Plainfield's Drake House Selected as New Jersey Black Heritage Trail Site

PLAINFIELD, NJ — Plainfield's Drake House will be one of 32 sites to receive a marker from the New Jersey Historical Commission (NJHC) as an inaugural member of the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail.

These markers, whose locations were announced on Friday, will feature QR codes that will lead visitors to more information about the site, offerings from the NJHC—such as special events and augmented reality—and programming from the sites themselves.

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The Drake House marker will be in honor of Caesar, a man born in Guinea in 1702 who was captured and brought to the United States, ending up New Jersey. Caesar, who had no last name, was sold to Isaac Drake and worked on his 111 acre Plainfield farm located around the current Drake House.

In 1769, in his late 60s, Caesar was freed from slavery. During the Revolutionary War, at the age of 74, he became a patriot and a teamster, driving supply wagons to troops stationed at the Blue Hill Fort and Camp in Plainfield. Soldiers from Blue Hill fought in the Battle of Short Hills.

See the full list of all 32 inaugural Black Heritage Trail sites. Learn more about the Drake House here .

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