, rum, molasses and dry goods, as well as engaging the slave trade with Africa and the West Indies and importing indentured servants from Britain. In 1742, the Trent House was leased to the first British colonial Governor of New Jersey, Lewis Morris, and also served as the official state governor's residence for a time in the middle of the 19th century. Opened as a museum in 1939, it is now a designated National Historic Landmark owned by the City of Trenton and operated by the nonprofit Trent House Association. Its exhibits include period furniture and art. Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for children and seniors, open Wednesdays thru Sundays: 12:30 to 4 pm. 

Washington Crossing the Delaware painting by Emanuel Leutze first exhibited in 1851. Image: Wikimedia Commons/Metropolitan Museum of Art

• Washington Crossing

(Washington Crossing State Park, Titusville)

​                    Some ten miles north of Trenton on the Delaware River is Washington Crossing, site of the landing in New Jersey of George Washington's soldiers on the night of December 25-26, 1776, after their crossing of the Delaware River from Pennsylvania on their way to attack British and Hessian soldiers in Trenton. Then known as Johnson's Ferry, the landing site is now part of New Jersey's 3,000-acre Washington Crossing State Park; on the Pennsylvania side where Washington's troops embarked on the river crossing is a 500-acre Pennsylvania Washington Crossing Historic Park, a Pennsylvania state park. Each year at Christmas, a re-enactment of the crossing takes place with a uniformed troop of volunteers led by Washington rowing wooden boats across the river. New Jersey Park Visitors Center (open daily 9:00 am - 4:00 pm, year round) features exhibits focusing on military campaign known as "The Ten Crucial Days" from December 25, 1776 through January 3, 1777, comprising the Continental Army's crossing of Delaware River and Battles of Trenton and Princeton. Park also includes Johnson Farm House owned by Garret Johnson, who operated a 490-acre colonial plantation and ferry service on the river in the 1700s, with the house likely used briefly by Washington and other officers during the Christmas night crossing which includes rooms furnished with local period pieces similar to furniture used by the Johnson family, along with an 18th-century kitchen garden. New Jersey Park also includes outdoor theater which presents performances from spring to fall. 
* Washington's Crossing, more than meets the eye, Revolutionary New Jersey

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Washington Crossing from New Jersey side of Delaware River. Image: NewJerseyAlmanac.com

Garden at Nelson House. Image: NewJerseyAlmanac.com

​Grounds for Sculpture
 
Opened to public in 1992 on site of former New Jersey State Fairgrounds approximately ten-minute drive from central Trenton, ​​Grounds for Sculpture was founded and originally financed by J. Seward Johnson, sculptor and philanthropist and heir of Johnson & Johnson fortune, now a 42-acre public sculpture garden and museum in Hamilton Township with sculptures by Johnson himself and other prominent artists such as New Jersey sculptor George Segal.  Frequent themed exhibits, also rents grounds and auditorium for weddings, other events. Daily docent-led tours are available to groups and individual guests, also maps for self-guided visits. Admission $20 adults, $17 for seniors, $10 students aged 6-17, children 5 and under free, online discounts available. Open Monday thru Thursday 10 am-6 pm, Friday thru Sunday 10 am-9 pm. Rats Restaurant (named for character in The Wind in the Willows, Seward Johnson's favorite childhood story book), offers lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch menus featuring country French cuisine with bar and outdoor patio, dinner entrees $21-34, burgers $18, rated 4.4 of 5 stars on OpenTable.com

Trenton Area Dining:
Once well-known for Italian restaurants centered in its Chambersburg section, Trenton's evolution to have greater numbers of  Latino and minority residents has seen several of its traditional Italian dining options close down or relocate outside the city. 
*   Amici Milano now claiming to be the last of the Italian restaurants left within the city (dinner entrees $13-25). 
*  Marsilio's Kitchen (Italian founded 1951 in Trenton, now in Ewing near Mercer Airport, dinner entrees $21-38)
* . ​Rossi's Bar & Grill (founded 1932 in Trenton, now relocated to larger facility in Hamilton, known best for burgers, including trademarked Rossiburger at $9.99, also pasta, chicken, pork chops etc) 
* . DeLorenzo's Pizza ("Home of the Trenton Tomato Pie" founded 1938 in Trenton, remains owned by DeLorenzo family, now relocated to Hamilton, one of NJ's best-known pizza places, ranked among America's 101 Best Pizzas by DailyMeal.com)
* . Malaga Restaurant (Spanish menu, ranked #1 of restaurants in Hamilton and 4.5 of 5 stars, TripAdviser.com, dinner entrees $22-34) 
*  Rats Restaurant (within ​​Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, see above comments)

*  State-owned Historic Sites
*  National Register of Historic Places-New Jersey​

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