Weequahic Park

Newark has less parkspace per person than most other large cities, but, while Newark's park quantity is limited, its quality is almost unsurpassed. We have already explored Branch Brook Park, now let us explore Newark's other large park, woodsy, athletic, historic, and hilly Weequahic.

Weequahic is the only neighborhood in Newark with an Indian name. The neighborhood was named after the park, not the other way around. When Weequahic Park was developed what is now the Weequahic district was farmland that had only recently been annexed to Newark.

The state fair was located here thanks to the efforts of James Jay Mapes, a highly inventive farmer who owned land in what is now the western division of Weequahic Park. In 1847, Mapes, a professor at New York City establishment called the American Institute, bought a run-down farm here. Through the use of superphosphate fertilizers and the sub-soil plow, Mapes was able to unproductive land into a flourishing farm. Mapes publicized his successes in a magazine called "The Working Farmer."

New Jersey had been holding agricultural fairs since 1855. The fairs moved to a new city every year. It was thanks to the importance of Newark and the fame of Mapes that when the fairs were permantly located here in what was then Clinton Township. The fairs were named "Waverly" by James Jay Mapes' daughter, Mary Mapes Dodge.

What is now Weequahic Park became a place for horse (and later, automobile) racing in the late 19th century. President U.S. Grant once came to see the races in 1872, at the time of Newark's great industrial exposition.

The area of the Weequahic section was annexed in three stages in the 1890s. In 1895 the Essex County Park Commission was founded and this area was slated to be turned into a reservation, like Eagle Rock and South Mountain. However, within a few months of the founding of the park, it was it was decided to turn the area into something naturalistic, as opposed to natural.

The Olmsted Brothers were the official landscape design firm for the Essex County Park Commission. The Olmsted touch, sweeping lawns with irregular edges, can be seen here in this field near Elizabeth Avenue.

Divident Hill, also called "Bound-Hill," was the site of the boundary conference between the city fathers of Elizabethtown and Newark on May 20th, 1668, when this place was howling wilderness.

It is Consented unton that the Center, or place agreed upon by the said Agents of the Towns for to Begin the Dividing Bounds, is from the Top of a Little round hill, named Divident Hill; and from Thence to run up a North West Lind, Into the Country.(The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, pg 7)

The boundaries of Newark have since moved considerably. At one point Newark retreated to an area much smaller than its current domain and Weequahic was part of the township of Clinton. Later, Newark expanded to a point about a half mile south of here.

The Divident Hill pavillion was built for Newark's 250th anniversary in 1916. The architect was Carriere & Hastings.

At 80 acres, Weequahic Lake is the largest lake in Essex County. Weequahic Lake is natural, but it has been enlarged by a dam. The lake has massive, oxygen-depleting algal blooms every summer.

Weequahic Lake was the site of a truly grand anniversary ceremony on four consecutive nights in May/June 1916. Each night, scores of little boats recreated the Puritans' 1666 Passaic river landing here on Weequahic Lake. 3,500 actors and actresses proceeded to reenact all of Newark�s history up until that point. The pageant consisted of �focused� and �unfocused� scenes. The focused scenes depicted great events and contained dialogue, while pantomime was used the unfocused scenes conveying moods, eras, and daily life. Everything was accompanied by classical music by Henry Hadley apparently a noted composer of the day.

The festival amphitheatre had seating for 40,000. Since the festival was performed four times, it is possible that 160,000 people saw it. The director was Thomas Wood Stevens of the Carnegie Institute of Technology.

Courtesy of The Newark Public Library.

Courtesy of The Newark Public Library.

The railroad and highway subtract from Weequahic today, but they used to be major assets for the neighborhood. Weequahic the neighborhood developed with the opening of the railroad tubes under the Hudson River, not with the creation of the park. Until the 1960s Weequahic had its own train station.

The tall 1960s/1970s apartment towers overlooking Weequahic Park were built by Arthur Pedula. Several of the towers were built as part of a State of New Jersey/HUD program modelled on New York's successful Mitchell-Lama middle income housing program.

While boating in Weejuahic Park might be restricted to kayaks, the Atlantic Ocean isn't far away. This gives you plenty of deep-water access to enjoy everything coastal New Jersey has to offer. Finding the right Prestige Yachts for sale could help you explore areas near NJ that previously were unreachable.