Tri-County History Fair

Join your colleagues, friends, and neighbors for a fun day of historical discovery, resource sharing, raffles, and more! 13 history and genealogy organizations from Middlesex, Somerset, and Union counties will be promoting and exhibiting their collections & programs on tables located around the fountain courtyard.

Win a raffle grand prize of a subscription to Newspapers.com Publishers Extra. There will be two guest speakers:

Presentations:

11:30AM-12:30PM

Downsizing Heirlooms and Collectibles, with Lindsey Smith: Developed for people who are looking to downsize their heirlooms and the other important objects in their lives. Learn how to assess your items, ask the right questions, and understand the different options you have as you decide what to keep and what to let go. Lindsey is currently the Artifact Assessment Program Coordinator for the New Jersey Association of Museum.

1:00-2:00PM

Open the Door, I'll Get it Myself: The Great Migration to New Jersey, with Linda Caldwell Epps: New Jersey’s African American population multiplied during what is known as the Great Migration in the early decades of the 20th century. Explore the factors leading African Americans to take on the challenges and risks of leaving communities and families in the South for an unknown, but hoped for, better future in the North. Hear the stories of some of these migrants, mostly women, and learn how their arrival changed life and culture in New Jersey’s cities, such as Plainfield. Dr. Linda Caldwell Epps is the president and CEO of 1804 Consultants and co-founder of the Sankofa Collaborative.

All programs are indoors and are free & open to all.

Tabling Organizations are:
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society-NJ Chapter
Black Womens History Conference
Genealogical Society of New Jersey
Historical Society of Plainfield / Drake House Museum
Ladies of History
Metuchen-Edison Historical Society
New Brunswick Free Public Library Local History Department
Plainfield Public Library Local History, Genealogy & Special Collections
Preserve Shady Rest Committee
Somerset County Historical Society
South Plainfield Historical Society
Westfield Historic Preservation Commission
Westfield Historical Society

This program is made possible in part by an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.