GET YOUR HANDS ON HISTORY!
SATURDAY MAY 2, 2009
at the ANNUAL ‘SPIRIT of the JERSEYS’
STATE HISTORY FAIR

(TITUSVILLE) - Where is the one place you can experience four centuries of New Jersey history, interact with historical figures like Walt Whitman and Harriet Tubman, learn about colonial food preparation or be a part of the great American race through time? The answer is simple: at the annual SPIRIT of the JERSEYS State History Fair on May 2, 2009 at Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, NJ.

Now in its sixth year, this FREE, award-winning historical festival for all ages runs from 11 am to 5 pm, rain or shine. Last year more than 6,000 visitors and 150 organizations and individuals, representing nearly every county in the state journeyed together into the past.

New features this year include an Authors’ Tent, a Quilting Bee and the British are coming!  General Sir William Howe and the 43rd Regiment of Foot will bring an exciting look at the Redcoats of the American Revolution as they drill and rally the troops.

Join us for canal boat rides with Captain John “Cappy” Hummel along the historic Delaware & Raritan Canal to celebrate the 175th anniversary of this waterway’s opening. Hear the "sneckehorn" blow and songs from the past as Cappy takes you for an entertaining, action-packed trek on the canal.

The fair will once again feature exhibits, living history demonstrations, period music, military reenactment groups, special performances and numerous children's activities. 

There also are several opportunities for scouts to meet achievements, electives and to earn requirements toward badges. New Jersey elementary education and social studies teachers also can earn professional development credit by attending the fair.

Originally inspired to celebrate the 100th anniversary of New Jersey’s state-owned historic sites, the fair is sponsored by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Historic Sites, Division of Parks and Forestry, and in partnership with the NJ Historical Commission, the NJ Historic Trust and Howell Living History Farm, Mercer County Park Commission. Its theme, Spirit of the Jerseys, refers to a time before statehood when there was an east Jersey and a west Jersey. New Jersey signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and in 1787 became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Washington Crossing State Park is located on the Delaware River, just eight miles north of Trenton. A National Historic Landmark, it was here that the Continental Army under the command of General George Washington landed after their historic crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776. The park contains over 2000 acres in Mercer and Hunterdon Counties and is easily accessible from Routes 29 and 546.

For more information and a complete list of fair activities, visit njhistoryfair.org or call Washington Crossing State Park at (609) 737-9303.