#Speedwell May 26

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I often get asked what it was like growing up in New Jersey not too far removed from New York City.  My house in Morristown NJ was just thirty miles from the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels. Yet back in the 1960’s that was enough distance to escape the noise, traffic, and urban density of Manhattan.

In fact many afternoons after school or in the summer my brothers, sometimes my sisters, and neighborhood friends spent time fishing for trout or carp, exploring the woods, or skipping rocks at SPEEDWELL Lake Park. In the winter months we played ice hockey.  A walk down Elliott St. or Lake Rd. took us to a place of adventure and some time mischief.

I grew up on Lake Road which as the name indicates put in close proximity to SPEEDWELL Lake. The small red x marks where I lived. The lake was a five minute walk from my house. The lake is part of the Whippany River.

Here is a video of the SPEEDWELL Lake Park

I went researching the history of SPEEDWELL and came across a fascinating article written by Arthur Mierisch.  Here is a link to article called Morristown’s Forgotten Lakes .

For those with ties to Morristown you may want to give it a read. One interesting fact was that SPEEDWELL was used for Ice Farming in the winters. In fact there was a SPEEDWELL Ice Company

In 1882, the Speedwell Lake Ice Company sold 800 tons, about 25,000 12-inch cubes to Newark breweries.

The article not only features SPEEDWELL, but Burnham Park, Spring Lake, and Lake Pocahantos.

#Speedwell May 26