Black History Month
In honor of Black History Month, the League would like to recognize the historical significance of Perth Amboy.
City of Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy is the City of Firsts--the site of the first signing of the Bill of Rights in 1790, and home to the first and oldest City Hall in continuous use in the United States. Perth Amboy served as the capital of “East Jersey” starting in the 17th century and served on an alternating basis as the state capital until 1790. But did you know that Perth Amboy is also where Thomas Mundy Peterson became the first African American to cast his vote in the United States after the certification of the ratification of the 15th Amendment?
Thomas Mundy Peterson cast his vote on March 31, 1870, in a local election to revise Perth Amboy’s charter. The civic-minded Peterson became a notably active member of the Perth Amboy community, serving on the town’s committee and working towards revising the City Charter about which he’d cast his historic first vote. Later he would work as the first custodian of School No. 1, the city’s public school, made possible in part by his work helping to organize the Perth Amboy Board of Education. The school would be renamed after Peterson in 1989. On May 30, 1884, the town of Perth Amboy honored Thomas Mundy Peterson by presenting him with a medallion to commemorate his historic and significant vote—which he proudly wore every day. This medallion can now be found in the special collections archives of Xavier University of Louisiana. Peterson remained an active part of the Perth Amboy community until February 4, 1904, when he passed away at the age of 79. March 31 is Thomas Mundy Peterson Day in New Jersey.
UNESCO Middle Passage Port Marker
Along with this voting rights history, Perth Amboy is also home to the Middle Passage Port marker, a “Site of Memory” claimed by the UNESCO Slave Route Project in 2019.
Perth Amboy is home to New Jersey’s earliest oceanfront port, just 72 miles from Philadelphia, and a primary inbound port for the forced transport of roughly 12 million African slaves from across the Atlantic Ocean in the 1700s and 1800s. As a colony, New Jersey chose not to put a tariff on the importation of slaves, hence the reason why so many disembarked on these grounds. By 1790, the entire state’s slave population reached 11,423, and by 1804, the State had passed the Gradual Abolition Act, which was the cornerstone of the gradual emancipation process, as well as the last state to accept it. This was also the reason why the state and the Perth Amboy area became an integral station of the Underground Railroad in 1854.
New Jersey played a vital part in the Underground Railroad; the route represented a safe space and a place for networking with secret agents when journeying to freedom with other runaway slaves. One of the most well-documented Underground Railroad sites is located in the Eaglewood community, which is on the western border of Perth Amboy. Marcus and Rebecca Spring co-founded the school located there and acted as secret agents along with Theodore Weld, Angelina Grimke, and Sarah Grimke. Runaway slaves were safe there, fed, and often treated for injuries. At Eaglewood, slaves were well hidden from bounty hunters; it was a safe haven to say the least.
By shining light on such an integral part of the city and state’s history, Perth Amboy is able to educate others about Black History in the northeast in addition to important historical figures like Thomas Mundy Peterson. This serves as a reminder of the African American peoples’ significant contributions that have shaped the Perth Amboy’s, New Jersey’s, and the United State’s history, culture, development, and community.
Contact: Ciara Bradley, League Research Associate, CBradley@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x128.