SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — As part of a restoration effort, the Academy Heights Neighborhood Association, with the support of the South Orange Village, has renamed Memorial Park on Valley Street in South Orange “Founders Park” in homage to the town’s founding families, who are buried there. At its March 13 meeting, the South Orange Board of Trustees voted unanimously to pass a resolution approving the name change.
According to the AHNA, this change came after a six-week voting period conducted online via SO Engage, in which area residents were able to choose from five proposed names, with Founders Park winning the vote. According to David Kraiker, an AHNA member and advocate, another name considered was “Dinosaur Dragon Park,” based on the play equipment in the park. Kraiker stated at the meeting that approximately 50 area residents had voted for the change.
One of the reasons the residents wanted a name change was so their park would not be confused with the Maplewood park of the same name.
“Memorial Park is confused with the award-winning Memorial Park in Maplewood,” Kraiker said at the meeting, adding that when they hold meetings in South Orange’s Memorial Park, they are always concerned that many who intended to attend the meeting may actually be in Maplewood.
Now that it is Founders Park, that will not happen anymore.
The new name pays tribute to the town’s founding families, who were laid to rest there in the late 1800s after Abijah Tillou deeded the property to the First Presbyterian Church, currently located on Irvington Avenue at Academy Street.
The church operated and managed the cemetery for a number of years but eventually deeded it to the South Orange Cemetery Association, which owned it for the next several decades. Their active supervision ended in the 1920s, when the village suspended any further interment at the property. Gradually the cemetery fell into abandonment and disrepair.
The village later converted the property into a park in 1970, after receiving approval from the state. Headstones were relocated underground and a column was erected and inscribed with the names of those buried. According to Kraiker, this is how the name “Memorial Park” originated — the park would be a lasting memorial to those buried there. He added that people assume the name honors veterans, but while some veterans are indeed buried there, he said the site stands as a testament to all the early residents and founders of South Orange.
According to a release from the AHNA, its members hope the new name of Founders Park will draw attention to the park’s uniqueness and encourage an appreciation for both the property and its significance in the history of South Orange and the surrounding area.
Be sure to visit the newly named Founders Park sometime soon — but maybe wait until after the snow melts! The AHNA will host its second park cleanup and planting day on Saturday, April 20, in the morning. For information about the AHNA, visit www.academyheights.weebly.com.
Photos Courtesy of David Kraiker
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