More than 200 years ago, President George Washington watched as Jean-Pierre Blanchard soared over the Delaware River and into New Jersey skies, before finally landing in Deptford Township for the first hot air balloon flight and landing in North America's history.



This weekend marks the 217th anniversary of Blanchard's historic, 15-mile flight that took place on Jan. 9, 1793.



"This is Deptford's major piece of history and it's so important that the site and the story are preserved," said former Deptford Mayor Bea Cerkez.



In addition to making history by launching and landing the first hot air balloon flight in the country, the trip marked the first air mail delivery, according to Cerkez.

Blanchard carried with him a letter from Washington himself to be delivered to the owner of whatever property the balloon happened to land upon, Cerkez said.

“The letter explained who Jean-Pierre was,” she said.

The balloon lifted off from the Walnut Street Prison in Philadelphia at 10 a.m. on Jan. 9, and was supposed to travel much longer than the 46-minute trip it actually completed, she said.

“They didn’t say why it came down in Deptford,” she said.

As Blanchard descended into Deptford, two weary farmers saw it coming and were scared to death.

“They had no idea what it was,” Cerkez said. “The farmers approached the balloon with pitchforks until Blanchard handed them the letter from Washington. They were dumbfounded by the whole thing.”

Today, visitors who go to the landing spot, which sits behind the new Walmart Supercenter in Deptford, will see the Clement Oak Tree bearing a plaque commemorating the historical flight and landing.

“The tree was there when he landed,” Cerkez said. “The tree is preserved and can never be taken away. It can never be destroyed.”

She said the plaque states that Blanchard landed his hydrogen-filled balloon on that spot in 1793 and that it was the first manned balloon flight in the country.

Harry Collison of Two Angels Hot Air Balloon Team said the major difference between Blanchard’s balloon and hot air balloons of today is the fuel.

“Blanchard’s balloon ran on hydrogen gas,” he said. “There was a chemical reaction with hydraulic acid and a couple other elements.”

He said while there are still gas-powered balloons in existence, the hydrogen was replaced with helium.

“Hydrogen is explosive,” he said. “The ones we fly are with heated air. There’s a propane flame that heats the air and that’s how we get altitude.”

Collison said the baskets and balloons of today are similar to the contraption that carried Blanchard to Deptford.

“The basket was not much different,” he said. “They are both made of rattan. It was really no different from what we are flying, but ours are more reinforced and stronger.”

Today’s balloons are made of ripstop nylon, whereas balloons of the 1700s were made of a different type of material that needed to be held together with netting, Collison said.

Another major difference in Blanchard’s flight compared to the flights Collison conducts deals with modern-day air space laws.

“Today we can’t do that unless we get permission from Philadelphia International (airport),” he said. “We can only fly in Class C Airspace because we are not picked up by radar.”

Class C Airspace is any space from the surface to 4,000 feet above airport elevation.

“Every time I launch from Gloucester County College, I can see the river and Philadelphia and the airport, but we fly away from there,” he said. “If we flew over the airport, they would have to ground every airplane and my pilot’s license would be in jeopardy.”

Blanchard’s maximum altitude was 5,800 feet, according to Collison. He said traveling 15 miles in 46 minutes as Blanchard did in 1793 was “not a big deal because the winds are stronger there.”

“It wasn’t that dangerous with the direction of the wind and his speed,” he said. “He was going 20 miles an hour at that altitude so it took him right over the river.”

But not only did Blanchard have the responsibilities of executing the flight and the air mail delivery, but he was also charged with keeping his passenger safe during the trip.

“When he left Philadelphia, he had a little black dog with him,” Cerkez said. “The dog got out with him when he landed, and went back to Philadelphia with him when he left.”

Blanchard continued flying until 1809 when he had a heart attack during a flight, fell from his balloon and died some weeks later from injuries related to the fall.

Serving as Deptford’s mayor from 1990 to 1996, Cerkez is somewhat of an expert on Blanchard’s flight.

Each year she visits the Central Early Childhood Center’s kindergarten classes to tell the children stories of the historic flight.

“Every year the teacher has me come in and talk to the kindergarten classes,” she said. “It’s one of the nicest things I do all year.”

Her favorite part of her yearly visits is the gifts she receives afterwards.

“She always sends me a picture of me in the rocking chair with all the kids sitting around me on the floor and the kids draw me pictures of the balloon,” Cerkez said.

Collison agrees that Blanchard’s flight and landing still has a significant historical impact on the area.

“When you look around Deptford, you’ll see the street signs still have the balloons on them and of course the water tower,” he said. “We’ve been flying in this area for the past 15, 16 years. Do people pay attention? Yes, they see us all the time.”

And Cerkez enjoys relaying the story of Deptford’s important piece of history.

“This is what put Deptford on the map,” she said proudly.