Warinanco Park


Warinanco Park is a popular 204-acre park on St. Georges Avenue in Roselle, New Jersey and the neighboring city of Elizabeth. The park is located near the Elizabeth River.

History

In 1921, a group of local citizens alarmed by the rapid industrialization of the area created the Union County Park Commission by referendum vote of the people, to purchase and preserve remaining natural areas.
In 1923, the famous landscape design firm, the Olmsted Brothers completed its design plans for "Elizabeth Park," now known as "Warinanco."

Lenape namesake

This park, known for its beautiful views of green fields, is named for an indigenous Lenape tribal leader of the region, whose name was recorded by English colonists as "Warinanco" in 1664. That year, a group called the Elizabethtown Associates bought the Elizabethtown Tract including land in today's Union County from Warinanco and another Lenape leader, Mattano.
Warinanco's name is recorded elsewhere as "Waerhinnis Couwee," "Warrines" and "Wieronies." It is thought that Warinanco was a minor sachem, or tribal elder, of the Hackensack people.

Features and landmarks

Azalea Garden

The Caxton Brown Memorial Azalea Garden, located just south of the Warinanco Park Administration building. The garden is dedicated to the memory of Caxton Brown of Summit, New Jersey, who helped create, and was a member of, the Union County Park Commission. It contains hundreds of plants in many dozens of manicured beds. A boulder and plaque was dedicated in Brown's memory in the azalea garden in 1957.

Chatfield Garden

The Henry S. Chatfield Memorial Garden. This area originally contained 14,200 tulips imported from Holland and planted in 21 beds but has been transitioned to more diverse blooms beyond tulips to support pollinators. It is named for the Union County Park Commission's first president Henry Summers Chatfield, who is memorialized with a stone bench in the tulip garden.

[Union County Park Commission Administration Buildings]

These historic buildings are listed on the state and the federal registers of historic places in 1985.

Magnolia Grove

A mature planting of a large number of flowering magnolia trees draws visitors every spring.

Warinanco Lake

A dock offers paddleboating.

Warinanco Park Sports Center

This sports center, including the Warinanco Ice Rink, was expanded and modernized in 2017.

Flora and fauna

Warinanco is known for its brightly colored springtime displays of cherry blossom, dogwood, redbud, and azalea blooms.
The impressive display of Japanese cherry blossoms surrounding Warinanco Lake dates back to 1931, where Caxton Brown and his brother donated them to the park.
Trees include:
Shrubs include:
Herbs and flowers include: