Branch Brook Park
An Interview with
Thomas Dougherty, Branch Brook Park
Cinematographer:
Adib Haque
Branch Brook Park, the nation's first county park, is located in the North Ward of Newark, between the neighborhoods of Forest Hill and Roseville. A portion of the park is also located within the Township of Belleville.
Branch Brook Park is distinguished by being the first county park to be opened for public use in the United States. It has been placed on both the New Jersey (1980) and National (1981) Registers of Historic Places.
Located in the City of Newark and bordered at the southern end by U.S. Route 280, the park crosses Bloomfield Avenue, Park Avenue, and Heller Parkway, terminating near the Newark/Belleville line. The park is nearly 4 miles long and averages 1/4 mile in width. At 360 acres, it is the largest developed park in the County. It is featured by a combination of open meadowland and small patches of woodland on gently rolling terrain.