Local History, Genealogy & Special Collections
The Plainfield Room is open for historical and genealogical research. Our hours are Monday-Friday, 9AM to 4:30PM and Tuesdays from 9AM to 7PM. Please contact us to schedule an appointment.
Queen City Film & Television Workshop Presents:
ScreenTalkNJ: THE LEAGUE
Film Screening and Filmmaker Chat, Moderated with Lamar David Mackson
Saturday, August 10, 2024 (RESERVE YOUR FREE TICKET)
12-2PM in the Anne Louise Davis Room
Join us for a film screening of THE LEAGUE, a film by Sam Pollard; executive producer, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. Q&A with Sam Pollard, Academy Award Nominee, to follow screening.
THE LEAGUE celebrates the dynamic journey of Negro League baseball's triumphs and challenges through the first half of the twentieth century. The story is told through previously unearthed archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with legendary players like Satchel Paige and Buck O’Neil – whose early careers paved the way for the Jackie Robinson era – as well as celebrated Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron who started out in the Negro Leagues.
The Search for the Lost Revolutionary Fort in the Plainfields
With Nancy Piwowar & Rich Palmatier
Saturday, August 24, 2024
12-2PM in the Anne Louise Davis Room
In December 1776, local Patriot Cornelius Vermeule allowed the construction of a militia post and fort on his plantation – the largest in the area. This encampment was key to protecting the southeastern flank of Washington’s Middlebrook encampment and played a noteworthy role in the 1777 Battle of Short Hills. Join local historians, Nancy Piwowar and Rich Palmatier for a discussion about the creation and significant military importance of the Blue Hills Encampment and Vermeule Fort and the story of the journey of locating the exact location of the long-forgotten Militia Post. Primary source documentation, maps, video and creative graphics will be used to enhance the presentation.
SAVE THE DATE!
Post 1850 Family History Research at the New Jersey State Archives
With Bette Epstein
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
10:30AM via Zoom (registration required)
Genealogist, Bette Epstein will speak about New Jersey Genealogical Research, Post 1850. NJ State Vital Records begin in May 1848. She will focus on NJSA archive databases and holdings, as well as some databases at ancestry.com.
Bette was employed at the New Jersey State Archives for 45 years, and was head of Reference Services from 2002 to 2019. She retired from the NJ State Archives in 2019.
These programs are co-hosted by Plainfield Public Library and the Historical Society of Plainfield / Drake House Museum. Our programs are made possible in part by operating support grants from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State - additionally through a grant administered by the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, Department of Parks and Recreation; and by a 2024 HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant from the Union County Board of County Commissioners.
