Edgemont Memorial Park

Edgemont Park is a park in Montclair, New Jersey, in the United States of America. It shares a name with the nearby Edgemont Elementary School.

Edgemont Park
The Memorial Obelisk seen from across the pond
TypePublic Park
LocationMontclair, New Jersey
Coordinates40.8268°N 74.200115°W / 40.8268; -74.200115[1]
Area15.52 acres (62,800 m2)
Operated byMontclair Department of Parks and Recreation
OpenAll year.

History

A committee for park construction in 1906 decided to purchase the land for the park with a $100,000 bond issue, following a town referendum. The effort to buy the land was led by William B. Dickson, who backed a quarter of the bonds issued. The land which comprised the park was originally a golf course, built 10 years prior to the park's founding. Edgemont was originally named the Harrison Tract park. The memorial was dedicated in 1925.[2]

Overview
Toney's Brook with the pond and memorial in the background

The park is surrounded by roads on three sides, and by the rears of residential lots on the remaining southern side. To the north is a street named after the park, Parkway, and to the West, Edgemont Road. Across this road is Edgemont Elementary School. On the East, Valley Road borders the park. In the eastern part of the park there is a pond with fountains, fed and flowing into Toney's Brook. The pond is artificial, created by a dam, and has severe growth of algae and scum. This scum has damaged the health of Toney's Brook downstream. An accessible children's playground is here.

Memorial

The most prominent feature of the park is the pond and the small island with the World War I memorial on it. Edgemont Park is known for its World War I memorial, which is one of the landmarks of Montclair. The main memorial, created in 1924 by Charles Keck, is a tall obelisk with bronze sculptures of Winged Victory on top and the Billy Boys on the bottom. On the sides of the obelisk are etched the names of those who fell in the First World War, to whom the monument is dedicated. In front of the memorial there are small plaques that have the names of those who died in the Vietnam War and Korean War and World War II.[3]

Amenities

[4]

  • Edgemont Memorial Park Gallery
  • A landmark in Montclair, World War I Memorial in Edgemont Park
  • World War I Memorial with the sculptures of Winged Victory and the Billy Boys
  • Close-up of the algaeic scum that covers half of the pond
  • Portion of the memorial obelisk
  • The dam
  • Geese excrete solid waste and sit on the side of the pond

References
  1. https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Edgemont+Park+NJ&sll=37.926868,-68.730469&sspn=20.713245,45.527344&ie=UTF8&ll=40.8268,-74.200115&spn=0.077807,0.177841&z=13&iwloc=AJuly accessed July 13th
  2. Jaeger, P. (1998). Montclair A Postcard Guide to its Past. Arcadia Publishing.
  3. http://www.baristanet.com/2006/05/the_cutting_edge_at_edgemont_p_1.php Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine accessed July 13th 2008
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-04-18. Retrieved 2008-07-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) accessed July 13th
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