Bucks park goes beyond ‘Washington crossing’ to showcase Revolutionary history

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Thousands of people will gather in Bucks County next week to watch a reenactment of an event that shaped the course of United States’ history exactly 249 years ago.

Interpreters will bring to life the scene on Christmas Day 1776, when Gen. George Washington led some 2,400 troops through the icy waters of the Delaware River to reach New Jersey and fight back the British and Hessian soldiers in the Battle of Trenton.

For 73 years, Washington Crossing Historic Park has played host to the reenactment. Every December it transforms the commemoration of national history into a source of local pride and community, said Jennifer Martin, executive director of Friends of Washington Crossing Park.

“I’ve spent so many Christmases with our community talking about the years of tradition that they have rooted within the park, people that have come here as children, people that are now bringing their children or grandchildren,” said Martin, who has worked with the organization for 12 years. “I think there’s just something so special about the idea that, on Christmas Day — which is, of course, such an important and significant day … individuals are not only making that time for their family, but they’re coming together as a community to create new memories together.”

As the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches next year, the historic site is preparing a wide range of special events and programming, Martin said.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, thinking about our nation’s founding,” she said. “We’re really focusing on opportunities to welcome our community in a way that really connects them to the history.”

From April through December, living history presentations at the site will play a key part in bringing the events of the revolution to life for local, national and international visitors, Martin said.

The free programs include reenactors from On the Army’s Strength, a civilian-based group that highlights the role of the women who followed the Continental Army and contributed a range of domestic labor tasks, from doing laundry and cooking to mending uniforms and clothes.