Blue Star Memorial By-way (West Trenton)
Ewing Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
Marker Inscription
Blue Star Memorial By-way A tribute to the Armed Forces of America West Trenton Garden Club NJ Dept. of Transportation National Garden Clubs, Inc.
Erected by National Garden Clubs, Inc.
The Story
The Blue Star Memorial tradition was born in New Jersey in 1945, when garden clubs planted trees along a highway to honor World War II servicemembers—fittingly, this marker stands in the state where the program began. Sponsored by the West Trenton Garden Club with the New Jersey Department of Transportation under the National Garden Clubs, it honors the armed forces of America. The blue star recalls the service flags of the home front.
Why it matters
Placed in the program's birthplace, this marker roots a now-national tradition of remembrance in the New Jersey communities that first imagined it.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Blue Star Memorial Highway – Hamilton Township
Hamilton Township, NJ
This Blue Star Memorial Highway marker in Hamilton Township pays tribute to the men and women of the United States armed forces. Sponsored by the Garden Club of New Jersey with the state transportation department, it belongs to a memorial program the nation's garden clubs launched in the mid-1940s to honor World War II servicemembers and later expanded to all who have served. The blue star echoes the service banners displayed in home windows during wartime.
Richboro Nike Missile Battery PH-07
Northampton Township, PA · est. 2007
This was one of thirteen Nike missile sites ringing the Philadelphia area during the Cold War, part of a nationwide air-defense shield built to guard American cities against Soviet bombers. From the mid-1950s, radar here guided Ajax anti-aircraft missiles skyward from launch magazines nearby. As missile technology advanced and arms-control agreements took hold, the system was phased out by the early 1970s.
Washington and His Army Crossed the Delaware
Hopewell Township, NJ
On the bitter night of December 25, 1776, George Washington ferried the Continental Army across the ice-choked Delaware River in a daring surprise maneuver, then marched inland through freezing sleet toward Trenton. The gamble came at one of the Revolution's darkest hours, with enlistments expiring and the cause near collapse. The next morning his troops overwhelmed the Hessian garrison at Trenton in a stunning, nearly bloodless victory. Markers like this one trace the routes and river approaches the army used on that pivotal march.
Washington Crossed the Delaware
Upper Makefield Township, PA
Near this spot on the night of December 25–26, 1776, George Washington led the Continental Army across the ice-choked Delaware River in a daring surprise maneuver. The crossing set up the victory at Trenton the next morning, a stunning reversal that revived the flagging American cause at one of the Revolution's darkest moments. The Pennsylvania bank where the troops embarked is remembered as one of the war's most storied sites.