Local History, Genealogy & Special Collections

The Plainfield Room is open for historical and genealogical research. Our hours are Monday-Friday, 9AM to 4:45PM and Tuesdays from 9AM to 7PM. Please contact us to schedule an appointment. The Memoir Writing Club meets on November 12th; the writing topic is "Picture Taking." New members are welcome! 

Current Exhibition: Plainfield Black Tennis History: 1916-2023

Stop by the Anne Louise Davis room to view this photography retrospective on the history of Black tennis in the Queen City. Presented by the Plainfield Division of Parks & Recreation and curated by historian & Black History Consultant, Ethel M. Washington, this exhibit features 60 images from 1916 to 2023. From famous greats like William Mayes and Eyre Saitch to notable contemporaries Westry Horne, Donald Van Blake, and John T. Chandler, the photos show the people and events that shaped the history of tennis tennis today! The exhibit is open during regular library hours (when the room is not in use), and will run through January 13, 2024. 

Archaeology and the Delaware Nations: A 12,000 Year Odyssey 

Saturday, November 4, 2023

10:30AM via Zoom

Register: https://tinyurl.com/PPLHist231104

Kick off Native American History Month with this heavily illustrated presentation that examines New Jersey’s rich Native American heritage. It begins with a discussion of the sources archaeologists use to inform their work, including artifacts, archaeological sites, colonial documents, and oral histories. Then, using a series of case studies the cultural history of the region is examined from the earliest Paleoindian pathfinders over 10,000 years ago through to the Lenape of the historic period. We see the changing lifestyles of New Jersey’s native inhabitants as the environment they lived in slowly evolved. The experience of the Lenape in the historic period is also examined through a series of case studies. The presence and continuing importance of Native Americans to the region today is also discussed.

Armistice Day Legacy of Plainfield’s L. L. Manning & Son

Saturday, November 18, 2023
10:30AM via Zoom

Register: 

https://tinyurl.com/PPLHist231118

Historian Erik Burro will highlight the war memorials of Plainfield's L. L. Manning and contrast them with several other NJ monuments that might have been considered templates for a national memorial in Washington, DC.

Mr. Burro, an authority on monuments of New Jersey, has studied public and private memorials throughout the Garden State and adjoining states. His photo exhibition, Legacy of Remembrance, continues to be featured at public libraries and colleges within the state.

Both 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 2023 HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant from the Union County Board of County Commissioners.

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