Roger Sherman Baldwin Park
Town of Greenwich, Fairfield County, Greenwich
6.3 acres
Directions:
I-95 Exit 3 - Northbound turn right. Park is immediately on the right.
Southbound turn left onto Arch Street, go under I-95. Park is on the right after next light.
Parking by the teen center and park is only for town employees and teens using the center. On weekends parking is allowed across the street in a huge parking area.
History:
Roger Sherman Baldwin was a Town Father, who served on the Board of Estimate and Taxation for 29 years. He was also a leading proponent for the purchase of Greenwich Point.
This park along with Bruce and Grass Island Parks are part of an almost solid stretch of open space extending from the power plant in Cos Cob through Grass Island near Belle Haven.
1952 -- formal plan said that the Park should be devoted largely to grass lawns, shrubs and trees.:
Facilities:
walking, fishing, nature study, views of Greenwich Harbor and Long Island Sound, photography, picnic area, outdoor concerts and theater productions, Ferry Terminal (for summer rides to Island Beach and Great Captain’s Island).
benches, picnic tables
Source:
Coline Jenkins Sahlin. http://www.greenwichct.org/ParksAndRec/prFARogerShermanBaldwinPark.pdf
Trails:
10/22/2005. On a rainy day, Rosemary Cooney, Sarah-David Rosenbaum, Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I toured the small park. The park is located in busy downtown Greenwich with lots of traffic It is mostly lawn with a some scattered trees planted. The only more natural vegetation is found around the edges. Not much for botany, but a restful place with a nice view. Grass Island can be seen from here. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick Cooney
* = plant blooming on date of field trip, 10/22/2005
Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven)
Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust)
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Pinus sp. (pine tree)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine)
Platanus sp. (sycamore)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Prunus sp. (cherry)
Pyrus malus (apple)
Pyrus sp. (crab apple)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Platanus sp. (sycamore)
Salix alba var. (weeping willow)
Taxus sp. (yew)
Thuja occidentalis (arbor-vitae) planted
Ulmus americana (American elm)
Shrubs:
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Prunus maritima (beach plum)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Spiraea sp. (spiraea) planted
Viburnum sp. (leather-leaf viburnum) *
Vines:
Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (porcelainberry)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Convolvulus arvensis (field bindweed)
Hedera helix (English ivy)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Arctium sp. (burdock)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Aster spp. (aster) *
Atriplex patula (orach)
Cirsium sp. (thistle)
Datura stramonium (jimsonweed)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)
Galinsoga sp. (quickweed) *
Galium sp. (bedstraw)
Lepidium virginicum (poor man's pepper)
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs) *
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose) *
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel)
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain)
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonum aviculare (doorweed)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) *
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed)
Potentilla sp. (cinquefoil)
Rumex sp. (dock)
Sedges:
Cyperus sp. (flat sedge) like bipartitus
Grasses:
Eleusine indica (zipper grass)