Clove Lakes Park
Encyclopedia
Clove Lakes Park is a public park located in the New York City
borough
of Staten Island
, in the neighborhood of Sunnyside
.
s and pond
s, outcroppings of serpentine rocks, and Staten Island's largest living things, a three hundred year-old tulip tree.
Besides strolling down trails and paddling on its bodies of water to appreciate its beauty, visitors can also experience the park as a more modern recreation zone. Several baseball diamonds, a soccer field, basketball court
, playground
s, and football field dot the park's landscape. Then, of course, there's the Staten Island World War II Veteran's Memorial Ice Skating Rink, an outdoor, bubble-topped rink located in what could be called the "active" part of the park, close to its other fields and courts.
, Bluegill
, Pumpkinseed
, Largemouth Bass
, and Carp
, birds, such as Red Tailed Hawk, Kingfisher
, Cormorant
, Red-Winged Blackbird
, Canada Geese, and Mallard
, as well as reptiles and amphibians, like the Common Snapping Turtle, Eastern Painted Turtle, Red Eared Slider, and occasionally even the Red Back Salamander
. The park is also home to mammals, like Gray Squirrels, Muskrat
, and the Eastern Chipmunk
.
and Grymes Hill
. This valley was deepened by the glacier 20,000 years ago. The brook which ran through the valley originated in Clove Swamp and ran to the Kill Van Kull
. The damming of this brook over the years created the different lakes and ponds in the area. The Staten Island Expressway, completed in 1964 was rammed through the cleft in order to connect the roadway two major interchanges at the then newly built Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
to the East and the Goethals Bridge
to the West. When first proposed the exressway was to be named The Clove Lakes Expressway.
used a path adjacent to the stream as a route to the Kill Van Kull. By 1683, Governor Thomas Dongan owned many acres in the northern section of Staten Island where he hunted bears. He built several dams across Clove Brook, and the resulting water pressure was used by local mills to grind grain and saw wood. After Dongan returned to England
he left his property to his sons, one of whom continued to sell off land to pay for his heavy alcohol habit. A subsequent owner, Abraham Britton, built a dam and a grist mill at the east end of Britton’s Pond in 1825. The body of water created by the dam was called Clove Lake.
In 1863, Erastus Brooks, the newspaper publisher, established a large estate and residence in West Brighton at the corner of what is now Forest Avenue and Clove Road. He built a dam which created Brooks Pond. The Staten Island Water Company, one of the local companies supplying water in the 19th and early 20th centuries, bought the rights to use the water from this dam. The two other ponds created by different dams were Martling’s and Schoenian’s. Martling’s Pond was the site of an ice house in the mid-19th century; Schoenian’s Pond is no longer in existence.
, Charles Leng, and Frederick Law Olmsted
spoke out for the need to preserve this area’s natural beauty. In 1921 and 1923 the land around and including Crystal Lake and Brooks Dam was acquired as a city park. Major construction in Clove Lakes Park did not get underway until the early 1930s.
To this day the park is used for charity walks, athletic events, and general recreation.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, in the neighborhood of Sunnyside
Sunnyside, Staten Island
Sunnyside is the name of a neighborhood in the Mid-Island region of the New York City borough of Staten Island.Two large city parks—Silver Lake Park and Clove Lakes Park—form the eastern and western boundaries, respectively, of Sunnyside, which is named for a boarding house that was...
.
Brief overview
A protected Forever Wild site because of its valuable ecological assets, Clove Lakes Park has a rich natural history and a few remnants of the past that remain and continue to thrill visitors. Chief among them are the park's lakeLake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s and pond
Pond
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...
s, outcroppings of serpentine rocks, and Staten Island's largest living things, a three hundred year-old tulip tree.
Besides strolling down trails and paddling on its bodies of water to appreciate its beauty, visitors can also experience the park as a more modern recreation zone. Several baseball diamonds, a soccer field, basketball court
Basketball court
In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor with tiles at either end. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a wood, often maple, and highly polished...
, playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
s, and football field dot the park's landscape. Then, of course, there's the Staten Island World War II Veteran's Memorial Ice Skating Rink, an outdoor, bubble-topped rink located in what could be called the "active" part of the park, close to its other fields and courts.
Geology
Also of interest in Clove Lakes Park are the outcroppings of serpentine rock at the crest of the hills. The spine of Staten Island is a broad ridge of serpentine, which was formed during the Ordovician period (435-500 million years ago) when heat and pressure altered rocks rich in magnesium and iron. Ash green in color, serpentine is named after the patterns in the rock that resemble snake skin. Its mineral composition includes fibrous chrysotile (known commercially as asbestos), talc, oluvine (green lava grains) as well as ferromagnesia, a mineral containing magnesium and iron.Wildlife
Clove Lakes Park is home to many species of indigenous wildlife. Visitors can see fish such as Brown BullheadBrown bullhead
The brown bullhead, Ameiurus nebulosus, is a fish of the Ictaluridae family that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead and yellow bullhead...
, Bluegill
Bluegill
The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...
, Pumpkinseed
Pumpkinseed
The pumpkinseed sunfish is a freshwater fish of the sunfish family of order Perciformes. It is also referred to as "pond perch", "common sunfish", "punkys", and "sunny".-Range and distribution:...
, Largemouth Bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
, and Carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
, birds, such as Red Tailed Hawk, Kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
, Cormorant
Cormorant
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...
, Red-Winged Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
The Red-winged Blackbird is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and...
, Canada Geese, and Mallard
Mallard
The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
, as well as reptiles and amphibians, like the Common Snapping Turtle, Eastern Painted Turtle, Red Eared Slider, and occasionally even the Red Back Salamander
Red Back Salamander
The red back salamander is a small, hardy woodland salamander. It inhabits wooded slopes in Eastern North America; west to Missouri; south to North Carolina; and north from southern Quebec and the Maritime Provinces in Canada to Minnesota...
. The park is also home to mammals, like Gray Squirrels, Muskrat
Muskrat
The muskrat , the only species in genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands and is a very successful animal over a wide range of climates and habitats...
, and the Eastern Chipmunk
Eastern Chipmunk
The eastern chipmunk is a small squirrel-like rodent found in eastern North America, the sole living member of the chipmunk genus and subgenus Tamias....
.
History
Clove Lakes Park derives its name from the Dutch word “kloven,” meaning cleft. The particular cleft is the valley and brook betweenEmerson HillEmerson Hill, Staten Island
Emerson Hill is the name of a hilly area, and the neighborhood upon which the hill is situated, in Staten Island, New York, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA....
and Grymes Hill
Grymes Hill, Staten Island
Grymes Hill is a neighborhood, situated upon a hill by that name, on Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. The east side of the hill is defined by Van Duzer Street and Richmond Road to the intersection with the Staten Island Expressway, which, with Clove Road, defines the...
. This valley was deepened by the glacier 20,000 years ago. The brook which ran through the valley originated in Clove Swamp and ran to the Kill Van Kull
Kill Van Kull
The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait between Staten Island, New York and Bayonne, New Jersey in the United States. Approximately long and wide, it connects Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay. The Robbins Reef Light marks the eastern end of the Kill, Bergen Point its western end...
. The damming of this brook over the years created the different lakes and ponds in the area. The Staten Island Expressway, completed in 1964 was rammed through the cleft in order to connect the roadway two major interchanges at the then newly built Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay....
to the East and the Goethals Bridge
Goethals Bridge
The Goethals Bridge connects Elizabeth, New Jersey to Staten Island , near the Howland Hook Marine Terminal, Staten Island, New York over the Arthur Kill. Operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the span was one of the first structures built by the authority...
to the West. When first proposed the exressway was to be named The Clove Lakes Expressway.
Early use in pre-park times
In pre-colonial and colonial days, Native AmericansIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
used a path adjacent to the stream as a route to the Kill Van Kull. By 1683, Governor Thomas Dongan owned many acres in the northern section of Staten Island where he hunted bears. He built several dams across Clove Brook, and the resulting water pressure was used by local mills to grind grain and saw wood. After Dongan returned to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
he left his property to his sons, one of whom continued to sell off land to pay for his heavy alcohol habit. A subsequent owner, Abraham Britton, built a dam and a grist mill at the east end of Britton’s Pond in 1825. The body of water created by the dam was called Clove Lake.
In 1863, Erastus Brooks, the newspaper publisher, established a large estate and residence in West Brighton at the corner of what is now Forest Avenue and Clove Road. He built a dam which created Brooks Pond. The Staten Island Water Company, one of the local companies supplying water in the 19th and early 20th centuries, bought the rights to use the water from this dam. The two other ponds created by different dams were Martling’s and Schoenian’s. Martling’s Pond was the site of an ice house in the mid-19th century; Schoenian’s Pond is no longer in existence.
Park conception
Staten Islanders considered making this area a park as early as 1897, one year before the consolidation of New York City. By that time the grist mill had burned down, and the ice house had suffered numerous fires. The dams dividing the three lakes were unsafe and were washed out several times. Leading Islanders William T. DavisWilliam T. Davis
William Thompson Davis was an American naturalist, entomologist, and historian especially associated with Staten Island in New York City. He was prominent in the borough's affairs throughout his life....
, Charles Leng, and Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
spoke out for the need to preserve this area’s natural beauty. In 1921 and 1923 the land around and including Crystal Lake and Brooks Dam was acquired as a city park. Major construction in Clove Lakes Park did not get underway until the early 1930s.
Park features
The northwest section of the park is home to Staten Island’s largest living thing, a tulip tree. One hundred and seven feet tall and at least three hundred years old, this tree survived the extensive logging and clearing which occurred when the settlers came. Tulip Trees are known for their straight trunks from which Native Americans carved canoes. Adjacent to the athletic fields is a one-story building that was built in the early 1930s to provide restrooms and other facilities. Constructed of native fieldstone, the “Field House” was designed by O.A. Madsen and renovated by Aymar Embury II. In 1989, the building was named “Stonehenge” for the mysterious megaliths in Wiltshire, England. The Staten Island War Memorial Skating Rink opened in the southeast part of the park on Thanksgiving Day in 1987.To this day the park is used for charity walks, athletic events, and general recreation.