Old Barracks Museum — Attraction in Trenton

Really a great museum at a great price! Ton's of interesting exhibits and artifacts, as well as a great tour through the restored Barracks building that was used by soldiers during the Revolutionary War and the 7 Years War.

I have been to a lot of museums, Revolutionary History is a hobby of mine, and I can tell you that this museum is everything a museum should be. There is s a guided tour led by people dressed in old fashioned clothes, the tour guide takes you through several rooms that have been restored to look the way they did in the 1770s. I was blown away by the level of detail. They even had copies of actual pamphlets that people read back then, plus things like clothes, guns, and furniture that were all period accurate. It really captured the imagination.

The other parts of the museum were just as good. After the tour ends, you are free to browse around some other areas and look at the exhibits. They have sections for the Revolutionary War and also the 7 Years War (the war before the Revolution). They had several real artifacts such as guns and swords owned by soldiers at the time and an old 400 year old canoe used by natives. Also interesting paintings, and lots of good information explaining the exhibits. The exhibit halls were smallish, but I didn't mind.

I have given bad reviews to museums before (stay away from the Boston Tea Party Museum, its over-priced and underwhelming). But this museum is a great, and at $8 per person it was well worth the price...

This is a great place to go during Covid because it’s one of the few things that’s open!! You have to book your tickets ahead of time online and then show up for your designated time slot which is two hours.

And let me tell you - my mom and I were there for a full two hours! We were actually the only people there and basically got a private tour the entire time!

I can’t compare it to pre-Covid times as we had never been there before, but we got a thorough tour led by Asher who took us through the barracks and let us explore an exhibit, which was indoors, on our own.

Then he handed us off to another guide dressed in character as a solider who told us all about his duties and fired a couples shots with his musket just for us.

Then we watched a shoemaker and carpenter, in full character, for another half hour do their jobs while they told us all about them.

Overall it was super thorough and very enjoyable! The staff played their parts just as if a whole crowd of people were there, except it was only two of us (again, basically a private tour!).

Im really glad places like this are open so people can get out during this strange time of social distancing. Take this opportunity to go visit while it’s not crowded and support this local historical site in downtown Trenton!

Plus, depending on the day, you can park for free right next to the Barracks (something we realized after we had already paid...

Well worth your time and money. You need to buy your tickets and reserve your time online,, but limited attendance due to COVID meant that my wife and I had a private tour just shy of 2 hours long. James, our building tour guide, was very friendly, personable, and knowledgeable. He was able to answer all of our obscure questions about living at the barracks and the history of its preservation. Asher, the soldier reenactor, was similarly knowledgeable on the life and skills of colonial soldiers. He also gave us a fantastic musket demonstration with 2 blank fires. David, the woodworker reenactor, was actually working on a new wood shed as he imparted his historical and woodworking knowledge on us. All the construction he did, and was doing, utilized traditional and period-correct pegs and joints. If you're anywhere near Trenton and even mildly interested in history, the Old Barracks is a place that you simply have to experience. At $10/ticket (free for military), your money spent here goes to keeping this living historical site open for future...