The Town of Phillipsburg, Phillipsburg Urban Enterprise Zone, and Phillipsburg Area Historical Society have come together to commission a plaque memorializing the death of an unknown Black child. Little is known about the child, other than that they “fell into a sandpit and died of injuries.” They were buried in 1844 somewhere in the area that’s now the Phillipsburg Cemetery.
Archival records show that the child was the first person to be buried in the graveyard. Town Councilman Lee Clark says the child’s name wasn’t recorded because it wasn’t thought to be important at the time. Now, he says, the town will take a small step in “commemorating a life” that’s finally visible to the world.
Vicki Mendes-Branch, President of the Branching Out Foundation and Phillipsburg School Board Vice President, agreed with the value of recognizing the child’s life, emphasizing the ongoing mission to ensure no child today becomes a “meaningless statistic.”
Phillipsburg Cemetery was formerly known as Mr. Roseberry’s wheat field, and is thought to be the final resting place for a number of African-Americans in the 1700s and 1800s. The new plaque will acknowledge the unknown number of those who may also be buried on the grounds.
A ceremony placing the plaque at the entrance of the Phillipsburg Cemetery will be held on Saturday, February 28 at 11 AM, coinciding with the completion of Black History Month. Donations to fund the plaque and other commemorations of Black history in Phillipsburg can be made to the Phillipsburg Area Historical Society.
