Trenton is a city located in Mercer County in the US state of New Jersey, and the state capital. In 2010 it had a population of 84,913 inhabitants and a population density of 4,024 inhab/km². It is located on the left bank of the Delaware River, which separates it from Pennsylvania.
Trenton's rich Revolutionary War history is evident in its
well-preserved landmarks, which draw visitors interested in America's
founding era.
Old Barracks Museum
Located at 101 Barrack
Street, this is one of Trenton's premier historical sites, built in 1758
to house British soldiers during the French and Indian War. The U-shaped
stone building, the last of five such barracks in New Jersey, later
quartered Continental troops and served as a military hospital during
the Revolution. Today, it offers immersive exhibits on colonial life,
including period rooms, artifacts like muskets and uniforms, and live
reenactments of the Battle of Trenton. Guided tours highlight its role
in the famous Hessian surrender in 1776. The museum also hosts events
like Patriots Week, featuring musket drills and colonial crafts.
Admission is affordable, and it's open year-round, with special programs
for families and schools. Its central location makes it a starting point
for exploring downtown Trenton.
William Trent House Museum
Dating back to 1719, this Georgian-style brick mansion at 15 Market
Street was the home of William Trent, the city's namesake. As one of the
oldest structures in New Jersey, it features restored period
furnishings, gardens, and exhibits on 18th-century life, including
Trent's role in trade and politics. The house hosted notable figures
like George Washington during his 1789 inauguration journey. Tours delve
into themes of colonial commerce, slavery (as Trent owned enslaved
people), and Quaker influences. The surrounding grounds include heirloom
gardens and archaeological displays. It's a National Historic Landmark,
open for guided visits on weekends, and often ties into broader
historical narratives of the Delaware Valley.
Trenton Battle
Monument
Erected in 1893 at the intersection of North Broad and North
Warren Streets, this 148-foot granite column commemorates George
Washington's victory at the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776.
Designed by John H. Duncan (architect of Grant's Tomb), it features a
bronze statue of Washington atop, pointing toward the battlefield. An
elevator takes visitors to an observation deck for panoramic views of
the city and Delaware River. Bas-reliefs depict key moments like the
river crossing and Hessian defeat. The monument is surrounded by a small
park, ideal for reflection, and is illuminated at night. It's free to
visit, though the interior may have limited hours due to maintenance.
New Jersey State House
At 125 West State Street, this is the
second-oldest state capitol in continuous use in the U.S., with parts
dating to 1792. The golden-domed structure, expanded in the 19th
century, houses the Governor's office, legislative chambers, and public
galleries. Free guided tours cover its architecture (a mix of
Renaissance Revival and neoclassical styles), murals depicting New
Jersey history, and the rotunda's intricate details. Visitors can
observe sessions from the balconies when in session. The adjacent annex
includes exhibits on state governance. It's a hub for civic engagement,
with events like bill signings and protests often occurring on its
steps.
Trenton's museums blend science, art, and history, providing
educational experiences for all ages.
New Jersey State Museum
Situated at 205 West State Street, this multifaceted institution founded
in 1895 includes fine arts, archaeology, natural history, and a
planetarium. Exhibits range from dinosaur fossils and Native American
artifacts to contemporary New Jersey artists. The planetarium offers
immersive shows on astronomy, while the archaeology hall explores Lenape
heritage and colonial digs. Free admission makes it accessible, with
rotating special exhibits and hands-on programs for children. It's
adjacent to the State House, allowing for combined visits.
Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion
Housed in the 1848
Italianate Ellarslie Mansion within Cadwalader Park, this museum focuses
on Trenton's industrial and artistic legacy. Collections include
ceramics from the city's pottery heyday (once the "Staffordshire of
America"), decorative arts, and local history displays. The mansion
itself, designed by John Notman, features ornate interiors and gardens.
Exhibits rotate to highlight themes like immigrant stories and urban
renewal. It's open weekends, with events like art shows and lectures.
Trenton's green spaces offer respite from urban life, with trails and
scenic views.
Cadwalader Park
Designed by Frederick Law
Olmsted in 1887, this 100-acre park at 2755 West State Street is
Trenton's largest, featuring winding paths, a lake, and the Ellarslie
Mansion. Amenities include picnic areas, playgrounds, and a deer
paddock. It's ideal for birdwatching, cycling, or strolling amid
Victorian-era landscaping. The park hosts summer concerts and festivals,
reflecting its role in community life.
Delaware and Raritan Canal
State Park
Running along the Delaware River, this linear park offers
miles of towpaths for hiking, biking, and kayaking. In Trenton, access
points near the State House provide views of the river and historic
canal locks from the 1830s. It's a peaceful spot for fishing or picnics,
with interpretive signs on industrial history.
Lower Trenton
Bridge
Spanning the Delaware River, this bridge is famous for its
illuminated sign reading "Trenton Makes, the World Takes," installed in
1935 to celebrate the city's manufacturing prowess. The slogan, visible
from afar, symbolizes Trenton's industrial past in steel, ceramics, and
rubber. It's a popular photo spot, especially at night, and connects to
Pennsylvania for cross-state exploration.
Grounds For Sculpture
Though technically in nearby Hamilton
Township (about 3 miles from Trenton), this 42-acre sculpture park and
museum is often associated with the area and tops many lists. Founded in
1992 by artist Seward Johnson, it features over 270 contemporary
sculptures amid landscaped gardens, ponds, and indoor galleries.
Highlights include life-sized recreations of famous paintings and
interactive installations. It's open year-round, with dining options and
events like yoga sessions.
Shaky Bridge
A lesser-known gem in
Cadwalader Park, this pedestrian suspension bridge from the 19th century
sways gently when crossed, offering a fun, adventurous experience over a
ravine. It's a hidden spot for locals, surrounded by woods and ideal for
a short hike.
Pre-Colonial Era
The area that would become Trenton, New Jersey,
was originally inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans, specifically
the Axion band, who were the largest tribe along the Delaware River in
the mid-17th century. The Lenape, part of the broader
Algonquian-speaking peoples, lived in the Delaware River valley,
utilizing the region's natural resources for hunting, fishing, and
agriculture before European contact disrupted their way of life. The
falls of the Delaware, a shallow, rocky stretch of the river about two
miles long, was a significant geographical feature, known for its rapid
waters and serving as a natural boundary and resource area for
indigenous communities.
Colonial Period (1679–1775)
European
settlement began in 1679 when English Quakers, fleeing religious
persecution in England, established the first permanent community at the
Falls of the Delaware, led by Mahlon Stacy from Handsworth, Sheffield.
Stacy, a prominent Quaker who had acquired land shares in West Jersey
while still in England, arrived on the ship Shield in December 1678 and
built the area's first grist mill by late 1679, which served local
settlers and facilitated early economic growth. His 3,500-acre
plantation, "Ballifield," spanned both sides of Assunpink Creek, and he
held key public roles, including serving in the New Jersey General
Assembly and as a justice. The settlement grew slowly at first, with
temporary shelters and reliance on Native American corn and venison, but
attracted more Quakers from nearby Burlington.
By 1714, Scottish
merchant William Trent purchased 800 acres from Stacy's son, renaming
the area "Trent-towne" (shortened to Trenton by 1719) and building his
brick mansion, Bloomsbury Court (now the William Trent House), which
became a social hub. Trent, a wealthy Philadelphia trader and provincial
council member, developed the township, establishing mills, a ferry
across the Delaware, and serving as New Jersey's Chief Justice until his
death in 1724. The town expanded with a courthouse and jail by 1720, and
boundaries for Trenton Township were recorded that year, while Hunterdon
County freeholders met annually there. Early industries included
ironworks from the 1730s and pottery from 1723, alongside agriculture
and trade. Slavery was present, with figures like Stacy and Trent owning
enslaved Africans, and indentured labor was common. By the 1750s,
Trenton had about 100 houses, two churches (Church of England and
Presbyterian), and served as a stop on routes between New York and
Philadelphia. The Old Barracks, built in 1758 to house British soldiers
during the French and Indian War, remains a key surviving structure.
Revolutionary War Era (1776–1789)
Trenton played a pivotal role
in the American Revolution, most famously as the site of the Battle of
Trenton on December 25–26, 1776, when General George Washington crossed
the icy Delaware River and surprised Hessian forces, securing the first
major American victory and boosting morale. This was followed by the
Battle of the Assunpink Creek on January 2, 1777. The Trenton Battle
Monument, a 150-foot granite column erected in 1893, commemorates these
events. Post-war, the Congress of the Confederation briefly met in
Trenton at the French Arms Tavern from November to December 1784,
considering it as a permanent U.S. capital, though southern states
favored a site south of the Mason-Dixon Line. In 1789, Trenton hosted a
reception for Washington en route to his inauguration.
Early
Statehood and 19th Century Industrial Growth (1790–1900)
Trenton
became New Jersey's capital on November 25, 1790, with the State House
built in 1792 (the third-oldest in the U.S.), and the city was
incorporated on November 13, 1792, within Trenton Township. The full
township was incorporated in 1798, with annexations expanding the city
over the next century, including South Trenton (1851), Chambersburg
(1888), and others. During the War of 1812, a primary U.S. Army hospital
operated on Broad Street. In 1837, a mayoral government was adopted due
to population growth, with bylaws still in use today.
The 1830s
brought transportation improvements like the Delaware and Raritan Canal
and Camden and Amboy Railroad, spurring industrialization. Peter Cooper
opened an iron mill in 1845, and John Roebling relocated his wire rope
factory there in 1848, producing cables for iconic bridges like the
Brooklyn Bridge. Pottery became dominant from the 1850s, earning Trenton
the nickname "Staffordshire of America," with firms like Lenox producing
fine china for the White House. Rubber, textiles, and other
manufacturing boomed, attracting European immigrants (Irish, Germans,
Italians, Poles) and driving population from 6,461 in 1850 to over
57,000 by 1900. Mercer County was formed in 1838 with Trenton as its
seat. Educational institutions emerged, including the College of New
Jersey (now Princeton) founded in 1855, Rider University in 1865, and
Mercer Community College in 1966.
20th Century: Peak, Decline,
and Challenges (1900–2000)
Trenton's industrial peak continued into
the early 20th century, with the slogan "Trenton Makes, the World Takes"
adopted in 1910 and displayed on a bridge sign from 1917, symbolizing
its global exports in rubber, steel, and ceramics. Population reached
128,009 in 1950, with high density and diverse immigrant communities.
African American migration surged during World Wars I and II for factory
jobs, rising from 11% in 1950.
Post-World War II deindustrialization
hit hard: companies like U.S. Steel and Roebling closed or relocated,
exacerbated by the Great Depression and mechanization. The 1948 Trenton
Six case highlighted racial injustice, where six Black men were
wrongfully convicted of murder and later exonerated. Urban renewal in
the 1950s demolished neighborhoods, displacing residents and building
Route 29, which cut off the city from the riverfront. Racial tensions
boiled over in the 1968 riots following Martin Luther King Jr.'s
assassination, with over 200 businesses damaged and widespread arrests.
Middle-class flight to suburbs reduced population to 84,913 by 2010,
while crime rates soared, with record homicides in 2013. Efforts like
the Urban Enterprise Zone (1983) aimed at revitalization through tax
incentives.
Modern Era (2000–Present)
Today, Trenton's economy
centers on state government, with the New Jersey State House, museums,
and offices dominating downtown. The population stabilized around
84,000, with 52% African American and 34% Hispanic by 2010, reflecting
ongoing diversity. Challenges persist, including poverty, high crime,
and urban decay, but initiatives like converting Roebling mills into
housing, building a transit center, and the Trenton 250 master plan seek
renewal. Cultural sites such as the Old Barracks Museum, New Jersey
State Museum, and annual events like Patriot Week preserve its
Revolutionary heritage. Governed under the Faulkner Act with Mayor Reed
Gusciora since 2018, Trenton remains New Jersey's smallest capital by
area but central to the state's identity.
Trenton, the capital city of New Jersey, is situated in Mercer County in the west-central part of the state, along the eastern banks of the Delaware River. It lies approximately 28 miles (45 km) northeast of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 55 miles (89 km) southwest of New York City, positioning it at the head of navigation on the Delaware River, which historically made it a key transportation hub. The city spans a compact area of about 7.65 square miles (19.63 square kilometers of land and 1.62 square kilometers of water), making it one of the smallest state capitals in the U.S. As of recent estimates, it has a population of around 83,203. Trenton borders Ewing, Hamilton, and Lawrence Townships in Mercer County to the north, east, and south, respectively, while its western edge is defined by the Delaware River, across which lie Pennsylvania's Bucks County communities like Falls Township, Lower Makefield Township, and Morrisville. Several bridges, including the Lower Trenton Bridge, Trenton-Morrisville Toll Bridge, and Calhoun Street Bridge, connect it to Pennsylvania.
Trenton's topography is relatively flat and low-lying, characteristic of its position straddling the Piedmont and Coastal Plain physiographic provinces in central New Jersey. The city sits close to sea level, with its highest elevation reaching only about 42 feet (13 meters) above sea level, contributing to its vulnerability to flooding. The landscape features gentle slopes and plains, with eroded surfaces from ancient fluvial channels trending southwest. Key geomorphic elements include fluvial scarps, stream incisions, and terraces along the Delaware and Assunpink Valleys, where elevations range from floodplain levels up to 130 feet in remnant plains.
The Delaware River forms Trenton's western boundary and is a dominant geographical feature, historically prone to ice jams and flooding, as seen during the American Revolution. Flowing southward, it separates New Jersey from Pennsylvania and supports navigation up to the city. The Assunpink Creek, a 22.9-mile-long tributary, bisects Trenton, dividing it into northern and southern sections before emptying into the Delaware. Other hydrological elements include tidal marshes, estuarine deposits along the river, and alluvial fans in tributary valleys, with modern floodplains hosting silt, sand, and gravel deposits. Climate change exacerbates flood risks, potentially affecting 26% of properties with rising water levels and heavier rains.
Trenton experiences a transitional climate between humid subtropical (Cfa) and humid continental (Dfa) zones, influenced by its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, which moderates temperatures. The city has four distinct seasons of roughly equal length, with precipitation evenly distributed year-round, averaging slightly over 1,200 mm (47 inches) annually. Summers are warm and humid, with average highs of 85°F (29°C) and lows of 67°F (19°C), while winters are cool, featuring highs around 38°F (3°C) and lows about 28°F (-2°C). Extreme temperatures are rare, but heat waves and heavy precipitation events are increasing due to climate change. May and September are typically the most pleasant months, with highs between 68°F (20°C) and 79°F (26°C).
The surficial geology of Trenton consists of unconsolidated deposits up to 80 feet thick, overlying Cretaceous sediments and pre-Cretaceous bedrock, shaped by fluvial, glaciofluvial, estuarine, and eolian processes over the last four million years. Major formations include the Pensauken Formation (fluvial sand and gravel forming eroded plains at 130 feet elevation), Late Wisconsinan glaciofluvial deposits (stratified sands and gravels from 25,000–15,000 years BP, creating terraces at 50–60 feet), and Illinoian glaciofluvial deposits (older, weathered gravels). Postglacial stream-terrace deposits form surfaces 5–35 feet above floodplains, while Holocene features encompass alluvium in floodplains, tidal marshes with peat and clay, colluvium on slopes, and eolian dunes up to 10 feet thick. Soils vary from permeable sands and gravels in fluvial units to clayey sands in weathered zones, with accretion-gley soils and thermokarst basins indicating past permafrost. These deposits reflect cycles of deposition during glacial low sea levels and erosion during interglacial highstands.
Trenton is divided into four traditional wards: North Ward, South Ward, East Ward, and West Ward, which reflect its historical and community structure. The urban layout centers on the Delaware Riverfront, with major transportation routes like the New Jersey Turnpike, Interstate 295, and U.S. Route 1 linking it to Philadelphia and New York. Land use mixes residential, industrial, and governmental areas, with the state capitol complex prominent downtown. Historical maps show evolution from early 19th-century street grids to mid-20th-century expansions, incorporating suburbs and key developments like building lots and churches.
Trenton's landscape has transformed significantly since the 19th century, as evidenced by maps from 1835 onward showing street expansions, suburban growth, and land developments like the Bloomsbury and Potts building lots. By the early 20th century, directories captured detailed urban evolution through 1933, with later USGS topographic maps and comparisons from 1930 to 2020 highlighting shifts in infrastructure and land use amid industrialization and urbanization.
As of the 2010 census, Trenton had a population of 84,913, 28,578
households, and 17,747 families.
The racial composition of the
population:
whites - 13.5% (in 1950 - 88.6%)
African Americans -
52.0%
Hispanics (all races) - 33.7%
Asians - 1.2%
The
ethnic composition of Trenton has undergone significant changes
throughout its history. The city was founded by immigrants from England
almost 350 years ago, in the second half of the 19th century the Irish
and Italians were the majority in it, today's Trenton is a city of
African and Latin Americans. The largest national community is Puerto
Ricans (15%). English Americans, who represented the vast majority when
Trenton briefly became the capital of the United States, now make up
only 1.5% of the city's residents.
The average annual per capita
income is $17,400. The average age of citizens is 32.6 years. The crime
rate is very high, 3.7 times the American average and 4.6 times the New
Jersey average.
Politically, most citizens support the US
Democratic Party.
In the second half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th
centuries, Trenton was a major industrial center that occupied one of
the leading places in the United States in the production of rubber,
electrical wiring and ceramics. Today, the only vestige of those times
is the slogan “Trenton Makes, The World Takes” on a bridge across the
Delaware River.
Since the 1960s, the city has entered a period of
decline and deindustrialization. Industries closed, white workers left
the city, company offices were moved from downtown Trenton to more
attractive suburbs. Attempts to revitalize downtown Trenton by state and
city governments in the 1990s did not produce the expected results.
Today, the city's largest employer is the state of New Jersey, and many
citizens are heavily dependent on social programs.
The city is served by a municipal airport (IATA: TTN, ICAO: KTTN)
located 6 kilometers northwest of downtown. Regular flights were
discontinued in the late 1970s due to the general decline of the city.
However, due to the congestion of the nearest major airports - Newark
and Philadelphia, in 2012 Frontier Airlines began flying from Trenton to
Orlando, and in 2013 it is planned to open 10 more routes, including to
Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit and New Orleans .
The Trenton railway
station is located on the so-called. "Northeast Corridor" - an
all-electric, very busy line linking Boston, New York, Philadelphia,
Baltimore and Washington. Dozens of trains to these cities stop at the
station every day.
The area around Trenton is home to Interstate
95, as well as US 1 and US 206.
Public transport of the city, as
well as the entire state as a whole, is managed by the New Jersey
Transit organization and is represented primarily by buses. There is
also a 55 km light rail line linking Trenton with Camden.