What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the local history of this area? Is it pork roll? Washington crossing the Delaware? If you answered yes to both, you’re right. And what’s better than a story that brings both together?
In August 2022, Titusville resident Annette Earling became the executive director and first paid employee of the Washington Crossing Park Association. WCPA is the “officially recognized friends organization” of the NJDEP-owned Washington Crossing State Park.
Since I have a soft spot for friends organizations, I met with Annette to learn more about her accomplishments as WCPA executive director. However, I’m taking the liberty of reprioritizing that entire discussion to highlight the final story she shared when asked about the upcoming 2026 celebration of the 250th anniversary of 1776, also known as the U.S. semiquincentennial.
Annette said that the park has big plans and among her first tasks as ED was launching a campaign to raise $60,000 for an initiative related to the 250th. Right out of the gate, her efforts yielded over $90,000 in funding.
The money was needed to fund the restoration of a 16-by-10-foot mural that will be featured at the park’s new state-sponsored multimillion dollar visitor center, currently under construction.
The mural, which depicts George Washington crossing the Delaware, was designed and painted by artist George Matthews Harding in 1921 for the Taylor Opera House in Trenton. The opera house was founded by one of Trenton’s leading citizens, the very same John Taylor who created pork roll.
The opera house opened in 1867. It was the first theatre to offer drinks in the lobby, where the mural was displayed.
The building was torn down in 1969 to create a parking lot. Prior to razing the structure, the owners offered the mural to the State of New Jersey, and a group of 12 conservators rescued and covered the painting in wheat paste and rice paper.
What makes this mural so spectacular is the illustration by renowned combat artist George Harding. He was trained by Howard Pyle, who has been called the “father of American illustration.”
Harding was an illustrator for the Saturday Evening Post and Harpers Monthly, and headed the Department of Illustration at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Harding was also the only military art illustrator to serve in the American Expeditionary Forces in both WWI and WWII. He brought that experience and attention to detail to his Washington mural, which provides a sense of the scale of operations that included 2400 soldiers, 18 cannons and 75-100 horses. The painting depicts historically accurate troops, artillery, and horses lining the banks of the Delaware.
Originally slated for a 1976 bicentennial display at the Washington Crossing State Park visitor’s center, the mural was too large to fit, so the state stored it in the basement of Ringwood State Park until it was eventually rediscovered in 2021 by historian and WCPA founding member Pat Millen. The painting was retrieved and is now being restored by Christyl Cusworth of Cusworth Conservation.
This exciting art restoration project is just a single example of the myriad of activities planned for the upcoming semiquincentennial.
While the State of New Jersey is investing over $10 million in Washington Crossing State Park roads and building infrastructure, organizations like WCPA and the Swan Historical Foundation, Inc. augment and populate the structures to provide personality, culture, and life.
There are many priorities that the state’s investment does not cover, including restorations for the historic Nelson House, the African-American park section, and stewardship needs that arose due to floods, tornados, and the emerald ash borer infestation. Annette Earling shared ambitious plans to address it all that require time, money, partners, and community support.
Washington Landing is a re-enactment jointly hosted by WCPA, NJ State Park historians, and the First Rhode Island Regiment. The event features the tales of both the crossing and the march to Trenton through the eyes of the men and women who lived it, especially our nation’s Black patriots, whose stories, too often, are not told. The historical organizations plan on further growing and refining this event for the semiquincentennial.
Bolstered by the fundraising success of her art restoration project, Earling plans to initiate a half million-dollar fundraising campaign to restore the George Washington Memorial Arboretum. She has a $300, 000 jumpstart bestowed by WCPA founder Bill Farkas. Stay tuned for more information on that project.
As we reviewed her accomplishments as executive director, Earling recounted that among her earliest tasks to improve state park land stewardship was contacting me at FoHVOS for consulting to address issues surrounding deer management and invasive species control. We brought in FoHVOS stewardship director Mike Van Clef to design a forest stewardship plan.
Since that time, the WCPA has built up their regular trail steward program to over 90 volunteers and has a special collaboration with Hopewell Central High School for honor society students to earn credit grooming trails.
Speaking of trail maintenance, the WCPA is also undertaking a major restoration of the Continental Trail, which was decimated during a tornado. The work was launched by a $5,000 grant from the Lower Delaware Wild and Scenic Management Council.
Finally, for those who can’t wait until the semiquincentennial to immerse themselves in history, WCPA has increased the number historian-led guided history tours available at no charge to the public.
It is safe to assume that you’ll be hearing more from public officials about celebrating 250 years since July 4, 1776. I’ll continue to provide updates as I learn of them. Special thanks to Annette Earling, who is killing it as the WCPA executive director.
WCPA trustees Stan Saperstein, Michael Mitrano, Christyl Cusworth of Cusworth Restorations, and trustee Ken Ritchey with the freshly unrolled Harding mural, “Washington Crossing the Delaware.” The rice paper and wheat paste are still visible on the right of the piece.,
