The Town of Phillipsburg is marking the completion of Black History Month with a ceremony commemorating the burial site of an unknown Black child. Buried in 1844 upon the grounds that would become the Phillipsburg Cemetery, little is known about the child who is said to have \u201cfallen into a sandpit and died of injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Town of Phillipsburg in conjunction with the Phillipsburg UEZ and the Phillipsburg Area Historical Society have commissioned a plaque to memorialize the child. Because the exact site of the child\u2019s burial is unknown, the plaque will rest at the entrance of the Phillipsburg Cemetery, marking for visitors the child\u2019s presence within the graveyard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know from archival records that in 1844 the first person known to be buried in what would become the Phillipsburg Cemetery was a Black child, but we do not know that child\u2019s name as it was not thought important enough to record,\u201d said Phillipsburg Councilman Lee Clark. \u201cLike so many other aspects of American culture and history, even here in this graveyard an African-American led the way \u2013 but was unmarked and unrecognized. Today, we take one small step in acknowledging this child with this plaque commemorating a life, precious in God\u2019s eyes and now, finally, visible to ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
President of the Branching Out Foundation and Phillipsburg School Board Vice President Vickie Mendes-Branch agreed. \u201cWe gather to memorialize this Unknown Black Child and dedicate ourselves to the generations of children to come: that they not become lost in classrooms indifferent to their lived experience and their disparate needs; not become meaningless statistics and not become unmarked or unrecognized by the world at large as it passes them by.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phillipsburg Cemetery, the first public cemetery in the Phillipsburg area, was formerly known as \u201cMr. Roseberry\u2019s wheat field.\u201d The Roseberry family were pioneer settlers of Phillipsburg in the 1700s and it is historically possible that the wheat field may have been the final resting place for an unknown number of African-Americans of that era. In addition to commemorating the Unknown Black Child laid to rest in 1844, the plaque and ceremony will acknowledge and commemorate these others who may be interred there as well.<\/p>\n
The ceremony will be held at Phillipsburg Cemetery on February 28, 2026 at 11 a.m. It will be led by the Reverend Wayne C. Sherrer, author of\u00a0Phorgotten No More: Glimpses of the African-American presence in Phillipsburg, New Jersey 1777 \u2013 2021<\/a><\/em>. Following the ceremony, a reception will be held at the Phillipsburg Arts Association, 140 S. Main St., Phillipsburg, NJ.<\/p>\n \u201cSo much of Phillipsburg\u2019s history remains unknown,\u201d said Phillipsburg Mayor Randy Piazza. \u201cIt is still being uncovered and learned even today. This child\u2019s story reminds us that there are voices from our past that were never properly recorded \u2013 and lives that were never fully acknowledged. It is our duty to continue searching, learning, and telling the stories of those who have been forgotten or ignored \u2013 and making sure that it never happens again.\u201d<\/p>\n Donations to fund the plaque and other commemorations of African-American history in Phillipsburg \u2013including the town\u2019s significance as a stop on the famed \u201cUnderground Railroad\u201d that helped usher runaway slaves to freedom \u2013 may be forwarded to the Phillipsburg Area Historical Society, a registered not-for-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and therefore eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions in accordance with Code section 170.<\/p>\n Donations may be sent to Phillipsburg Area Historical Society, PO Box 175, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865. Checks should note in the memo line that the donation is for BHMC (Black History Monument Committee) or through by clicking this link:\u00a0<\/strong>Phillipsburg Black History Monument Committee Fund<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Best,<\/p>\n Information provided to TVL by: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Town of Phillipsburg is marking the completion of Black History Month with a ceremony commemorating the burial site of an unknown Black child. Buried in 1844 upon the grounds … Continue reading Phillipsburg Commemorates Unmarked Grave of Black Child<\/span>
\nPhillipsburg Urban Enterprise Zone<\/p>\n