Warinanco Park

Warinanco Park (pronounced by locals as War-Rah-NINK-co) is a county park in Union County, New Jersey. It is 204 acres (83 ha) in size. It is located in Roselle at the border with the neighboring cities of Elizabeth and Linden.[1]

Warinanco boathouse

History
Original plan map

In 1921, a group of local citizens alarmed by the rapid industrialization of the area created the Union County Park Commission by referendum vote of the people, to purchase and preserve remaining natural areas.[2]

In 1923, the famous landscape design firm, the Olmsted Brothers (founded by their father Frederick Law Olmsted who designed New York's Central Park) completed its design plans for "Elizabeth Park," now known as "Warinanco."[3][2]

Lenape namesake

This park, known for its beautiful views of green fields, was named in 1925 for an indigenous Lenape tribal leader of the region, whose name was recorded by English colonists as "Warinanco" in 1664. That year, a group called the Elizabethtown Associates bought the Elizabethtown Tract including land in today's Union County from Warinanco and another Lenape leader, Mattano.[4]

Warinanco's name is recorded elsewhere as "Waerhinnis Couwee," "Warrines" and "Wieronies."[5] It is thought that Warinanco was a minor sachem, or tribal elder, of the Hackensack people (a band or subgroup among the Lenape).

Features and landmarks

Azalea Garden
Warinanco Park's Azalea Garden many decades ago

The Caxton Brown Memorial Azalea Garden, located just south of the Warinanco Park Administration building.[6] The garden is dedicated to the memory of Caxton Brown of Summit, New Jersey (1879-1952), who helped create, and was a member of, the Union County Park Commission. It contains hundreds of plants in many dozens of manicured beds.[7] A boulder and plaque was dedicated in Brown's memory in the azalea garden in 1957.

Chatfield Garden
Chatfield Garden in Warinanco Park once featured an elaborate tulip display and is now geared towards more diverse blooms

The Henry S. Chatfield Memorial Garden (also known as the Chatfield Garden).[8] This area originally contained 14,200 tulips imported from Holland and planted in 21 beds but has been transitioned to more diverse blooms beyond tulips to support pollinators throughout the season.

It is named for the Union County Park Commission's first president Henry Summers Chatfield (1864-1933), who is memorialized with a stone bench in the tulip garden.[7]

Union County Park Commission Administration Buildings
Union County Park Commission Administration Building, built 1925
Administrative buildings in Warinanco
Entrance to Administrative Building in Warinanco Park

These historic buildings are listed on the state and the federal registers of historic places in 1985.[9]

Track and field

There is a 400-meter long athletic track as well as a long jump track and a space for shot put. Inside of the athletic track there is an artificial-surface field that can be used for soccer, football, and other sports.

Magnolia Grove

A mature planting of a large number of flowering magnolia trees draws visitors every spring.

Warinanco Lake

A dock offers paddleboating.

Warinanco Park Sports Center

This sports center, including the Warinanco Ice Rink, was expanded and modernized in 2017.[10]

Flora and fauna

Warinanco is known for its brightly colored springtime displays of cherry blossom, dogwood, redbud, and azalea blooms.

The impressive display of Japanese cherry blossoms surrounding Warinanco Lake dates back to 1931, where Caxton Brown and his brother donated them to the park.[11]

Trees include:

Shrubs include:

Herbs and flowers include:

See also

References
  1. Warinanco Park (PDF), Union County Parks, retrieved 8 May 2018
  2. "Ndi.net". hsenj.ndi.net.
  3. Ginsburg, Elisabeth (21 September 2003). "Olmsted Look Goes Beyond Central Park". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  4. Casey, Tina. "Warinanco Park is thriving nature habitat". Courier News.
  5. Munsee Indians: A History Robert S. Grumet · 2014
  6. Caxton Brown Memorial Azalea Garden Roselle, NJ 07203, https://goo.gl/maps/jKcFcsTWRQeSUHGg6
  7. Thomas S. Spencer, John J. Russell. Gardens Across America: East of the Mississippi. Rowman & Littlefield, 2005 - Gardening - 460 pages
  8. The Chatfield Garden is located at the following link: https://goo.gl/maps/UYtkc4EzrbgBwNsV6
  9. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  10. Staff Report. "Warinanco skating rink, sports center revamped in Union County". Courier News.
  11. The Courier News Location:Bridgewater, New Jersey Issue Date:Thursday, May 2, 1974 Page 53

40.655507°N 74.240713°W / 40.655507; -74.240713

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