National Register of Historic Places

Goffle Brook Park

Hawthorne, Passaic County, New Jersey
Listed
November 1, 2002
Type
Site
Period
Listed
Ref No.
02001276

About this property

Goffle Brook Park is a public, county park spanning much of the length of Goffle Brook through the borough of Hawthorne in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. Since its designation and construction between 1930 and 1932, the park has served to protect the waters of Goffle Brook while at the same time providing recreational opportunities to the residents of Passaic County and nearby Bergen County. Goffle Brook Park has been included in the National Register of Historic Places since 2002. The greenway park was designed during the early stages of the creation of the Passaic County Park System by the firm of Olmsted Associates, heirs to the practice of Frederick Law Olmsted, which at the time was operated by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. As originally planned, the 103-acre (0.42 km2) park consisted of wide, manicured meadows, woodlands, and a former mill pond surrounded by walking paths. Since the 1930s, playgrounds, athletic fields, and a dog run have been added. Additionally, the borough of Hawthorne now maintains a series of small trails in the 8-Acre Woods at the southern end of the park. Hawthorne High School maintains a substantial recreational complex adjacent to Goffle Brook Park that includes a football stadium, running track, baseball fields, hockey rink, and tennis courts. Mary Delaney Krugman Associates, Inc., a group of historic preservation consultants, was responsible for the nomination of Goffle Brook Park to both the New Jersey and National Historic Places Registry. The consultants acted on behalf of the "Please Save Our Parkland Committee" based in the borough of Hawthorne. In 2012, Passaic County awarded funds to begin a multi-year project to beautify Goffle Brook Park, stabilize Goffle Brook, and reconstruct road bridges over the brook at Warburton Avenue and Rea Avenue As of 2014, stream bank stabilization had been completed throughout the park, the Warburton Ave bridge had been rebuilt, and hundreds of invasive, sickly, and hazardous plants and trees (primarily Norway Maple and Sumac) had been removed. Plants native to North America were used to reinforce the banks of Goffle Brook, in combination with boulder walls and rock armored bank toes. Additionally, new walking and jogging paths were created, along with benches and refuse bins. To offset the loss of trees during the initial stages of the project, over four hundred new trees were planted. Five hundred new shrubs and plants were also installed, including the vegetation used to restore the banks of the brook. Plantings along the stream banks include various willow species, such as Salix discolor (American Willow) and Salix amygdaloides (Peachleaf Willow).

Location

Hawthorne, Passaic County, New Jersey
40.95793, -74.16063

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTENTERTAINMENT/RECREATIONLANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORY
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Rea, John W., House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Cairns-Whitten-Blauvelt House
Industrial
1.7 mi
Ackerman House
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1.8 mi
Kossuth Street School
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1.8 mi
Van Horn-Ackerman House
Industrial
1.9 mi

Questions about this property

When was Goffle Brook Park listed on the National Register?

Goffle Brook Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 1, 2002.

What type of historic resource is Goffle Brook Park?

Goffle Brook Park is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Goffle Brook Park?

The period of significance for Goffle Brook Park is recorded as the listed era.

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