Editing Trenton, New Jersey (section)

==History==
[[File:The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton December 26 1776.jpeg|thumb|upright=1.2|275px|''[[The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776]]'', a painting by [[John Trumbull]]]]
[[File:Old Barracks, South Willow Street, Trenton (Mercer County, New Jersey).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|275px|The Old Barracks in Trenton]]
The earliest known inhabitants of the area that is today Trenton were the [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]],<ref>[http://ellarslie.org/before-there-was-trenton/ "Before There Was Trenton: A 350th Anniversary Look at the 17th Century Display of Early New Netherland Colonial Artifacts June 22 – October 19, 2014"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929030918/https://ellarslie.org/before-there-was-trenton/ |date=September 29, 2020 }}, Trenton City Museum, October 12, 2014. Accessed December 1, 2019.</ref> specifically the [[Axion people|Axion]] band who were the largest tribe on the [[Delaware River]] in the mid-17th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ricky |first1=Donald B. |title=Indians of Maryland |date=1999 |publisher=Somerset |location=St. Clair Shoes, MI |isbn=9780403098774 |page=72 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=88z94nv6rlwC}}</ref>

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, South Yorkshire|Handsworth]], [[Sheffield]], [[England]]. Quakers were being persecuted in England at this time, and North America provided an opportunity to exercise their religious freedom.<ref>Hunter, Richard. [http://www.state.nj.us/counties/mercer/about/community/pdfs/os_abbottch4.pdf "Chapter 4: Land Use History"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601105241/http://www.state.nj.us/counties/mercer/about/community/pdfs/os_abbottch4.pdf |date=June 1, 2016 }}, from ''Abbott Farm National Historic Landmark Interpretive Plan'', [[Mercer County, New Jersey]]. Accessed May 5, 2016.</ref>

By 1719, the town adopted the name "Trent-towne", after [[William Trent (Trenton)|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".<ref>Krystal, Becky. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/trenton-nj-one-for-the-history-buffs/2011/02/10/AB6YArQ_story.html "Trenton, N.J.: One for the history buffs"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001074238/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/trenton-nj-one-for-the-history-buffs/2011/02/10/AB6YArQ_story.html |date=October 1, 2017 }}, ''[[The Washington Post]]'', February 10, 2011. Accessed January 10, 2012. "Back in the early 18th century, at least, the area was remote enough for Trent, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant, to build his summer home there near the banks of the Delaware River. And though it's dwarfed by its modern-day neighbors, at the time the home reflected its owner's 'ostentatious nature,' Nedoresow said. Further stroking his ego, he named the settlement he laid out 'Trent-towne,' which eventually evolved into the current moniker."</ref><ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=31 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115082401/http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=31 |date=November 15, 2015 }}, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed October 12, 2015.</ref><ref>[[Henry Gannett|Gannett, Henry]]. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n303 <!-- pg=304 --> ''The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States''], p. 304. [[United States Government Printing Office]], 1905. Accessed October 12, 2015.</ref>

The first municipal boundaries were recorded on March 2, 1720, and a courthouse and jail were constructed around the same time.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=History of Trenton {{!}} Trenton, NJ |url=https://www.trentonnj.org/306/History-of-Trenton#:~:text=Trenton%20became%20New%20Jersey's%20capital,Legislature%20on%20February%2021,%201798. |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=www.trentonnj.org |archive-date=November 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116042557/https://www.trentonnj.org/306/History-of-Trenton#:~:text=Trenton%20became%20New%20Jersey's%20capital,Legislature%20on%20February%2021,%201798. |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1758, the [[Old Barracks Museum|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, 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.<ref name="napo">[[#franklin1764|National Archives: Post Office Commissions to Abraham Hunt, 10 January 1764]]</ref><ref name="schuyler">[[#schuyler1929|Schuyler, 1929]], p. 132</ref>

During the [[American Revolutionary War]], Trenton was the site of the [[Battle of Trenton]]. On December 25–26, 1776, [[George Washington]] and his army [[Washington's crossing of the Delaware River|crossed the icy Delaware River]] to Trenton, where they defeated [[Hessian (soldiers)|Hessian troops]] garrisoned there.<ref>[https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/washington-wins-first-major-u-s-victory-at-trenton "This Day in History – Dec 26, 1776: Washington wins first major U.S. victory at Trenton"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128043949/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/washington-wins-first-major-u-s-victory-at-trenton |date=January 28, 2020 }}, [[History (American TV network)|History]], November 13, 2009, updated July 27, 2019. Accessed December 1, 2019.</ref> The second battle of Trenton, [[Battle of the Assunpink Creek]], was fought here on January 2, 1777.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fischer |first=David Hackett |author-link=David Hackett Fischer |title=[[Washington's Crossing (book)|Washington's Crossing]] |location=New York |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=0-19-518159-X |pages=[https://archive.org/details/washingtonscross00fisc/page/290 290–307] |chapter=The Bridge. Assunpink, The Most Awful Moment |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oreq1YztDcQC&pg=PA290 |access-date=January 25, 2020 |archive-date=October 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001194343/https://books.google.com/books?id=Oreq1YztDcQC&pg=PA290#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="UScapital">Parker, L.A. [http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2009/11/06/news/doc4af39f543e060661656184.txt "City celebrating role as U.S. capital in 1784"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902225219/http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2009/11/06/news/doc4af39f543e060661656184.txt |date=September 2, 2017 }}, ''[[The Trentonian]]'', November 6, 2009. Accessed January 10, 2012. "City and state leaders kicked off a two-month celebration yesterday with a news conference highlighting Trenton's brief role as the capital of the United States in 1784."</ref> 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]].<ref>Messler, Mary J. [http://www.trentonhistory.org/His/post-revolutionary.html "Chapter IV: Some Notable Events of Post-Revolutionary Times"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202180754/http://www.trentonhistory.org/His/post-revolutionary.html |date=February 2, 2017 }} from ''A History of Trenton: 1679–1929'', Trenton Historical Society. Accessed May 5, 2016. "The question now resolved itself into a quarrel between the North and the South. New England favored Trenton, whereas the Southern States felt that in the selection of any site north of Mason and Dixon's line their claims for recognition were being slighted, and their interests sacrificed to New England's commercialism."</ref> On April 21, 1789, the city hosted a [[George Washington's reception at Trenton|reception for George Washington]] on his journey to New York City for [[First inauguration of George Washington|his first inauguration]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Stryker |first=William S. |title=Washington's reception by the people of New Jersey in 1789 |url=https://archive.org/details/washingtonsrecep00stry |year=1882 |page=[https://archive.org/details/washingtonsrecep00stry/page/4 4] |location=Trenton, New Jersey}}</ref> The [[Trenton Battle Monument]], a {{Convert|150|ft|adj=on}} granite column topped with a statue of George Washington, was built in 1893 to commemorate the battle.<ref name=Britannica>[https://www.britannica.com/place/Trenton-New-Jersey Trenton New Jersey, United States] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326224812/https://www.britannica.com/place/Trenton-New-Jersey |date=March 26, 2023 }}, ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. Accessed November 19, 2023.</ref>

Trenton became the state capital in 1790, but prior to that year the [[New Jersey Legislature]] often met in the city.<ref>[http://www.nj.gov/nj/about/history/short_history.html A Short History of New Jersey] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103105217/http://www.nj.gov/nj/about/history/short_history.html |date=January 3, 2012 }}, [[New Jersey]]. Accessed January 10, 2012.</ref> The city was incorporated on November 13, 1792.<ref name="Story" /> In 1792, the [[New Jersey State House]] was built, making it the third-oldest state house in the country.<ref name=Britannica /> In 1799, the federal government [[Relocation of the United States Government to Trenton|relocated its offices to Trenton]] for a period of several months, following an outbreak of [[yellow fever]] in the then-capital of Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Messler |first1=Mary |title=Some Notable Events of Post-Revolutionary Times |url=https://www.trentonhistory.org/His/post-revolutionary.html |website=trentonhistory.org |publisher=Trenton Historical Society |access-date=September 18, 2021 |archive-date=December 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223092101/http://trentonhistory.org/His/post-revolutionary.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

During the [[War of 1812]], the [[United States Army]]'s primary hospital was at a site on Broad Street.<ref>[http://www.trentonnj.org/Cit-e-Access/webpage.cfm?TID=55&TPID=5612 Some of Trenton's History] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003084553/http://www.trentonnj.org/Cit-e-Access/webpage.cfm?TID=55&TPID=5612 |date=October 3, 2019 }}, City of Trenton. Accessed October 12, 2015. "During the 1812 War, the primary hospital facility for the U.S. Army was at a temporary location on Broad Street."</ref>

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 A. Roebling|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 [[Rail transport|railroads]], [[Trucking industry in the United States|trucking]], [[rubber]], [[plastic]]s, [[metalworking]], [[Electric power industry|electrical]], [[Automotive industry|automobile]] parts, [[Glass production|glass]], and [[Textile industry|textiles]] industries.<ref name=Britannica /> 

The city's largest and most long-standing industry was ceramics. From the 1850s-1950s, scores of pottery companies called the city home and Trenton became known as the "Staffordshire of America." In the late 19th century Walter Scott Lenox founded the Ceramic Art Company, which eventually became [[Lenox (company)|Lenox, Inc.]], a nationally-known producer of fine china.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Denker |first=Ellen Paul |title=Lenox China: Celebrating a Century of Quality, 1889-1989 |publisher=New Jersey State Museum and Lenox China |year=1989}}</ref> 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, New Jersey|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.<ref>Richman, Steven M. [https://books.google.com/books?id=GiJRZVzkcskC&pg=PA49 ''Reconsidering Trenton: The Small City in the Post-Industrial Age''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001194343/https://books.google.com/books?id=GiJRZVzkcskC&pg=PA49#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=October 1, 2023 }}, p. 49. [[McFarland & Company]], 2010. {{ISBN|9780786462230}}. Accessed November 15, 2015.</ref> During the latter half of the century, Trenton annexed multiple municipalities: [[South Trenton, New Jersey|South Trenton]] Borough on April 14, 1851, portions of [[Nottingham Township, New Jersey|Nottingham Township]] on April 14, 1856, [[Chambersburg, Trenton, New Jersey|Chambersburg]] and [[Millham Township, New Jersey|Millham Township]] on March 30, 1888, and [[Wilbur, Trenton, New Jersey|Wilbur]] borough on February 28, 1898.<ref name=":0" /> Portions of Ewing Township and [[Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey|Hamilton Township]] were annexed to Trenton on March 23, 1900.<ref name="Story" /><ref>Honeyman, Abraham Van Doren. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nOkkAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA302 ''Index-analysis of the Statutes of New Jersey, 1896–1909: Together with References to All Acts, and Parts of Acts, in the 'General Statutes' and Pamphlet Laws Expressly Repealed: and the Statutory Crimes of New Jersey During the Same Period''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001194343/https://books.google.com/books?id=nOkkAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA302#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=October 1, 2023}}, p. 302. New Jersey Law Journal Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed October 12, 2015.</ref>

In 1855, the [[The College of New Jersey|College of New Jersey]] was founded in Trenton. In 1865, [[Rider University]] was also founded in Trenton. [[Mercer County Community College|Mercer Community College]] began in Trenton in 1966.<ref name=Britannica />

The [[Trenton Six]] were a group of black men arrested for the alleged murder of an elderly white shopkeeper in January 1948 with a soda bottle. They were arrested without warrants, denied lawyers and sentenced to death based on what were described as coerced confessions. With the involvement of the Communist Party and the NAACP, there were several appeals, resulting in a total of four trials. Eventually the accused men (with the exception of one who died in prison) were released. The incident was the subject of the book ''Jersey Justice: The Story of the Trenton Six'', written by Cathy Knepper.<ref>Blackwell, John|. [http://www.capitalcentury.com/1948.html "1948: A cry for justice"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225034751/http://www.capitalcentury.com/1948.html |date=December 25, 2017 }}, ''[[The Trentonian]]''. Accessed June 4, 2018.</ref><ref>Schlegel, Sharon. [http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2012/01/harrowing_case_of_the_trenton.html "Harrowing case of the 'Trenton Six'"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820043820/https://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2012/01/harrowing_case_of_the_trenton.html |date=August 20, 2018 }}, ''[[The Times (Trenton)|The Times]]'', January 28, 2012. Accessed June 4, 2018. "The recently published story of the 'Trenton Six,' dramatically told in Cathy Knepper's newest book, ''Jersey Justice: The Story of the Trenton Six,'' is so filled with proven instances of injustice that it is almost hard to believe.... Reading how the men were arrested randomly and haphazardly (despite a partial witness claiming they were not the perpetrators) is horrifying. Equally upsetting is that they were held incommunicado for days without warrants, abused and drugged into confessing."</ref>

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 [[Esplanade|promenades]]. Much of the park was demolished to make way for the construction of Route 29, despite the [[Highway revolt|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.<ref>[https://www.trentonnj.org/DocumentCenter/View/6120/Chapter-7---Riverfront-District- ''Chapter 7 Riverfront District Downtown Capital District Master Plan Trenton, New Jersey''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116031854/https://www.trentonnj.org/DocumentCenter/View/6120/Chapter-7---Riverfront-District- |date=November 16, 2023 }}, City of Trenton. Accessed November 19, 2023.</ref>

===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, Tennessee|Memphis]] on April 4. [[Race riot]]s 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&nbsp;million, but the total of insurance claims and settlements came to $2.5&nbsp;million.<ref>Cumbler, John T. [https://books.google.com/books?id=G1kVVDSqCT8C&pg=PA283 ''A Social History of Economic Decline: Business, Politics and Work in Trenton''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001194433/https://books.google.com/books?id=G1kVVDSqCT8C&pg=PA283#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=October 1, 2023 }}, p. 283. [[Rutgers University Press]], 1989. {{ISBN|9780813513744}}. Accessed February 12, 2014.</ref>

Trenton's [[Battle Monument, Trenton, New Jersey|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.<ref>Listokin, David; and Listokin, Barbara. [https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/PDF/brahvol2.pdf ''Barriers to the Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing Volume II Case Studies''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018012048/https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/PDF/brahvol2.pdf |date=October 18, 2020 }}, [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development]], May 2001. Accessed December 1, 2019. "Socioeconomic and housing challenges are especially severe in some of Trenton’s oldest neighborhoods. In the Old Trenton area, abandonment went unchecked for decades, and when abandoned houses were demolished by the city, the empty lots remaining would fill with garbage and vermin. Another hard-hit location was the 'Battle Monument' area: 'Time has not been kind to the Battle Monument section of this city. The five-block area, the hub of the Battle of Trenton in 1775 and of transportation in the 1950s, has in the last four decades suffered from abandonment and neglect.'"</ref>