Bucks County park goes beyond Washington’s famous Delaware crossing to showcase ‘rich narrative’ of Revolutionary War 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.

Samantha Allison founded the group in 2019 after learning more about the day-to-day experiences and hardships faced by women in the colonial era.

“I think the park has really tried to shift their focus in providing historically accurate content,” Allison said, “especially as the 250th [is] coming up, and telling a very rich narrative of what the American Revolution was like, not just for the average enlisted man or for Gen. George Washington or more prominent figures, but what were the voices of the women who followed or the free and enslaved Black soldiers?”

Allison is also the Civilian Programs Coordinator at Friends of Washington Crossing Park. Telling the stories of the many people who haven’t been remembered as the stars of U.S. history has made her feel “more patriotic,” she said.

​​”When we think about this country, this country is a fabric, and it has been interwoven from so many different people,” she said. “This inner weaving is not only the stories of prominent people such as George Washington, Henry Knox, even prominent women like Abigail Adams. It is woven by the average enlisted man, who was just a low-income farmer who thought that this radical idea was worth fighting for. It’s interwoven by women who traveled on foot, pregnant, for 40, 50 miles at a time. These stories of these people are so important because it really shines a light on the sacrifices that they made to make this country happen.”

The park will delve into those narratives throughout 2026, Martin said, as the Friends organization focuses on completing renovations to nearby historic sites and providing educational experiences with a replica of the boats Washington and his troop used and a new documentary about the reenactments.

Information about next year’s semiquincentennial events at Washington Crossing Historic Park can be found on the organization’s website.

The Christmas Day reenactment of Washington crossing the Delaware River will take place on Dec. 25 from noon to 3 p.m. at Washington Crossing Historic Park. Attendance is free.