A 14-acre beauty spot. That’s how residents described Anderson Park in 1907. Just two years old its young trees and shrubs were still small. Yet it offered a delightful escape across from the Upper Montclair Train Station.
Anderson Park wasn’t always a meadow. It began as swampy ground. Extensive labor transformed this land. The result? Play fields pathways shaded by trees and outlined by shrub beds. This Essex County park opened in 1905. It was part of the nation’s first countywide park system. Its creation inspired Montclair to develop its own townwide park system.
Charles W Anderson a prominent Montclair resident donated the park site in 1903. The park bears his name. John Charles Olmsted son of the famous Frederick Law Olmsted designed Anderson Park. The Olmsted Oak a magnificent white oak stood as the park’s centerpiece. Sadly it succumbed to a recent storm. Estimates placed its age at 250 years.
For almost 120 years Anderson Park served as a treasured green space. A gathering place for the community. Since 2006 the Friends of Anderson Park have been working hard. They aim to rejuvenate the park’s Olmsted landscape. This landscape holds a place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Imagine picnics and games beneath the shade of its trees. Joggers and dog walkers enjoying the paths. In June chamber music fills the air under the June moon. A Fine Arts and Crafts Fair graces the park each September. Anderson Park is more than a park. It’s a vital part of Montclair’s history and identity. A testament to community spirit and the enduring power of green spaces.