Credit: Zeete/Creative Commons
Washington Crossing Historic Park is now a state park.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) announced the 500-acre park that sits along the Delaware River in Upper Makefield has been transferred to its control. Previously, the park was under the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission (PHMC) and received funding from that agency.
“Many of our state parks protect areas or buildings that have cultural and historical significance, so we are equipped to take on the responsibility of conserving the site of George Washington’s dramatic boat crossing of the Delaware River during the American Revolution,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said. “Washington Crossing also provides the community and visitors with many types of outdoor recreation, which is a natural fit with DCNR’s mission.”
The DCNR and PHMC have been working on the transition since 2013. Commission Executive Director James Vaughan said DCNR has more resources needed to maintain and preserve the park.
The nonprofit Friends of Washington Crossing Historic Park is also part of the transition and in agreement with the turnover. The group operates the park visitor center and Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, which is included on the park property.
Along with the transition, George Calaba, a Navy veteran with degrees in geography and regional planning, has been brought on board as park manager. He most recently served as assistant park manager at the 830-acre Delaware Canal State Park, which runs from Bristol Borough to Easton, Northampton County.
Calaba said in a statement that he is “thrilled for this opportunity to build on what the PHMC has accomplished over the past decades and look forward to the challenges of managing this most valued historic, educational, and recreational resource.”
The sprawling park was closed for several months in late 2009 when the PHMC had to cut funding. In the following months, the Friends of Washington Crossing Historic Park worked with PHMC officials to reopen the facility and add staff.
The park is known worldwide for its annual Christmas reenactment of General Washington crossing the Delaware River while enroute to Trenton to battle mercenaries hired by the British during the Revolutionary War.
The park is divided into a lower and upper section, which both include historic structures and open space.
Washington Crossing was established as a state park in July 1917 before being transferred to the PHMC in 1971. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.
