In colonial times this site was the landing for the ferry to Pennsylvania, and the building here served as the ferryman's home and a tavern for travelers waiting to cross the river. George Washington and his Continental Army crossed here to attack Trenton on Christmas night in 1776. A covered bridge built in 1834 ended the need for a ferry, and that same year the completion of the Delaware and Raritan Canal at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution led to the addition of the present building as a kitchen and servants quarters while the former Ferry Tavern became a Canal House serving boatmen on canal barges. In 1851 the Belvidere-Delaware Railroad was completed, more rooms were added, and the building became the Alexander Nelson House, a Victorian resort and hotel for commercial travelers. Canal traffic later declined, with the last barge passing through in 1933, the main part of the hotel was torn down during the 1930s, railroad service ended in 1975 as trucks took over freight hauling, the tracks were removed in 1977 for the present bicycle path, and the remaining building was renovated in 1980 by the Washington Crossing Association of New Jersey as a center for historical displays and interpretation.