Today’s adventure was a full immersion into Trenton’s Revolutionary past, from quiet reflection to street-level action and spirited conversation. The day felt like stepping directly into a defining moment in American history and walking away with a deeper appreciation for the people who lived it. I began at the Trenton Meetinghouse, believed to be the…

Right in the center of the Garden State, Mercer County delivers a plethora of history. Visitors and residents can tour two Revolutionary War battlefields, pass Einstein’s old stomping grounds at Princeton University, and pay respects to Aaron Burr and Grover Cleveland all before lunch? Mercer County set the stage for the Battles of Trenton and…

Let us not forget, the land now known as Mercer County was originally inhabited by the Lenape people. European settlers referred to them as Delaware Indians. The Lenape lived in this region for approximately 12,000 years before Europeans arrived. Mercer County was established in 1838. Previously, the land that now comprises Mercer County included townships…

After the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, Americans laid siege to Boston. One of the soldiers, and a member of a Massachusetts regiment, was Jacob Francis, a free Black man. Born near Trenton in Amwell Township in 1754, he was indentured as a boy until age 21. He passed through several owners, the…

Adapted from the Trent House Eyewitness Collection* Charity Brittain was born in 1720 into the prominent Tucker family of Trenton. She married Henry Bellerjeau, who died in 1746, and later married Joseph Britton, a shoemaker from Trenton. Charity operated a tavern in their home, which she continued to manage after Joseph’s death in 1755. Throughout her life, she…

Hugh Mercer was born on January 17, 1726, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He was heavily shaped by his education at the University of Aberdeen where he earned a degree in medicine. He would later use this education to become a remarkable physician and courageous soldier. Hugh served as an assistant surgeon with Jacobite forces during the…