The Archaeological Investigation Is Underway: A Final Update
On January 7, 2026, the Perth Amboy Planning Board heard a presentation from the Kushner Companies detailing its proposed Gateway Perth Amboy project. The development includes the historic homesite of Thomas Mundy Peterson.
During the meeting, the attorney representing the developer announced that a Phase I archaeological survey had been completed as part of the Freshwater Wetlands and Waterfront Development permit applications submitted to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Division of Land Resource Protection.
According to the NJDEP, Phase I archaeological investigation uses background research followed by fieldwork to identify potentially significant archaeological resources within the project's Area of Potential Effect, the area where ground disturbance is proposed.
The investigation confirmed that the Gateway project encompasses the Thomas Mundy Peterson homesite and identified the site as significant enough to proceed to Phase II archaeological investigation.
Phase II takes the process further by evaluating an archaeological site's potential eligibility for inclusion in the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places. Where an eligible historic property may be adversely affected, further analysis is required, including consideration of ways to avoid or minimize those impacts.
This means that the archaeological investigation we have been advocating for is happening.
It is important, however, to be clear about how we arrived here. The archaeological investigation was triggered through the NJDEP regulatory review process and was not ordered as a direct result of this petition; nevertheless, public advocacy has played an important role in bringing attention to the Thomas Mundy Peterson homesite, demonstrating its importance to the community, and ensuring that Peterson's history remains part of the public conversation surrounding this redevelopment.
Hundreds of people added their names to this effort. Residents spoke up. Historians, preservationists, community organizations, and advocates helped spread the word. People attended public meetings and made it clear that what happens to this site matters.
On March 31, 2026, during a celebration of Thomas Mundy Peterson Day, the archaeologist conducting the investigation indicated that any artifacts discovered at the site will be repatriated to Perth Amboy.
Those involved in this process have affirmed that they heard our voices.
From here, the archaeological process will continue under the review and guidance of the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office. We do not yet know what, if anything, lies beneath the ground. Archaeology does not guarantee a discovery, and that was never the point.
The point was to look before it was gone.
Our request from the beginning was simple: before redevelopment permanently alters this historic place, give the Thomas Mundy Peterson homesite an opportunity to tell us what, if anything, remains.
That opportunity now exists.
For that reason, we are bringing this petition to a close.
Whatever the archaeological investigation ultimately uncovers, this effort has helped us recognize Thomas Mundy Peterson not simply as the man who cast a historic ballot on March 31, 1870, but as an individual who lived, worked, raised a family, and was part of the Perth Amboy community. In doing so, we have helped recenter Peterson himself within the story for which he is remembered.
To every person who signed this petition, shared it, attended a meeting, spoke about the issue, or simply took the time to learn Thomas Mundy Peterson's story:
Thank you.
Thank you for standing with us. Thank you for showing that this history matters. And thank you for helping to ensure that, before this ground is changed forever, we took the time to look.
We asked to dig before it was gone. Now, that investigation is underway.