Elwood Park over here by me in North Newark
which sits in the triangle between Summer Ave and Elwood Place and
Elwood Avenue was formerly called "Phillips Park" in the
early part of the 1900's. At that time it had a very large, beautiful,
water fountain in one corner of the park but this, unfortunately,
is no longer there.
It was here that General George Washington quartered some of his
troops in 1776 and where General Anthony Wayne quartered some of
his troops in 1770. There is a huge boulder in the one corner of
the park which commemorates these events.
One of the plaques on this boulder reads: TO THE HONOR AND GLORY
OF THOSE SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION WHO UNDER GENERAL WASHINGTON
IN 1776 AND GENERAL WAYNE IN 1770 CAMPED ON THIS SITE.
This land was once part of the estate of John Morris Phillips who
made a gift of this land to the City of Newark. Mr. Phillips was
also one of the owners of Hewes and Phillips Iron Works.
There was a wonderful write-up about this in the Star Ledger dated
September 9, 2004 which reads as follows:
"Phillips Park, also referred to as Elwood Park at Elwood
and Summer Avenues and originally part of the estate of John Morris
Phillips, was a gift to the City by his family. In 1776, General
George Washington's troops camped there and General "Mad"
Dog Anthony Wayne and his troops bivouacked there years later. The
Nova Caesarea Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
had a boulder placed on the spot to remind future generations of
the importance of the site. Also, Capt. Phillips planted a row of
elms along Lincoln Avenue to beautify the area. In 1986 it was one
of six of Newark's mini-parks elected by the Greater Newark Chamber
of Commerce's beautification committee for rehabilitation. The city
worked with local residents to help clean up the debris, and with
the city's anti-drug campaign. "Dusk-to-dawn" lighting
was installed through the efforts of the "Love Newark, Keep
It Clean" programs and both the city and the Chamber worked
to improve conditions."
The second plaque on this boulder reads: WASHINGTON BI-CENTENNIAL
TREES PLANTED 1932 BY THE NOVA CAESAREA CHAPTER D.A.R. *** NEW BUDS
AND THE UNFOLDING LEAVES PROVIDE FRESH AND MORE BEAUTIFUL MEMORIANS
EACH YEAR.
It was a very beautiful park in it's heyday. It is still pretty
nice today, but nothing like it was in the early part of the last
century.
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