Bruce Park
near Indian Harbor, Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut
60.1 acres
Directions:
from Town Hall:
Make a left turn onto Soundview Drive, make a right turn onto Arch St. to traffic light intersecting Steamboat Road with Arch Street go straight past light, Museum on left, Family land Playground on right . Follow road to Stop sign, make left and follow road past traffic islands into the park.
Or:
US 95 north to exit 4; turn right onto Field Road; turn right onto Bruce Park Drive.
Geology/Topography:
Outcroppings of Harrison Gneiss, 450 million year old rock which also underlies most of Greenwich and Cos Cob Harbors. The rocks have a layered and folded appearance.
History:
1709-1889 -- a tide-powered mill was located here.
1822 -- birth of Robert Moffat Bruce, who became a wealthy textile merchant and member of the New York Cotton Exchange.
1853 -- the Bruce Museum was originally built as a private home.
908 -- death of Robert Bruce. He had bequeathed his home to the Town of Greenwich and stipulated that it be used "as a Natural History, Historical and Art Museum, for the use and benefit of the public." He also transferred by Deed of Conveyance to the Town almost 100 acres.
1909 -- the Bruce family donated the land to the town. The nearby Bruce mansion is part of the Bruce Museum..
Sculptures:
Near the Bruce Museum, a 35-foot TsimshJan Totem Pole carved by David Boxley and commissioned by Dr. and Mrs. Raymond Sackler to commemorate The Bruce Museum's 75th Anniversary;
a bronze work entitled "Obelisk Head" by Elizabeth Strong-Cuevas;
and an aluminum work entitled "Searching for Peace" by Luis Arata;
"Girl Standing in Nature" by George Segal (at the north end of Wood Road in the center of the Park), a gift of the Greenwich Arts Council and part of their Sculpture '76 celebration in honor of the 350th Anniversary of the Town;
Along Davis Avenue, the Greenwich Arts Council commissioned Deborah Butterfield to create "Orson and Valentine", a pair of bronze horses (on the meadow near the lawn bowling court).
Facilities:
Walking, fishing, jogging, bicycling, picnicking, a bowling green, three tennis courts, horseshoe pits, a ball Diamond, playgrounds, skating on the large pond, benches, picnic areas.
Gardens:
The stretch along Steamboat Road below the Museum is noted for its alternating pink and white dogwoods blooming in the spring.
Sources:
William J. Clark. 2002. Images of America: Greenwich. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Press.
Town of Greenwich. Department of Parks and Recreation. Bruce Park. http://www.greenwichct.org/ParksAndRec/prFABrucePark.pdf.
Trails:
10/17/2005. On a great day, Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I toured the park by car. The park is very broken up by the many roads and the heavy traffic through the area. One nice thing, is that with the one-way streets in the park, we could drive slowly and identify some of the trees this way. I noticed that there are many horticultural and foreign species planted in the park. I did not notice any natural areas. It is mostly lawn. There is a nice pond area and a stream in the park which appear inviting. Noticed also that the two main sections of the park (the Bruce Museum and the Pond area) are separated from one another by a stretch along Davis Avenue. It is not exactly the greatest set up, but the place is still pretty and inviting.. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
10/22/2005. On a rainy day, Rosemary Cooney, Sarah-David Rosenbaum, Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I parked near the pond. We mostly toured the area across the street. Here there is a little more natural area. We walked up the little ridge overlooking the northern end of Indian Harbor. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = plant blooming on 10/17/2005 and/or 10/22/2005
Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Acer sp. (maple with exfoliating bark) planted
Acer sp. (Japanese maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven)
Aralia spinosa (Hercules club)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula nigra (river birch)
Betula sp. (birch)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Cercidiphyllum japonicum (katsura tree)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)
Fagus sp. (cut-leaved beech)
Fagus sp. (weeping beech) planted
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liquidambar styraciflua (sweetgum)
Magnolia grandiflora (southern magnolia) planted
Magnolia sp. (magnolia)
Metasequoia glyptostroboides (dawn redwood) planted
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo)
Oxydendrum arboreum (sorrel tree)
Picea abies .... (Barry spruce)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Platanus sp. (sycamore)
Prunus spp. (cherry)
Pyrus sp. (crab apple) lots
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Salix alba var. (weeping willow)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Taxus sp. (yew)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Ulmus americana (American elm)
(dawn redwood)
(gingko)
(golden rain tree)
(Sequoias).
Shrubs:
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Juniperus sp. (horizontalis)? (juniper)
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel)
Leucothoe sp. (leucothoe)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrows honeysuckle)
Forsythia sp. (golden bells)
Rhododendron maximum (rosebay rhododendron)
Rhododendron spp. (azaleas)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rosa sp. (horticultural rose) * planted in rose
garden
Rubus flagellaris (northern dewberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Vaccinium sp. (a low bush blueberry)
Viburnum sp. (plicatum) ? (double-file viburnum)?
Vinca minor (periwinkle)
Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Hedera helix (English ivy)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass)
Smilax rotundifolia (round-leaved greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)
Herbs:
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Aster divaricatus (white wood aster) *
Aster novae-angliae (New England aster) *
Aster spp. (aster) *
Chenopodium album (pigweed)
Hibiscus moscheutos (swamp rose mallow)
Hosta sp. (hosta)
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife)
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) *
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal)
Solidago bicolor (silverrod)
Solidago sempervirens (seaside goldenrod) *
Solidago speciosa (showy goldenrod) *
Yucca filamentosa (Adam's needle)
(water meal)
Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)
Grasses:
Panicum clandestinum (deer-tongue grass)
Panicum virgatum (switch grass)
Poa pratensis (Kentucky bluegrass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass)
Ferns:
Dryopteris sp. (wood fern)
Polypodium sp. (rockcap fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
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