TOURISM
TOURISM
Uniting NJ through
The Nation – and State – unite in pre of the signing of the Decl
By Jamie Grill-Goodman
On July 4 , 2026 , the United States of America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence . New Jersey is readying itself for that moment . The anniversary provides the chance to tell the story of the state ’ s pivotal role in the struggle for American independence . Strategically located between New York and Philadelphia , New Jersey witnessed more conflict over a longer period than any other colony during the American Revolutionary War ( 1775-83 ), hence why it ’ s often referred to as “ the Crossroads of the American Revolution .”
To prepare for the anniversary and encourage heritage tourism , RevolutionNJ ( RevNJ ) has been established as a partnership between the New Jersey Historical Commission ( NJHC ), a division of the New Jersey Department of State , and the nonprofit Crossroads of the American Revolution Association . audiences statewide into embracing the value and relevance of New Jersey ’ s history .
“ We just see this as a tremendous opportunity for the state of New Jersey , which really lags behind the rest of the country and the amount of revenue we produce annually from heritage tourism ,” says Fellows . “ We are only bringing in about just under 7 % of revenue from heritage tourism and the rest of the country is almost at 14 %. So , we really want to raise up our heritage tourism sites and capture our own market share .”
Some of the preparation involved has included a visitor readiness and state assessment survey of about 150 historic sites around the state to rate their visitor readiness for 2026 , which resulted in a list of recommendations to bring these sites up to snuff for 2026 .
“ A lot of those sites have used that data as leverage to go after grant funding and other sources of funding through their local county and state government as well as some
RevolutionNJ
The partnership is unique , says Sara Cureton , Executive Director of the NJHC . RevolutionNJ was created by legislation in 2018 , which tasked the NJHC to pick a nonprofit to partner with and plan activities and initiatives for the 2026 anniversary , and through 2033 ( the eight-year length of the war ), as well as investigate the establishment of a state visitor center .
“ Our arrangement is a little unusual , but it has had a huge benefit to New Jersey ,” says Cureton . “ Because we started with two existing organizations , we were able to move much quicker to get started on planning for this . So that ' s really been a big advantage .”
Cureton and Carrie Fellows , Executive Director of Crossroads of the American Revolution , attended a working session this July in Washington , DC , held for America250 , led by the U . S . Semi quincentennial Commission . The session brought together core Semiquincentennial planning stakeholders to share milestones and plan ning developments .
“ We can tell you ,” says Cureton , “ state after state got up there to say , ‘ our commission was just formed , we just had our first meeting .’”
“ And we ’ ve been doing this for a few years now ,” Fellows chimes in .
Through a series of initiatives that explore the history of the American Revolution , its context , and its legacy , RevNJ aims to spur diverse
The 148-foot Trenton Battle Monument is crowned by a statue of a victorious George Washington .
Photo : RevNJ
Proprietary House in Perth Amboy , NJ , is the last rema
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