Plainfield, New Jersey Past and Present

PLAINFIELD'S PAST 

Plainfield was first inhabited by Watchung Indians, part of the Lenni-Lenape tribe in Delaware. However, by 1685 their were seven Scottish families living on their farms established a long Cedar Brook. As was the case with most settlements, the residents were seeking religious and political freedom. The settlement was then known as Milltown, as a result of a grist mill built in 1706 on Green Brook.

At one time during the revolutionary period the city was host to a militia post, consisting of 95 acres and a fort, along the east bank of the Green Brook.

In 1800 after the post office was opened the settlement changed the name to Plainfield. The name change was more reflective of the open fields in the area.

Thomas F. Gordon wrote a piece entitled A Gazetteer of the State of New Jersey:

Plainfield, a large and thriving village of Westfield t-ship, Essex Co., on Green Brook, the line between that and Somerset Co. .. 65 miles from Philadelphia, 45 from Trenton. . . 16 from Elizabethtown, 25 from New York. . . on a plain of very

level land, between 2 and 3 miles wide, and about 11 long: contains 1 Presbyterian, 1 Baptist and 1 Methodist church, 2 Friend's meeting houses (Hicksite and Orthodox), 2 grist mills, 1 saw mill, 4 stores, 13 master hatters, who manufactured about $74,000 worth of hats annually;  5 master tailors, employing 70 hands, who work for the southern market; a fire engine, and company, a mutual insurance company, established in 1832, which in a few months executed policies to the amount of more than $150,000; and 120 dwellings; a ladies' library, an apprentices' library, a four-horse mail stage to New York, three times a week, and as often to Philadelphia, on alternate days, runs through the village. the country around the town is rich, well cultivated, and healthy; and the water good and the society moral and religious and ambitious of improvement.

The neighboring mountain, about a mile N. of town, affords an abundant supply of cheap fuel, and screens the valley from the violence of the N. and N.W. winds; and gives a very pleasing prospect to the S. and E. over a space of 30 miles.

In 1862 Western Union opened a branch office and by 1869, Plainfield had gone from township to village and finally to city status. The introduction of the railroad to Plainfield in 1884, resulted in the city becoming more industrialized. Additionally, word had spread that Plainfield's climate was good for those failing health due to respiratory problems. Thomas W. Morrison, a publisher of a local newspaper coined the term "Colorado of the East", a takeoff on Denver, Colorado, the "Queen City of the Plains". It became easier to refer to Plainfield, simply as the "Queen City".

PRESENT DAY PLAINFIELD

The backdrop is a mixture of urban and suburban with a rich diversity of people. The housing stock is just as colorful, with six exquisite historic districts, boasting Victorian residences as well as, 17th century and colonial revival structures, including: Queen Anne, Eastlake, Carpenter, Gothic, Edwardian, Italianate, French Second Empire, Stick, Shingle Style, Colonial and Period Revivals as well as, Mansard styles. More homes are designated historic in Plainfield, than in any other municipality in the state. There are over 13 acres of parkland including the Olmsted Brothers' Cedar Brook Park with its Shakespeare Garden. The Olmsteds were commissioned to design Central Park in New York City.

Plainfield offers up a host of cultural activities, including but not limited to concerts in the park, rhythm & Blues-fest and an outdoor Arts Festival.

The Plainfield is just 45 minutes from the city that never sleeps.......New York!

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