Before it was a park, it was a neighborhood

Around 1900, the future site of Brightwood Park in Westfield was referred to as “Turkey Swamp”. It was part of the “big woods”, a wooded area bounded by Lawrence Avenue, Brightwood Avenue and the border with Scotch Plains. Between 1900 and 1905, the site was subdivided into 340 small lots by builders and real estate developers.
Slaughter-22 Bey-Bennett-21 Gamrell-20 Dunham-19 Hines-18 Webb-17 Burton-16 Webber-15 Bullock-14 Fields-13 st-Thomas-church-12 Jarvis-11 Manair-10 Cladopoulos-9 Simmons-8 mcPhaul-7 Hurlingl-6 McPhaul5 Presslow-4 Glascoe-3 Styles-2 McDede-Jr-1
(1)  1203 Prospect Street
Annetta & Anson McDede, Jr.
(2)  123 Liberty Street
Agnes & Archibald Stiles, Jr.
(3)  149 Liberty Street
Margaret, Stephen Glascoe &Lloyd Patterson
(4)  ​155 Liberty Street
Presslow Family
(5)  157 Liberty St.
Eva & Allen McPhaul
Picture
(6)  166 Liberty St.
Lester Hurling
(7)  176 Liberty St. 
Eva & Allen McPhaul
​(8)  1160 Fanwood Ave.
Catherine & Henry Simmons
(9)  ​1128 Fanwood Ave (background)
​Jordan Cladopoulos

​(10)  ​1126 Fanwood Ave (foreground)
Cordelia Belle Spencer Perry Manair
Picture
(11)  1118 Fanwood Ave ​
​Samuel Jarvis
Picture
(12)  ​ 1112  Fanwood Ave.
St. Thomas AME Zion Church
(13)  ​208 Smith Street
Reginald & Gladys Fields
(14)  ​168 Netherwood Ave.
Lula & Oliver Burton
(15)  333 Randolph Place
Bullock Family
(16)  ​167 Netherwood Avenue
Webber Family
(17)  ​157 Netherwood Ave.
Chanie & Charles Webb
(18)  ​156 Netherwood Ave.
Julia & Moses Hines
(19)  ​120 Netherwood Avenue
Julia and ​Durwood Dunham
(20)  1071 Fanwood Ave
Lulu and Clement Gambrell
(21)  ​1063 Fanwood Avenue
Bey/Bennett Families
(22)  ​1061 Fanwood Avenue
Eva and Frank Slaughter