Essex County Branch Brook Park, spanning 360 acres, is America’s first county park system, established in 1895. During the Civil War, the land served as a mustering and training ground for troops before deployment. After the war in 1867, the Essex County Park Commission enlisted Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. and Calvert Vaux, the architects of Manhattan’s famed Central Park. The park was a collective vision for a common green space that would provide a sense of enlarged freedom in the industrial city of Newark counterbalancing the “enclosure of the city” with open, tranquil landscapes. The project was later carried forward by Olmsted’s sons in the late 19th century, continuing their father’s legacy of landscape architecture.

A century later, Barbara Bell Coleman, Patricia E. Ryan, and Patricia A. Chambers founded the Branch Brook Park Alliance to revitalize the park. Thomas Dougherty, President of Branch Brook Park Alliance, explains that the founders were deeply concerned about the disinvestment in parks and open spaces following the 1980s. “They knew there was a jewel in our backyard and saw the capacity for the community to nurture and care for it—for the benefit of everyone,” Dougherty reflects, honoring the women’s vision and commitment to Essex County Branch Brook Park.

For its first 15 years, the Alliance focused on fundraising to restore the park to its original grandeur. According to Dougherty, since its inception in 1999, the Alliance, in partnership with the County of Essex, has raised and invested more than $70 million into restoration efforts. More recently, their work has expanded to include community engagement and volunteer stewardship. “Today, we have over 4,000 volunteers who support our lean team of three in building and tending the park’s formal gardens,” Dougherty says.

Each spring, Essex County Branch Brook Park bursts into bloom during cherry blossom season, hosting the highly anticipated Cherry Blossom Festival, a tradition since 1976.

Beyond the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Branch Brook Park Alliance fosters community well-being year-round through initiatives that promote physical and mental health, environmental education, stewardship, and workforce development.

The Alliance’s work to preserve and activate the park would not be possible without the steadfast support of Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. The County consistently provides at least a 50% match for capital improvement projects and offers in-kind support for the Alliance’s daily operations. In addition, the City of Newark sponsors the Park Ambassador summer youth employment program led by Alliance staff. “When we formed in 1999, we were intentional about building a strong partnership with the County and its Department of Parks,” Dougherty explains. This collaboration was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding with the County Commissioners, outlining the shared responsibilities and relationship between the Alliance and the County.

Still, even with this strong public support, budget challenges remain. “We’re a lean team of three, and the reality is funding is limited”, Dougherty notes.

Community involvement is essential to sustaining this work. People who wish to support the Alliance and help preserve Essex County Branch Brook Park can register to volunteer at www.branchbrookpark.org.  Every Thursday through Sunday, from 9 AM to 1 PM, the Alliance invites up to 50 people to join their efforts in maintaining the park’s beauty and spirit.