VISION FOR THE FUTURE: A rendering from Ikon5 Architects of the new Museum and Visitors Center that is among Washington Crossing Park Association’s preparations for the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. (Rendering courtesy of WCPA)

By Anne Levin

With the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence less than two years away, parks, museums, and historic sites related to the 1776 proclamation are busy planning for celebratory events. Among them is the Washington Crossing Park Association (WCPA), which has some major capital improvements on the drawing board, including a new Museum and Visitors center.

A presentation on those plans is part of “Table Talk Histories,” taking place Sunday, July 28 starting at 1 p.m. at the Park’s Sullivan Grove Pavilion, near the current Visitors Center Museum, in Titusville. Preceding the talk about the museum, local historians and reenactors will be at different tables, each with images and objects focused on a different topic. Among them: Black soldiers during the Revolution, the integrated unit known as the Marbleheaders, smallpox inoculation and treatment in the 1700s, ferry boat operations on the Delaware River, and the Swan Historical Foundation’s collection of Revolutionary War artifacts.

“In my circle, the 250th anniversary is a very big deal,” said Annette Earling, WCPA executive director. “When I was a kid, it was the bicentennial. That was everything. I don’t think this is to that level — maybe 80 percent of that — but everybody is making plans.”

The new Museum and Visitors Center is the centerpiece of improvements planned for the park in preparation for the anniversary. New roads, branding, and restoration of the Johnson Ferry House are on the list. The park spans more than 3,500 acres along the Delaware River across Mercer and Hunterdon counties. The new Museum and Visitors Center is being funded by corporate business tax revenue with the Preserve New Jersey Act. Additional funds for that project and additional capital improvements were allocated by Gov. Phil Murphy through the American Rescue Plan, according to a release from the WCPA.

Ikon5 Architects is designing the new museum, which will have a multipurpose theater and interactive exhibits, the Swan Historical Foundation’s Collection of Revolutionary War artifacts, and the restoration of a mural created by artist George Harding in 1921. The Swan collection was left to the WCPA by Harry Kels Swan, who was the organization’s historian and curator for many years. It will be on permanent display.

“I’m very excited that we will finally have a great home for the collection, which is one of the best in the world of Revolutionary War artifacts,” said Earling. “Parts of it are in the current Visitors Center, but it’s all jammed together. With this, they’ll be able to have revolving exhibits. There will be lots of storage. It will tell the story of the Ten Crucial Days [where several decisive battles were fought between the Continental Army under George Washington and the British Army, mostly under Charles Cornwallis].”

Harding was an American muralist and combat artist who worked in both World Wars. His mural of Washington’s Crossing was on a wall of the Taylor Opera House in Trenton, for 50 years.

“In 1971, the theater was demolished, but first the painting was carefully removed and stored — and essentially forgotten for half a century,” reads the WCPA website. “One of our trustees rediscovered the mural in 2021, 100 years after it was painted. The WCPA has raised nearly $90,000 to have this painting restored, moved, and framed.”

The new center will be built as part of one big historic district instead of its current location, which is in the middle of the park and not easy to reach.

“It’s super modern, with a beautiful green roof that blends into the hillside,” said Earling. “The architecture itself is kind of cutting-edge.”

The preview of the Museum and Visitors Center and presentation on the capital improvements is at 3 p.m., following the 1 p.m. “Table Talk Histories” program. Stan Saperstein, billed as “Hopewell Township’s official town crier,” will lead the presentation. Refreshments will be provided, and reenactors in Revolutionary War period clothing will be on hand. Visit wcpa-nj.com for more information.

“All of this is in preparation for 2026,” said Earling. “There is a lot of excitement.”