Washington Crossing Park NJ receives Semiquincentennial Grant

TITUSVILLE, NJ – The National Park Service has awarded the Washington Crossing Park Association of New Jersey a $75,000 Semiquincentennial Grant to update the National Historic Landmark boundary.

The image “Washington Crossing the Delaware” is etched into the national soul thanks to the famous painting by Emmanuel Leutze. Some know that the location 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 know that the National Historic Landmark designation spans two states.

“We are pleased to announce that we will undertake this National Historic Landmark update in collaboration with colleagues at the sister park in Pennsylvania who received a similar grant,” New Jersey park officials said.

The original NHL listings for both parks in 1961 were incomplete, according to park officials. Thanks to this funding, the two parks will provide an update to the current boundary delineation of the bi-state National Historic Landmark.

The update includes an analysis of the existing NHL boundaries of both parks' state and national register nominations, as well as updating the descriptions of all of the landmark's cultural/historical resources to incorporate current research and present a more comprehensive interpretation of the site.

This National Historic Landmark update is supported entirely by a Semiquincentennial grant from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the Department of the Interior's National Park Service.

The modernization will provide the park with much-needed future funding as it prepares for a restoration that will include a new visitor museum, new roads 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), the officially recognized Friends of Washington Crossing State Park in New Jersey, has also received funding to renovate the park's charming Nelson House near the Delaware River.