Veteran's Memorial Park
Park Avenue, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Approx. 90 acres.
Directions:
Merritt Pkwy./Rte. 15, Exit 47. Turn left (south) onto Park Avenue. Drive 0.7 of a mile (passing by Sacred Heart University on the right) to the middle gate. Park on the broad shoulder.
History:
This park used to be known as Ninety Acres Park.
1937 -- Ninety Acres Park opened as a picnic grove for Bridgeport residents.
2005 (June 23) --
"the state legislature has approved spending at least $3 million to have the
state purchase Veterans Memorial, formerly called Ninety Acres Park. . . . State
Rep. Jack Hennessy, a Bridgeport Democrat who represents the area near the park,
said constructing the proposed magnet school could put the potential state
purchase of the park in peril. . . . Hennessy said Veterans Memorial contains an
urban forest that should remain untouched."
Bridgeport News: Brad Durrell. Council backs park school; Hennessy: School may imperil purchase by state http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1343&dept_id=433660&newsid=14744803&PAG=461&rfi=9
Habitats:
Woods, wetlands, vernal pools.
Facilities:
Boat launch, hiking trails, biking trails. Woods, wetlands, vernal pools.
Trails:
11/30/2005. On an overcast, but relatively warm day, Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I parked by the middle gate on Park Avenue. In the park, we turned right and walked south on an asphalt path towards the third gate and an old parking area. We passed by a power cut for electric lines going east to west. (Just before reaching the parking area, turn left on a side path that heads east over to the dam, pond and stream.) There is a huge field adjacent to the parking area.
We took an informal trail off the big field and head farther south. Reaching the fence at the park's southern boundary the trail just peters out. There is an asphalt road on the other side heading to a house. The road is cut-off by two large earthen barriers. We turned around and went back to the large field. Walked around the perimeter field and picked up a trail heading east. We saw the other side of that asphalt road and the private house. (There is part of the forest behind the fence on the right.)
Come to a vernal pond which is full from the rains of the night. We notice that the fence is broken in several places. We turn right to follow the fence line and then left to keep heading east. Turn left to head north back to the earlier east-heading path. Turn right to follow the path over the bridge spanning the stream (originating from the dam). There is a gate here that we pass by. We find we are near the intersection of Madison Avenue with Patricia Road. On the corner is Engine House #16.
We turn around to walk past the gate and over the bridge again. Turn right to head north. Walking parallel to the stream, there are small waterfalls in the stream heading downhill. (There is a side path heading over the stream to the east side of the stream.) A short walk brings us to the dam. There is a small pond behind the dam with a small Phragmites marsh. This part of the park is relatively hilly. There are several nice-looking rocky outcrops.
From the dam area we turn left to pick up the trail heading west. It brings us out at the point just north of the old parking area. Turn right and walk back to that middle gate where we started and then on to our car.
There are a lot of informal trails here; probably too many, so there are many different walking options available to the hiker/walker. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney, 11/30/2005
Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven)
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Castanea mollissima (Chinese chestnut)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar )
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus malus (apple)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak )
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Ulmus sp. (elm)
Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Chimaphila maculata (striped wintergreen)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Forsythia sp. (golden bells)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow’s honeysuckle)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus hispidus (swamp dewberry)
Rubus occidentalis (back raspberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Vaccinium sp. ( a low bush blueberry)
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)
Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Hedera helix (English ivy)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Smilax rotundifolia (round-leaved greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)
Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Arctium sp. (burdock)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Aster spp. (aster)
Chelidonium majus (celandine)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace)
Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod)
Geum canadense (white avens)
Lepidium virginicum (poor man’s pepper)
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs)
Lunaria annua (honesty)
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain)
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed)
Potentilla recta (rough-fruited cinquefoil)
Pyrola sp. (Pyrola)
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Solanum carolinense (horse nettle)
Solidago sp. (goldenrod)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion)
Trifolium pratense (red clover)
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved)
Veronica officinalis (common speedwell)
Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)
Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (loose-flowered type sedge)
Grasses:
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Panicum clandestinum (deer-tongue grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass)
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass)
Ferns:
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Back to the w. Connecticut Page
Back to the Main Page