Best Web Design in Plainfield, NJ (2026)

Web Design for Plainfield, New Jersey

Plainfield, the 'Queen City,' was settled by Quakers in 1684 and grew into a Gilded Age commuter haven for New York, leaving behind block after block of grand Victorian homes now protected in historic districts. It is celebrated as a cradle of funk: George Clinton launched Parliament-Funkadelic from a local barbershop. A 1967 civil disturbance and later industrial decline reshaped the city, but its architecture and musical legacy remain landmarks of Union County.

AppWT works with Plainfield, NJ businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Plainfield

Also known as. The Queen City.

History. Settled in 1684 by Quakers seeking religious freedom; originally part of Elizabeth and Westfield townships. During the Revolution, George Washington used the Nathaniel Drake House (built 1746) as a headquarters around the 1777 Battle of Short Hills, and nearby Washington Rock served as a lookout over British troop movements. Became its own township on March 4, 1847; incorporated as a city in 1869. Became part of the newly created Union County (split from Essex County) in 1857. Railroad service reaching Plainfield in the 1830s turned it into an early bedroom community for New York commuters and fueled a Victorian building boom. The Plainfield disturbance of July 1967, connected to the wider Newark unrest, left a police officer dead and caused significant property damage.

Local economy. Historically a diverse manufacturing center producing printing machinery, aircraft parts, electronic equipment, furniture, plastics, and glue. An early-1900s retail hub with major department stores including one of the nation's first Sears showrooms, plus Bamberger's (later Macy's), Tepper's, and Woolworth's. Long functioned as a rail commuter town linked to New York City via the Central Railroad of New Jersey. Downtown includes an Urban Enterprise Zone offering reduced sales tax to spur commerce.

Culture and community. Birthplace of P-Funk: George Clinton formed The Parliaments while working at a Plainfield barbershop, and Parliament-Funkadelic was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Jazz pianist Bill Evans and Olympic decathlon champion Milt Campbell (1956 gold) have Plainfield ties. A rich stock of Victorian architecture supports heritage tourism and house tours. The Shakespeare Garden in Cedar Brook Park is a formal public garden landmark.

What makes Plainfield distinct. The 'Queen City' nickname evolved from an 1880s promotional slogan branding Plainfield the 'Colorado of the East,' echoing Denver, the 'Queen City of the Plains.' Funk pioneer George Clinton got his start in a Plainfield barbershop, making the city a birthplace of P-Funk. Action hero John McClane of the 'Die Hard' films is described as a Plainfield native in the fiction. Former New Jersey Governor James McGreevey is among the city's notable figures.

Plainfield Landmarks and Local Life

• Drake House Museum - a 1746 home used by George Washington, now a historical museum
• Washington Rock - a Revolutionary War lookout in the Watchung Mountains
• Van Wyck Brooks Historic District - with more than 150 Victorian-era properties
• Crescent Area Historic District.
• Shakespeare Garden in Cedar Brook Park.