Aldermen receive proposal to rename street after local African-American trailblazer

MANCHESTER, NH – The Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen Committee on Lands and Buildings on Tuesday will hear a request from the Manchester Heritage Commission to name a street after one of the city’s first African-American property owners.

The Heritage Commission is seeking to rename a portion of Grove Street from Elm Street to Willow Street after Samantha Plantin. Until recently, this stretch of Grove Street was covered in cobblestones.

A black woman, Plantin arrived in Manchester in 1844 and worked washing other people’s clothes until she could purchase two pieces of property. The second piece of property, located on Concord Street, holds a home that still exists to this day. Last year a plaque was placed in her honor on Elm Street to mark her legacy in Manchester’s history.

Manchester Heritage Commission Chairman Stan Garrity gives tours of black history across the city and felt that there was an opportunity to honor Plantin given the recent changes in that area, along with the fact that Plantin is buried just a few hundred feet away from that part of Grove Street in Valley Cemetery.

“My thought was we’re losing some history, so let’s regain some history,” said Garrity. “There’s no addresses on that part of the street, so nobody would have to change their addresses. And she’s a great woman, she deserves recognition.”

The recommendation from the Committee on Lands and Buildings will likely lay over for two weeks before action by the full Board of Mayor and Aldermen.