Continued from History page

In 1888, the City of Trenton – under the auspices of Mayor Frank A. Magowan and Common Council President Dr. William W.L. Phillips – acquired about 96 acres to “be dedicated, laid out, embellished, maintained, regulated and controlled as a public park.”  The Public Park Ordinance  of May 15, 1888 created the framework for what became three distinct parts, or sections, to the Olmsted design:

• The River Park, comprising ten acres in a narrow strip – two-thirds of a mile long – along the Delaware River. This land was acquired from the Thomas M. Cadwalader Estate (approximately five acres for $100, a nominal sum), and from the Edward J.C. Atterbury Estate for $10,205.

The park’s gently rolling terrain, large shade trees, and scenic vistas were immediately popular with the citizens of Trenton and surrounding communities. After the Farlee property transferred to the city on May 22, 1888, 5,000 people came out on the following weekend to enjoy the new “People’s Pleasure Ground.”

One of the leading advocates for a municipal park was Edmund C. Hill, a baker, caterer and civic leader who was a member of the Trenton Common Council. Hill spent years lobbying public officials, business leaders and landowners to support his vision for a park connecting the Delaware River with the highlands beyond. They included John Lambert and Richard McCall Cadwalader, co-executors of their father’s estate.

In December 1889, Hill and other city leaders named the new park in honor of the Cadwalader family and heirs who secured lands and otherwise helped support its creation: John Lambert Cadwalader, Richard McCall Cadwalader, Emily Cadwalader Rawle, Mary Cadwalader Mitchell, and Maria Cadwalader Hone. The Common Council’s resolution noted, in part, that “Gen. Thomas Cadwalader and his descendants have always taken an interest and honorable part in public affairs affecting the welfare of this community and have ever held a high place in the affection and respect of all the people of this city.”

Hill eventually went to work for the Cadwalader Estate, helping manage its private real estate portfolio. In March 1890, with John L. Cadwalader’s support, he invited and offered to pay Frederick Law Olmsted $150 to examine both the park site and the Cadwalader family lands that he was in charge of developing. One month later, Olmsted made his first visit to Trenton, and after another month – in May 1890 – the Park Committee of the Common Council officially invited him to prepare a preliminary plan of the park.

The surviving “Preliminary Plan” of the Upper Park, dated September 1891, represents the final version of Frederick Law Olmsted’s design, and includes numerous elements that are characteristic of an Olmsted park. Chief among these are an arrangement that makes full use of the landscape qualities of the site, and a coherent system of walks and drives by which the scenery can be enjoyed in all kinds of weather.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Cadwalader Park today represents a significant legacy of nineteenth and early twentieth century American landscape design, foresight and ingenuity. It remains beloved by many residents, who recall pony rides, picnics, concerts and the balloon man, and continues to honor a proud tradition.

Text adapted from Charles E. Beveridge, “Frederick Law Olmsted and Cadwalader Park: A History and Analysis,”published in the Cadwalader Park Master Plan, along with new information from the City of Trenton City Clerk’s Office, the Trentoniana Room at the Trenton Free Public Library, the Library of Congress, and the National Park Service.