On April 20, 1911, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick G. Burnham of Morristown donated 30 acres of their property to the town for use as a public park. Located along Washington Street and Mendham Road, the property contained two ponds and was to become "a place of recreation where tired families could go and enjoy the boating, fishing, etc." and, "the pleasures of the quiet woods". Today, 100 years after its creation, Burnham Park continues to be enjoyed by the residents of Morristown and Morris Township.
Since its founding in 1948, the Association has acted as steward of the Park and has taken an active interest in preserving the natural beauty of the surrounding areas. It is a non-profit organization, formally incorporated in 1973, with membership drawn from both Town and Township.
Association presidents have included: Ken Allen (mid 1970's); Lou Bodian (1970's-1980's); Karen Murphy (1980's); Linda Callegari (1980's); Paul Charlesworth (1980's); and Lynn Siebert (current).
One of the most active civic organizations in the county, BPA has been recognized twice by the Board of Chosen Freeholders: "for focusing the public's attention on the importance of trees to our environment, for planting and preserving trees in the community, and for its ongoing commitment to improving and maintaining an exceptional landscape." Burnham Park Association is one of the winners of the National Arbor Day Project Awards of 2005 sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation. Award winners are recognized for their leadership in the cause of tree planting, conservation, and environmental stewardship.
"Since the late 1980's, the association has sponsored an annual Arbor Day celebration in Burnham Park, with more than 2,000 trees having been planted since then. The association has preserved 18 acres of Jones Woods, an area of mature woodlands that today is used as a classroom by local schools. It has also worked to protect local streams and improve water quality by creating riparian buffer zones."
The records and photographs of this collection deal mainly with the April 29, 1989 Arbor Day Commemoration of Kenneth W. Allen as the first Chairman of the Burnham Park Association Board of Trustees.
The records are arranged in a single, untitled series.
This material is open for research without restriction under the conditions of the North Jersey History and Genealogy Center archives access policy. Records may be copied for use in individual scholarly or personal research, however, as with all materials in the History and Genealogy Center, researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material from the collection. The material is a permanent part of the History and Genealogy Center's collections and may be photocopied. Researchers are advised to photocopy with care, using only the edge copier for bound material.
The Burnham Park Association Records, 1965-1989, were transferred to the archives of the North Jersey History and Genealogy Center in 2011.
Burnham Park Association Records, 1965-1989. North Jersey History and Genealogy Center, The Morristown and Morris Township Library.
Arranged, described and encoded by the North Jersey History and Genealogy Center archivist, 2011.