New Jersey Revolutionary Road Trip Part I Episode: Travels with Darley

Join Darley on a Revolutionary Road Trip through New Jersey, known as The Crossroads of the American Revolution, including the key “Ten Crucial Day” battles of Trenton and Princeton. Go inside the State Archives and view original documents related to our nation’s founding. Learn about authentic period dress and untold stories of the American Revolution at Princeton University and beyond.

While you’re visiting njpbs.org, you can watch episodes from my other local series, Look Up with Darley, that literally looks up -and all around- to discover the historic architecture of New Jersey, from Newark to Asbury Park. It’s part of an amazing line-up of Jersey-centric programming from NJ PBS.

Episode Breakdown
Starting at Princeton University, Darley explores historic Nassau Hall with University Archivist Dan Linke, who tells Darley about the aftermath of the Battle of Princeton and the replacement of King George II’s portrait with George Washington’s. Darley then meets Princeton Art Museum Director James Steward who shows Darley an original painting by Charles Willson Peale, part of the university’s amazing collection. 

Author Larry Kidder joins Darley at Princeton Battlefield State Park, explaining its significance in the greater American Revolution. Will Krakower shares details about the battle’s impact on local residents like Thomas Clark and the site where General Huge Mercer was mortally wounded. 

Back on the Princeton University campus, Mimi Omiecinski of Princeton Tour Company takes Darley back in time and relays the significance of Princeton University pre-revolution. Then, Darley and Mimi hop on e-bikes to go off campus, introducing Darley to notable homes around Princeton, including the former home of Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson. 

Darley and Mimi head to the Yankee Doodle Tap Room, visited by many famous guests, such as Albert Einstein and where patrons today can toast a Norman Rockwell painting. Another cool place to grab a cocktail and eat exquisite cuisine is the Peacock Inn, where Eben Copple joins Darley to share the inn’s history. The final Princeton stop is at Morven Museum and Garden, where deputy director and curator Elizabeth Allen showcases the legacy of Richard Stockton, one of New Jersey’s signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

Darley heads to the location where the Ten Crucial Days started, Washington Crossing. Military historian Colin Zimmerman meets Darley on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River to see replicas of the Durham boats used to cross the river. Zimmerman explains myths and legends surrounding this famous George Washington crossing. In Trenton, Darley visits the Old Barracks Museum, dressing in authentic colonial clothing with Carrie Fellows and Leslie Bramlett, learning the role of women during the Revolution. The journey concludes at The New Jersey State Archives, where Director of the New Jersey State Archives Joe Klett gives Darley access to some of the state’s special finds and rare documents. 

Learn more about this episode at darley-newman.com and watch it on PBS and streaming. Follow and subscribe to the new “Travels with Darley” podcast on iHeart, Spotify, Audible, Amazon, Google, Apple, and wherever you listen to your favorite podcast.