Morris County Park Commission Explained

Morris County Park Commission
Formation:1956
Abbreviation:MCPC
Headquarters:300 Mendham Road
Morris Township, New Jersey 07960

The Morris County Park Commission (MCPC) is a board of commissioners that manages parks, facilities, and historic sites in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

It is the largest county park system in New Jersey.[1] Russel Myers was its first Secretary-Director and Director, serving the system from 1955 until 1983.[2]

The MCPC provides the public with more than for recreational, leisure, and educational use.[3] [4] As of May 2022, it operates 38 facilities including outdoor parks, trails, a marina, an ice skating arena, a horse stable, a historical farm and an operating mill.

History

Morris County likely followed in the footsteps of other local park commissions. For example, New York City's Central Park Commission was founded in 1856;[5] the Hudson County Park Commission was created in 1892;[6] and the Essex County Park Commission was created in 1895.[7]

Circa 1955, the Morris County Planning board recommended the creation of a Park Commission to the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders.[8] The goal of the commission was to provide attractive recreation areas, as well as aid traffic problems and protect limited water resources.[9] Passage of a voter referendum in 1956 formally established a Morris County Park Commission,[10] [11] and this was reported upon in American City. Its first leader was Secretary-Director Russel W. Myers, a landscape architect.[12] That year, the Garden Club of America announced an alliance with the Morris County Park Commission's mission of "acquiring land, preserving natural areas, [and] protecting watersheds and streams from pollution."[13]

In March 1958, the 350acres Lewis Morris County Park in Morristown was the first park to be dedicated by the MCPC. As of 2021, it has expanded to with of trails. The park alone includes "hiking, off-road biking, and equestrian trails[,] picnic areas[,] athletic fields, a dog park, group camping areas[,] sledding, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing" and, in the summer, the Sunrise Lake Beach Club, a water obstacle course, a flume, paddleboat riding, and fishing. The park was named for Lewis Morris, the first Governor of New Jersey (according to some sources) while it was part of Britain's Thirteen Colonies.

Since 1962, the Morris County Park Commission developed buffer areas and programs to protect the Great Swamp from urban development.[14] The following, the Morris County Park Commission constructed a nature education center on part of the of the Loantaka Brook Reservation.

Circa 1973, Myers, a landscape architect and MCPC's Secretary-Director,[15] had weekly tea for years with Morristown farmer Caroline Foster. In 1973, they arranged for Foster to bequeath her farm estate to the MCPC.[16] In 1974, farmer Caroline Foster designated in her will that Fosterfields would be bequeathed to the MCPC for use as an educational farm and historic site.[17] [18] [19] [20] [21] Upon Foster's death in 1979, the Park Commission received the farm.[22] [23]

In 1979, Myers announced that the commission was opposed to the proposed alignment of Interstate 287. This was due to the environmental detriment to the Sunset Valley Golf Course as well as noise and drainage issues created by the proposed road.[24]

In 1983, the Russell M. Myers Scholarship was established, named for the first Secretary-Director and later Director of the MCPC.[25] [26]

In July 2020, WKXW and InsiderNJ reported that Morris County parks saw increased use after Governor Phil Murphy reopened parks during the COVID-19 pandemic.[27] [28]

In 2019, the Morris County Park Commission announced their intention to create a recreational trail looping around the 700acres Boonton Reservoir, a source of clean drinking water for over 300,000 people. Circa 2021, the Morris County Park Commission received the permit. The MCPC expects to break ground in the trail's creation in 2022.[29]

In 2021, the MCPC unanimously voted to authoriz improvements to Lewis Morris County Park in Harding Township. The area receiving improvements is dedicated to Russel Myers, titled the Russ Myers Recreation Area. The "halfmile ADA Accessible loop trail encircling the area...will have an 8’ wide paved surface, a picnic shelter with electricity to accommodate 200 people, landscaping for screening and beautification, and additional parking to accommodate increased capacity, including ADA parking." The estimated cost is $904,000.

List of parks

The below parks and historic sites are overseen by the Morris County Park Commission.[30] [31]

!Name!Municipality
Bamboo Brook Outdoor Education Center[32] Chester Township
Central Park of Morris CountyParsippany-Troy Hills
Columbia Trail[33] Long Valley
Cooper GristmillChester Township
Craigmeur Recreation ComplexRockaway Township
Cultural CenterMorristown
Elizabeth D. Kay Environmental CenterChester Township
Fosterfields Living Historical FarmMorris Township
Frelinghuysen Arboretum[34] Morris Township
Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center[35] Chatham Township
Hedden County ParkRandolph
Historic SpeedwellMorristown
James Andrews Memorial County ParkRandolph
Jonathan's WoodsDenville Township
Lee's County Park MarinaMount Arlington
Lewis Morris County ParkMorris Township
Loantaka Brook ReservationMorris Township
Mahlon Dickerson ReservationJefferson
William G. Mennen Sports ArenaMorris Township
Minnisink ReservationJefferson Township
Mount Hope Historical County ParkWharton
Mount Paul Memorial County ParkChester/Mendham Townships
Old Troy County ParkParsippany-Troy Hills
Passaic River County ParkChatham Township
Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic AreaMontville
Schooley's Mountain County ParkWashington Township
Seaton Hackney Stables[36] [37] [38] Morris Township
Silas Condict County ParkKinnelon
Tourne County ParkDenville
Traction Line Recreation TrailMorristown
Waughaw MountainKinnelon
West Morris Greenway/Hugh Force ParkWharton
Willowwood ArboretumChester Township

Golf courses

Morris County is home to four golf courses that are open to the public and overseen by the MCPC, with each offering golf lessons and practice facilities.[39]

List of MCPC operated golf courses[40] !Golf Course!Municipality!Acreage!Opening Year
Berkshire Valley Golf CourseOak Ridge4972004
Flanders Valley Golf CourseFlanders4131964/1974
Pinch Brook Golf CourseFlorham Park1021985
Sunset Valley Golf CoursePompton Plains2171974

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Baer . Marilyn . Writer . Staff . 2020-01-20 . Get green for keeping the planet green . 2022-07-07 . Hudson Reporter . en-US.
  2. https://www.morrisparks.net/assets/images/PDFs/Commission/Minutes/2021/20210628Minutes.pdf THE MORRIS COUNTY PARK COMMISSION DISTRIBUTION OF PARK COMMISSION JUNE 28, 2021 MEETING MINUTES
  3. Web site: An Important Message on Safety for Morris County Park Visitors . 2022-06-22 . www.morriscountynj.gov . en-US.
  4. Web site: Parsippany's Dr. Lou Valori is Appointed to the Morris County Park's Commission . 2022-06-22 . TAPinto . en.
  5. Web site: New York City Parks Commissioners : NYC Parks . 2022-07-07 . www.nycgovparks.org.
  6. August 12, 1873 . The old and the New - The Opposition and the Proposed Route . The New York Times . March 29, 2010.
  7. Web site: Parks Essex County Parks . 2022-07-07 . essexcountyparks.org.
  8. Book: Board, Morris County Planning . A Preliminary Report on County Parks . 1957 . en.
  9. Book: American city . 1956 . en.
  10. Book: Parks & Recreation . 1957 . American Institute of Park Executives . en.
  11. Web site: About Morris County Parks . 2022-06-22 . www.morrisparks.net.
  12. https://willowwoodarboretum.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Wilson-Tubbs-Willowwood-Timeline.pdf Willowwood Timeline
  13. Book: America, Garden Club of . Bulletin . 1956 . en.
  14. Book: Senate, United States Congress . Hearings . 1968 . U.S. Government Printing Office . 40–41 . en.
  15. Book: Senate, United States Congress . Hearings . 1968 . U.S. Government Printing Office . en.
  16. Book: Hoskins, Rebecca . Caroline Foster and Fosterfields Living Historical Farm : a life and a legacy . 2010 . The Friends of Fosterfields Living Historical Farm and Cooper Gristmill . Ralph Iacobelli, Morris County Park Commission . 978-0-615-39122-9 . Morristown, N.J. . 709909049.
  17. News: Barbato . Joan . May 5, 1989 . Restoration of "Willows" completed, B1 . B1 . Daily Record . Morristown, New Jersey . live . April 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220415030848/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99773382/restoration-of-willows-completed-b1/ . April 15, 2022.
  18. News: Barbato . Joan . May 5, 1989 . Restoration of "Willows" complete, B4 . B4 . Daily Record . Morristown, New Jersey . live . April 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220415030848/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99774101/restoration-of-willows-complete-b4/ . April 15, 2022.
  19. http://friendsoffosterfields.org/the-farm Friends of Fosterfields: The Farm
  20. Web site: Press . Independent . August 26, 2012 . Tour The Willows in Morristown . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220325123953/https://www.nj.com/independentpress/2012/08/tour_the_willows_in_morristown.html . March 25, 2022 . 2022-03-24 . nj . en.
  21. Web site: Fosterfields Living Historical Farm Morris County Parks . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210121025355/https://www.morrisparks.net/index.php/parks/fosterfields . January 21, 2021 . 2022-05-16 . www.morrisparks.net.
  22. Book: Nadzeika, Bonnie-Lynn . Morristown . 2012 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-0-7385-9280-0 . en . May 18, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220520144257/https://books.google.com/books?id=t88vrKPxLPgC&dq=caroline+foster+1979&pg=PA21 . May 20, 2022 . live.
  23. Web site: Fosterfields . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220520144257/http://www.usgenwebsites.org/NJMorris/general_info/fosterfields.htm . May 20, 2022 . 2022-05-16 . www.usgenwebsites.org.
  24. Book: I-287 Completion from US-202 in Montville to New York Thruway in Suffern, Bergen County: Environmental Impact Statement . 1982 . en.
  25. Web site: Morristown Students Can Apply for 2 Scholarships from The Land Conservancy of New Jersey . 2022-07-07 . TAPinto . en.
  26. Web site: Cahill . Frank L. . 2018-01-29 . Land Conservancy of New Jersey Renews Its Scholarship Program Parsippany Focus . 2022-07-07 . en-US.
  27. Web site: Alex . Dan . Alex . erDan . er . Morris County park closed after visitors leave it totally trashed . 2022-06-22 . New Jersey 101.5 . en.
  28. Web site: 2020-03-26 . COVID-19: Morris Parks Increased Use– Please Ensure Safety and Follow Rules . 2022-06-22 . Insider NJ . en-US.
  29. Web site: Westhoven . William . Recreation 7-mile loop trail around Boonton Reservoir a step closer to reality . 2022-06-22 . Daily Record . en-US.
  30. Web site: Parks Morris County Parks . 2022-06-22 . www.morrisparks.net.
  31. Web site: Morris County Manual, 2012 ed. . Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders . 70 . 2012 . 2022-06-22 .
  32. Web site: Carrera . Helen Navas . 2022-04-12 . 19 New Jersey Arboretums and Botanical Gardens . 2022-06-22 . New Jersey Digest Magazine . en-US.
  33. Web site: 2022-03-17 . Washington Twp. Mayor, Morris County Hashing Out Trail Issues . 2022-06-22 . Mendham-Chester, NJ Patch . en.
  34. Web site: 2022-05-24 . 9 Beautiful Gardens To Visit In The Garden State . 2022-06-22 . TravelAwaits . en-US.
  35. Web site: 2016-10-19 . Morris Freeholders Meeting At Great Swamp In Chatham . 2022-06-22 . Chatham, NJ Patch . en.
  36. Web site: Home . 2022-06-22 . Seaton Hackney Stables . en-US.
  37. Web site: Witt . Louise . COVID-19 may close the barn doors, forever, at Seaton Hackney Stables in Morris Township Morristown Green . 2022-06-22 . en-US.
  38. News: Caldwell . Dave . 2016-01-06 . Morristown, N.J., Historic With a Lively Downtown . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-06-22 . 0362-4331.
  39. https://morriscountyedc.org/thrive/parks-and-recreation/
  40. https://www.morrisparks.net/golf/

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