Middlesex County - New Brunswick - The Franklin Park Tragedy

The Franklin Park Tragedy (The History Press August 19, 2019) tells the story of how on March 1, 1894, two African American men broke into a home in rural Franklin Park and murdered a white woman and her daughter before her husband fought and killed the attackers. The newspapers called it the 'Franklin Park Tragedy,' and the story attracted public attention nationally and abroad. Another tragedy came afterward, with the racist forced expulsion of many local African American residents. Author Brian Armstrong tells the shocking story of this 'sundown town' and how it evolved into today’s diverse community.

Brian Armstrong is a New Jersey historian, researcher, and author. He received a bachelor's degree in history and political science from American University. He was the president of the South River Historical and Preservation Society for ten years and is now the vice president of the League of Historical Societies (Central Region). He is co-author of South River(Arcadia Publishing 2015). Armstrong lectures throughout the state of New Jersey on local history and other topics.

This program is free and open to the public. Henry Guest House is located at 58 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 next to the New Brunswick Free Public Library.

Popular posts from this blog

Monmouth County - Atlantic Highlands - Chris Brune: 1890s in Music, Story & Poetry

Mercer County - Lawrence Twp - “Rediscovering the New York University Papyrus Collection: Recent Preservation and Digitization Efforts”

Somerset County - Kingston - A visit with an 18th-Century Surgeon-Dentist