The South Plainfield Historical Society will officially open The History Center to the
public on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 from 2 p.m to 9 p.m. at its headquarters in the Roosevelt
Administration Building, 125 Jackson Avenue. The center�s opening is a milestone in the
preservation of local history, and gives the public easier access to local history material, most
notably, the photograph archive.
The Historical Society has collected over 2,000 photographs in the past 4 years. Its
collection, however, differs from those of neighboring communities with photograph
repositories. Unlike the dozen professional photographers represented in the collection of
Plainfield Public Library (over 20,000 images --12,000 by Paul Revere Collier), or Metuchen
Library (with the J. Lloyd Grimstead collection), South Plainfield had no resident professional
photographer to record its architectural heritage, portraiture or every-day life. Many photographs
in the South Plainfield collection are amateur shots executed with the common-man�s $2 tool --
the Kodak #2 Brownie box camera which was mass-produced in the early 1900s. It had an
affordable sticker price and was simple to use to catch spontaneous moments on film. The
Brownie box camera did not replace the professional photographer. If there was a need for one,
the number to call was Plainfield 2432, Paul Collier�s office.
Collier (1886-1951) began his photography career at the turn of the century. Working for
the Courier News, Plainfield Today, the Plainfield Police Department and the Federal
government in World War I, Collier�s images included funerals and death portraits, accident
scenes, houses and timely events. He once said he surveyed or photographed every square foot of
land in Plainfield. Fortunately for South Plainfield, Collier�s skilled services took him outside
Plainfield�s city limits. But what did he shoot?
The first foray into the Plainfield Pubic Library archives for Collier photographs was
made early in 2002 by Historical Society member, Dr. Richard Veit. He was seeking material for
Images of America: South Plainfield. Richard found several great photos, including the
memorable young lady on page 75 in shorts, high heels and billowing parachute at Hadley Field.
There were other Hadley shots and some of Cornell-Dubilier equipment, too. Certainly there
were more of the Borough, but not all of Collier�s photographs were indexed, identified, or made
into prints from glass plates and nitrate negatives. Plainfield Library was still conserving the
recently donated collection. Of the 12,000 images, 4,000 were prints. The Historical Society
needed volunteers with the time, the patience and a knack at recognizing the unknown, to look at
Collier�s prints.
In late 2002, 2 members tackled the Collier collection. Gloved hands leafed through
volume after volume of photographs. With general knowledge of local history, they studied,
eliminated, then made educated guesses and assumptions as to whether or not an image was
from the Borough. Keeping in mind that South Plainfield was somewhat of a playground for
Plainfield society, the members searched for images of fox hunts and the Maltby house on
Thompkins Avenue; mounted drill teams and horse show participants from the Driving Park next
to Brantingham�s hotel on Park Avenue; patrons in the grandstand at the trotter track on the
Maltby estate where the Central Jersey Horsemen�s Association convened. What other fun things
did Plainfielders do here that may have been captured on film for a newspaper?
In the end, the time-consuming effort paid off. Several photographs were discovered that
had never before been seen by contemporary citizens. A year later, and with a small grant from
Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, copies were made for the South Plainfield
archives. Unfortunately, there was no information to accompany any of the photographs, but as
the search for local history information continued, clues to identification would appear.
In February of 2003, the Historical Society initiated the Oral History Preservation
Program. Volumes of information was discovered through nearly 100 interviews, and hundreds
of photographs were copied. Collier photos began turning up in private hands: a 1930s
testimonial dinner given by the movers and shakers of the Borough in honor of Police Chief C.J.
McCarthy; members of the first Board of Education at the 1928 Roosevelt School construction
site; a 1927 gathering of the Holy Name Society including civic leaders, clergy and the full fire
and police departments. Interviewees put names to faces, and places with dates, thus shaping
community life of 80 years ago. Soon it became easier to recognize town figures such as Edward
Ten Eyck, William Hamilton, C.J. McCarthy, Father Baldwin, Bill Sloan and Daniel Sofield.
Now able to identify more of the locals, the Collier photos from Plainfield Library were
once again tackled. On the first visit, a picture of six well-dressed trap shooters caught the
members� eyes. The blurred farmhouse in the distance looked like it could belong somewhere on
Clinton Avenue. The young man pulling the trap might be a hired assistant. Upon examining the
photo a year later, the puller could now be identified as a local fellow from an old family, Daniel
Sofield. Were the shooters from South Plainfield, too? That answer was provided in John
Setteducati�s oral history in November 2003. John grew up at 706 Maple Avenue and stayed in
touch after the family moved out of town. He clearly remembered that the Climax Gun Club of
Plainfield met on Clinton Avenue in the 1920s to trap shoot. Did John provide the smoking
�shot�gun?
So how does this contribute to the understanding of local history? It verifies, once again,
that South Plainfield was the playground of the rich and sometimes famous (that story for
another time). From the aristocratic horsy set of the Plainfield Fox Hunting Club, to the high
rollers who bet on the trotters at Boro Race Track in the 1930s, South Plainfield had many
desirable amenities (including no blue laws). The next trip to the Plainfield Library archives
ought to be a revelation.
There is hope that long-sought images of the Randolph-Brooklyn Grist Mill and the Dunn
sawmill, important industries for over 200 years in South Plainfield, are either among the
unprinted plates and negatives in the Collier Collection, or in someone�s attic, tucked away with
the #2 Brownie box camera. Although convoluted, the search for local history information is
panning out, and it�s a lot of fun putting the puzzle together.