'', a painting by
John Trumbull The earliest known inhabitants of the area that is today Trenton were the
Lenape Native Americans, specifically the
Axion band who were the largest tribe on the
Delaware River in the mid-17th century. The first European settlement in what would become Trenton was established by
Quakers in 1679, in the region then called the Falls of the Delaware, led by Mahlon Stacy from
Handsworth,
Sheffield,
England. Quakers were being persecuted in England at this time, and North America provided an opportunity to exercise their religious freedom. By 1719, the town adopted the name "Trent-towne", after
William Trent, one of its leading landholders who purchased much of the surrounding land from Stacy's family. This name was later shortened to "Trenton". The first municipal boundaries were recorded on March 2, 1720, and a courthouse and jail were constructed around the same time. In 1758, the
Old Barracks were built to house British soldiers during the
French and Indian War. On January 19, 1764,
Benjamin Franklin, Postmaster General of the colonies, appointed
Abraham Hunt, a Lieutenant Colonel in the New Jersey
Hunterdon County militia and prominent merchant in Trenton, as the city's first postmaster. Hunt was again appointed Trenton's postmaster on October 13, 1775, shortly after the
American Revolutionary War broke out. During the
American Revolutionary War, Trenton was the site of the
Battle of Trenton. On December 25–26, 1776,
George Washington and his army
crossed the icy Delaware River to Trenton, where they defeated
Hessian troops garrisoned there. The second battle of Trenton,
Battle of the Assunpink Creek, was fought here on January 2, 1777. After the war, the
Congress of the Confederation met for two months at the
French Arms Tavern from November 1, 1784, to December 24, 1784. While the city was preferred by
New England and other northern states as a permanent capital for the new country, the southern states ultimately prevailed in their choice of a location south of the
Mason–Dixon line. On April 21, 1789, the city hosted a
reception for George Washington on his journey to New York City for
his first inauguration. The
Trenton Battle Monument, a granite column topped with a statue of George Washington, was built in 1893 to commemorate the battle. Trenton became the state capital in 1790, but prior to that year the
New Jersey Legislature often met in the city. The city was incorporated on November 13, 1792. During the
War of 1812, the
United States Army's primary hospital was at a site on Broad Street. Trenton had maintained an iron industry since the 1730s and a pottery industry since at least 1723. The completion of both the Delaware and Raritan Canal and the Camden and Amboy Railroad in the 1830s spurred industrial development in Trenton. In 1845, industrialist
Peter Cooper opened a rolling mill. In 1848, engineer
John Roebling moved his
wire rope mill to the city, where suspension cables for bridges were manufactured, including the
Brooklyn Bridge. Throughout the 19th century, Trenton grew steadily, as European immigrants came to work in its
pottery and wire rope mills. Trenton became known as an industrial hub for
railroads,
trucking,
rubber,
plastics,
metalworking,
electrical,
automobile parts,
glass, and
textiles industries. Lenox designed and manufactured
White House china for multiple
Presidents of the United States. On February 22, 1834, portions of Trenton Township were taken to form
Ewing Township. The remaining portion of Trenton Township was absorbed by the city on April 10, 1837. In 1837, with the population now too large for government by council, a new mayoral government was adopted, with by-laws that remain in operation to this day. During the latter half of the century, Trenton annexed multiple municipalities:
South Trenton Borough on April 14, 1851, portions of
Nottingham Township on April 14, 1856,
Chambersburg and
Millham Township on March 30, 1888, and
Wilbur borough on February 28, 1898. In 1855, the
College of New Jersey was founded in Trenton. In 1865,
Rider University was also founded in Trenton.
Mercer Community College began in Trenton in 1966. In the 1950s, the State of New Jersey purchased a large portion of what was then Stacy Park, a large riverfront park located next to downtown that contained large open lawns, landscaping, and
promenades. Much of the park was demolished to make way for the construction of Route 29, despite the
protests toward its construction. After it was built, the area was then mostly filled with parking lots and scattered state office buildings, disconnecting the city from the riverfront.
Riots of 1968 The Trenton Riots of 1968 were a major civil disturbance that took place during the week following the assassination of civil rights leader
Martin Luther King Jr. in
Memphis on April 4.
Race riots broke out nationwide following the murder of the civil rights activist. More than 200 Trenton businesses, mostly in Downtown, were ransacked and burned. More than 300 people, most of them young black men, were arrested on charges ranging from assault and arson to looting and violating the mayor's emergency curfew. In addition to 16 injured policemen, 15 firefighters were treated at city hospitals for injuries suffered while fighting raging blazes or inflicted by rioters. Area residents pulled false alarms and would then throw bricks at firefighters responding to the alarm boxes. This experience, along with similar experiences in other major cities, effectively ended the use of open-cab fire engines. As an interim measure, the Trenton Fire Department fabricated temporary cab enclosures from steel deck plating until new equipment could be obtained. The losses incurred by downtown businesses were initially estimated by the city to be $7 million, but the total of insurance claims and settlements came to $2.5 million. Trenton's
Battle Monument neighborhood was hardest hit. Since the 1950s, North Trenton had witnessed a steady exodus of middle-class residents, and the riots spelled the end for North Trenton. By the 1970s, the region had become one of the most blighted and crime-ridden in the city. ==Geography==