Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey, sat abandoned and crumbling for decades. However, after a major $100 million renovation, it reopened in 2023 to enthusiastic audiences including Whoopi Goldberg. Located next to Paterson Great Falls, Hinchliffe is one of the few remaining Negro League baseball fields in the United States and one of the first historic sites to be added to New Jersey’s Black Heritage Trail.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed the Black Heritage Trail into law in 2022. State officials then received applications from around the state, reviewed their eligibility, and selected the 32 spots that now make up the trail earlier this year. The first wave of historic sites is expected to be installed in the spring of 2025, while the second wave of historic sites is currently being considered and more will be added over time.
“People are very excited,” state Rep. Antwan McClellan, the lead sponsor of the bill to build the trail, told Travel & Leisure. “Hopefully we can make it more interactive,” he added. McClellan wants visitors to be able to pull out their phones at the site, scan a QR code, and listen to an audio guide.
Provided by Hinchliffe Stadium
Sunset over 1932 Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey
McClellan sees great potential for family reunions, especially for families with roots in New Jersey who want to explore their history as it relates to the trail. “This is the best phone call. Knowing that people are not only coming here to spend money, but to learn about our history, and that their families have been here for hundreds of years. It’s a great call to find out,” he said. I used to do great things. ” New Jersey is already a popular summer destination for families, thanks to its vast coastline and child-friendly boardwalks.
Among McClellan’s favorite sights on the trail are two in his hometown of Cape May. One is the Macedonia Baptist Church, a center of black worship that dates back to 1892, and the Harriet Tubman Museum. (Tubman lived in Cape May in the 1850s, working as a cook in hotels and at her parents’ home to earn money to fund the Underground Railroad.) She led freedom seekers further north through New Jersey. Province, and led to Canada ).
Courtesy of Harriet Tubman Museum, New Jersey
Visitors to the Harriet Tubman Museum in New Jersey
In April, the Charles J. Mass Museum opened next to the stadium, detailing Hinchliffe’s history, including the story of Patterson’s own Larry Doby, the American League’s first black player. Hinchliffe opened in 1932 and was home to the New York Black Yankees, New York Cubans and Newark Eagles before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. It is now the home of the New Jersey Jackals, an independent professional team.
Also on the trail is the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank. It originally opened in 1926 as Reed’s Carlton Theater and featured performances by legendary Red Bank jazz musician and bandleader Count Basie. The theater was named in Basie’s honor after his death, and Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, and Ringo Starr performed there. Today, its lineup includes famous musicians like Smokey Robinson, as well as musicals, film festivals, drag brunches, children’s shows, and more.
George Marks/Getty Images
Archival photo showing racism on the beaches of Atlantic City, New Jersey, circa 1950s.
Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City is also on the trail. It was a haven for black families vacationing during the era of segregation, along with other famous black beaches such as Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, Sag Harbor in New York, and Idlewild in Michigan. Chicken Bone Beach was designated as a black neighborhood around 1900 as hotel owners sought to appease white patrons from the South. The beach attracted famous performers such as Sammy Davis Jr. and Mama’s Mabry, but racial segregation was abolished in 1964 with the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
Near Philadelphia, there is a visitor center dedicated to Dr. James Still. Born in 1812 to a family of former slaves, Still received only three months of formal education and practiced medicine by working as a day laborer and distilling roots and herbs. He eventually became one of the wealthiest men in Burlington County.
The Black Heritage Trail takes visitors from North Jersey to the south, from the ocean to the hills, visiting major cities and small towns. As it continues to grow, McClellan wants to spotlight Black-owned hotels, restaurants and other businesses alongside historic sites. And he hopes to raise the profile of some lesser-known towns in the process.
“We should all promote each other,” he said.
Read the original article on Travel & Leisure
