Trenton History

Trenton is the capital of New Jersey and the seat of Mercer County. First settled by the Quakers in 1679, the town adopted the name "Trent-towne" in 1719 in honor of leading landholder William Trent. The city briefly served as the nation's capital in 1784, and might have actually become the permanent capital had the southern states not been opposed to Trenton's location north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Trenton was officially designated the state capital of New Jersey in 1790.

Trenton's heritage as a major manufacturing center during the late 19th and early 20th century is evident on the Lower Free Bridge, which displays the city's old slogan "Trenton Makes, The World Takes."

During the Revolutionary War, Washington led his troops across the Delaware River to defeat the Hessian troops garrisoned near Trenton. This event is commemorated every Christmas with a reenactment in Washington Crossing State Park. The Ferry House State Historic Site, where Washington and his men sought shelter and planned their attack, has been restored as a living history colonial farmhouse, and the barracks which housed British, Hessian, and Continental troops during the war have been converted into the Old Barracks Museum.