Historical Significance:

French and Indian War

"In 1758, the Barracks was the biggest building in Trenton. About 300 British and Irish soldiers were the first to live here. The building was made of stone and had dark red woodwork. There were about 20 soldiers' rooms, each with two windows, a door and a fireplace. Twelve soldiers were housed in each room, with two men sleeping in each wooden bunk. The soldiers received rations of food, firewood, candles, cider, salt, and vinegar. There was a kitchen in the cellar, but most soldiers cooked in their rooms. In the center of the building was a little house with a staircase to the second floor and the balcony. The Officers' House was fancier and more comfortable. Cows, pigs, chickens and horses were kept outside in the yard. The first soldiers to occupy the Barracks were two companies of Irishmen, the Inniskillin's (1758-1759); two companies of lowland Scots, the First Regiment of Foot (1759-1760); and two companies of British soldiers with Swiss officers, the Royal American (1761-1762).

Revolution

When the Revolutionary War started, the Barracks was used by American troops. British prisoners of war from St. John and Chambly, Canada, were imprisoned in the Officers House while four companies of the Second New Jersey Regiment of the Continental Line were raised here. In December, 1776, British and Hessian troops occupied Trenton. Some of them stayed in the Barracks. Colonists loyal to the English king also arrived so that they could be protected by the soldiers. During the First Battle of Trenton on Dec. 26, in a miraculously successful morning raid, General Washington captured many of the Hessians. The Americans returned to Trenton and used the Barracks. In 1777, the Barracks became an army hospital under Dr. Bodo Otto. Many soldiers and supplies passed through Trenton until the end of the war. The last soldiers in the Barracks may have been sick and wounded soldiers from the siege of Yorktown in 1781. For more detail on the events surrounding the Battles of Trenton. 1900's

In the early part of the century, Trenton was a thriving industrial center, and its residents were proud of their growing, prosperous city. An organization of wealthy patriotic women, mostly from the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, wanted to save and restore the forgotten, tumble-down buildings that once were the Barracks. In 1902, they formed the Old Barracks Association and bought the south section of the building. In 1914 the State of New Jersey bought the north section and agreed to start a museum. The building was restored as some thought it must have looked in 1758, with a rebuilt middle section and new corridors, balconies, windows and landscaping." All wording is from the Historical Section of the Old Barracks Museum website found here: http://www.barracks.org/the-history.html

The Old Barracks became a State Registered Landmark in 1970, a National Register Landmark in 1971 and a National Historic Landmark in 1972. The second restoration of the Barracks began in 1985 and ended in 1998. Archaeologists, architects, historians, and specialist craftsmen worked together to determine how the Barracks was made, and how to best repair it. Today the exterior fence and parade ground emphasize the original military nature of the building.