Resident John K. Dyke speaks in front of the City Council
*Photo by Matthew Telliho

3/9/16 Council Meeting

PERTH AMBOY – Resident John Kerry Dyke who is known for producing several documentaries on Perth Amboy’s rich history gave a presentation at the 3/9/16 Council Meeting. He wanted to emphasize several historic sites that may be part of Perth Amboy’s Redevelopment Plans. Dyke first talked about Perth Amboy’s Historic Ferry Slip that at one point had gone into disarray and was restored under MoPA (Museums of Perth Amboy). Some of those members included Cathy DePow, the late Richard Pietkowski, the late Tom Ward and several others.

Now Dyke was here to speak about two other sites. The first site was the Thomas Mundy Peterson site which is located off of Commerce Street (on a street that no longer exists called Commerce Lane across the street from Hy Tavern). Dyke gave a brief overview of why the Thomas Mundy Peterson site is so important to the history of not only Perth Amboy, but of the United States. Peterson was the first African-American to vote after the passage of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution which gave African-Americans the right to vote. Dyke explained how Peterson became the first African-American to vote when Marcus Spring of Eagleswood happened to see Peterson walking by City Hall.

The Thomas Mundy Peterson Site is located off of Commerce Street which is now part of the Landings at Harborside Property presently an ongoing redevelopment project owned by Charles Kushner.

The second site mentioned by Dyke was the property located off of Convery Boulevard and Smith Street (The former site of Celotex, which was formerly known as Eagleswood). Eagleswood was the historic school in the Raritan Bay Union. He noted several well-known individuals who studied or visited there. Among those included: Frederick Douglas, a prominent African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman; Henry David Thoreau, a well-known author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, and historian who wrote Walden and Ralph Waldo Emerson, an essayist, lecturer, and poet who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.

“The Underground Railroad ran through the Eagleswood Site. Slaves who escaped from the South were fed there and received medical treatment before continuing their journey up to Canada. Perth Amboy encouraged Blacks to vote. They were way ahead of everybody else.”

Dyke pleaded with the Council to incorporate archeology into Redevelopment Sites. “After all the historic sites are documented, then they should be developed, if needed. Don’t let these developers forget these sites. Let them pay for the documentation before developing on these historic sites.”

Topics like these were discussed at the Historic Preservation Commission when it was first reactivated under Mayor Wilda Diaz. John Dyke had come forward at one of the PAHPC meetings in the past to discuss the importance of having archeological digs, especially at Eagleswood to document the history of that prominent site.

Many of Dyke’s DVD’s can be found at the Perth Amboy Free Public Library and they have been broadcast on PATV (Comcast ch.34 Fios ch.47)