Perth Amboy's place in history spotlighted

myCentralJersey’s July 8 list of 100 Central Jersey residents who changed America and the world did more than rank famous names from across the region. It also highlighted how often Perth Amboy appears in the history of national firsts, civic milestones and cultural influence. (mycentraljersey.com) Perth Amboy’s place in that conversation is not new. The city’s own history page traces its roots to 1651, notes its first charter in 1718 and says City Hall was the place where New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights. (perthamboynj.org) The new roundup gives that local history a fresh frame. Instead of treating Perth Amboy as a footnote to larger New Jersey stories, it places the city alongside better-known regional names whose work shaped politics, science, entertainment and public life. (perthamboynj.org) ### Why does Perth Amboy keep surfacing in a list about people who changed America? Perth Amboy shows up because the city has long been tied to events and people with national reach. (mycentraljersey.com) The city says it has the oldest City Hall in continuous use in the United States and the only official royal governor’s mansion still intact from colonial days. The city was also the site of a major constitutional milestone. (perthamboynj.org) Perth Amboy’s City Hall was where Thomas Mundy Peterson cast the vote that made him widely recognized as the first Black American to vote under the newly ratified 15th Amendment. ### Who was Thomas Mundy Peterson, and why is he central to this story? (mycentraljersey.com) Thomas Mundy Peterson is the name most closely tied to Perth Amboy’s national historical identity. A city announcement says Peterson, born in Metuchen and later a Perth Amboy resident, voted on March 31, 1870, one day after federal certification of the 15th Amendment, in an election to revise the city charter. (perthamboynj.org) A New Jersey legislative resolution adopted this year gives additional detail. It says Peterson was 45 when he voted, that one white man tore up his ballot in anger, and that Peterson later served on a seven-member committee revising parts of the Perth Amboy charter. (perthamboynj.org) Perth Amboy has continued to commemorate him publicly. The city marked Thomas Mundy Peterson Day on March 31, 2026, describing him as “the first Black American to vote under the 15th Amendment,” and last year unveiled a New Jersey Black Heritage Trail marker in his honor. ### Is this only about one voter, or does the city have a broader historical footprint? Perth Amboy’s historical footprint extends beyond Peterson. (perthamboynj.org) The city history page points to figures including sculptor Edward Kemeys and composer Harry Tierney as part of a longer roster of residents with wider cultural influence. The city’s built landscape also carries that reach. The Proprietary House, maintained as the only surviving official royal governor’s mansion from colonial New Jersey, remains one of the strongest physical links between Perth Amboy and early American political history. (pub.njleg.gov) myCentralJersey has also tied Perth Amboy to the Revolutionary period in recent coverage, including its role in New Jersey’s ratification of the Bill of Rights and its place in America 250 programming across Middlesex County. (perthamboynj.org) ### Why is this getting attention now? July 8 is when myCentralJersey published the 100-person roundup, and the timing fits a broader push to revisit local history during the nation’s 250th anniversary year. (perthamboynj.org) The outlet has spent recent months publishing guides to Revolutionary sites, commemorations and local figures across Central Jersey. March 31 also brought a city-sponsored Peterson commemoration in Perth Amboy, and September 2025 brought the unveiling of a state heritage marker for him at City Hall. Those events gave the city recent public touchpoints before the July list appeared. (mycentraljersey.com) ### Where can readers see this history in the city itself? Perth Amboy’s history is concentrated in visible public sites. The city history page points readers to City Hall, the Proprietary House and other landmarks tied to colonial government and early statehood. The city is also promoting those places through its “Perth Amboy 250: Our City, Our Story” materials, which direct residents and visitors to historic landmarks and a self-guided walking tour. (mycentraljersey.com) July’s roundup is one entry point. Perth Amboy’s official history pages, Thomas Mundy Peterson commemorations and America 250 materials offer the next places for readers to follow the names and sites that keep putting the city back into the national story. (perthamboynj.org) (mycentraljersey.com) (perthamboynj.org) (perthamboynj.org)