The settlement was first called the Falls, then Stacy's Mills, and finally Trenton. In the American Revolution, Trenton was the scene of a battle when Washington crossed (Dec. 25, 1776) the ice-clogged Delaware and surprised and captured (Dec. 26) 918 Hessians. The Americans, avoiding a British relief force led by Cornwallis, then struck at Princeton. A 155-ft (47-m) granite monument topped by a statue of Washington commemorates the battle, and the place where the Americans crossed the Delaware is marked in a state park. Trenton grew as a commercial center and became the site of many industries the famous Roebling Works, where wire rope was manufactured, was established in 1848.
The city's noteworthy buildings include the golden-domed capitol (1792), much remodeled and enlarged the capitol annex (1931) the state cultural center, with a museum, planetarium, and state library the World War I memorial building (1932) the old barracks, built in 1758 and restored as a museum and the William Trent House (1719), the city's oldest standing building, also a museum. The explorer Zebulon Pike was born in Lamberton, now part of Trenton. The city is the seat of the College of New Jersey Rider Univ. is in nearby Lawrenceville.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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