Sueand Swim Lessons Cam Celebrating(1960 - 2020)60 Years 2020 EDITION REGISTRATION BEGINS MARCH 1 WWW.MONMOUTHCOUNTYPARKS.COM REGISTRATION INFORMATION FOR 2020 Children's SUMMER CAMP & SWIM LESSONS If you want to register for Monmouth County Park System Summer Camps and Swim Lessons, these are the dates to remember: SUNDAY, MARCH 1: Registration opens for Summer Camps and Swim Lessons. You can register online at www.MonmouthCountyParks.com beginning at 12:00 PM or by phone at 732-842-4000, ext. 1, from 12:00-2:00 PM. After March 1 you can register: ONLINE: 24/7 BY PHONE: Call 732-842-4000, ext. 1, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM-4:30 PM. BY MAIL: Use the registration form on page 67 of this Parks and Programs Guide. Mail the form to: Registrations Monmouth County Park System 805 Newman Springs Road Lincroft, NJ 07738 Checks or money orders should be made payable to: Board of Recreation Commissioners IN PERSON: Visit Thompson Park Headquarters, Newman Springs Road, Lincroft, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM-4:30 PM. You may register family members ONLY for as many camps or swim lessons as you wish. (For online registration at www.MonmouthCountyParks.com, please create an account with a separate profile for each family member.) TABLE OF CONTENTS Park System Spotlight 2-3 Odyssey Adventures 34-37 Park Amenities 4 Performing Arts 38-39 Earth Day Celebration 5 Sports 39-46 Arts & Crafts 6-9 Therapeutic Recreation 47 Equestrian Camps 9 Swim Lessons 48-51 Farm Life & Living History 10 Camp Indexes 52-63 General Day Camps & Theme Park Locations 64-65 Camps 11-18 Registration Information 66-67 Monmouth County Fair 19 Park Partners 68 Horticulture 20 Nature & Science 20-32 For summer camp registration information, see the inside front cover. For general questions about your Monmouth County parks, call 732-842-4000, ext. 4312. Icon Key New Program Online Registration Unavailable Find us on Social Media: The counselors were quite amazing. Friendly, genuinely interested in my daughter and very Upcoming Volumes of the caring people! Parks & Programs Guide SUMMER Release: Friday, May 1 Registration: Wednesday, May 6 FALL Release: Friday, July 17 Registration: Wednesday, August 5 REGIST RATION BEGINS AT 12:00 PM ON SUNDAY, MAHRC 1. SEE P AGE 66 FOR FULL DETAILS. 1 Thompson Mansion circa 1906 PARK SYSTEM SPOTLIGHT PARK Thompson Park How a love for children and families spurred the creation of a park. “We’ve got to live with nature. The children have A Brief History - Brookdale Farm to feel the ground beneath them and go out in the Native Americans had lived in this area for several woods and see the trees and birds.” thousand years when Dutch and English pioneers This statement by Geraldine L. Thompson in the 1950s started settling Monmouth County in the late 17th to a reporter was surely a vision of what was to come. century. By the 1780s, Thomas Lloyd, a prosperous landowner and tanner, acquired about 316 acres and In the fall of 1961, Mrs. Thompson met with Monmouth built his house there in 1786. After the Civil War, wealthy County Freeholder Director Joseph Irwin to discuss businessmen established horse farms and estates in her interest in donating her beloved Brookdale Farm the area, and David Dunham Withers assembled 838 in Lincroft for a county park. Shortly after that initial acres, which included the property of Lloyd’s farm, meeting, she spoke with another reporter and stated: “I to establish Brookdale Farm as one of the county’s would like nothing better than to know that Brookdale premiere thoroughbred breeding and training farms. in the future would be an open place for children and for animals because they have a place here, too... I In 1893, Col. William Payne Thompson and his wife Mary would want it to be under the control of the county and Evelyn Moffett Thompson acquired Brookdale Farm, open to all.” and hired a prominent trainer as well as increasing the stable to nearly 200 horses and expanding the farm’s agricultural operations in hay, corn, carrots, cabbage and butter. In 1895, Thompson hired a renowned New York architectural firm to design a Colonial Revival mansion around the core of David Withers’ house. William passed away in 1896, before its completion, leaving the farm to his wife in trust for their three children. The Thompson mansion was completed in 1898 with a total of 29 rooms, 14 fireplaces and 6 bathrooms. Geraldine L. Thompson 2 QUESTIONS? TO REGISTER: 732-842-4000, EXT. 1 • GENERAL PARK INFORMATION: 732-842-4000, EXT. 4312 PARK SYSTEM SPOTLIGHT PARK Brookdale Farm William and Evelyn’s son Lewis married Geraldine • The original Lewis Thompson house serves as Livingston Morgan in 1896 and moved to Brookdale the Headquarters building where you’ll find our Farm. The couple had four children of their own and Administrative, Human Resources, and Registration took in four nieces and nephews of Lewis’s after his staff. sister passed away as well as a young cousin of his. Brookdale Farm thus resounded with both children • The farm’s former Ten Mare Barn now serves as and horses in the first decades of the 20th century. garage and storage space for Thompson Park’s While Lewis tended to business and hunting, Geraldine maintenance operations, and the Yearling Barn became prominent in politics, public health reform, serves as the park’s Theater Barn. social services, and philanthropy. • Thomas Lloyd’s Georgian style house had been “An Open Place for Children...” the largest house in Middletown Township when The park began with the generous 215-acre donation recorded in a 1798 tax assessment. During the from Mrs. Thompson and has thrived and grown ever Brookdale Farm years, the house served as the since. The park is now a total of 667 acres and is home to Horse Trainer’s residence, and today it is home to the Monmouth County Park System’s Headquarters and the Park System’s Acquisition and Design offices. many of Brookdale Farm’s buildings are still standing: • Sadly, the Thompson Mansion suffered a fire 2006 that led to its reconstruction, which was done in the same Colonial Revival style. The house is the park’s Visitor Center and is home to a historic exhibit about the site, multiple program rooms, and offices for staff members. Today, Thompson Park with its playgrounds, miles of trails, lake for fishing and boating, open fields, a creative arts center, and wide variety of programs, summer camps and events would surely make Geraldine Thompson proud. Be sure to celebrate the Park System’s 60th anniversary by visiting Thompson Park and other Monmouth County parks throughout the year. Thompson Park Headquarters REGISTRATION BEGINS AT 12:00 PM ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1. SEE PAGE 66 FOR FULL DETAILS. 3 v)-No er t tals ess tion ea en pr c en Check out the variety of A( e) oca at tal C e) ess ak Ac e L amenities available in c y der a icnic R c ound r olf challenging) your local Monmouth olf y/P (easy) (mo (fitness) (natur round onmen eash Dog Ar oric Sit g yla virn County parks! ampg anoe/K isc G olf ist ff-L acilit ishing A ootG rails rails rails ( rails rails C C D E F F F G H O P T T T T T Bayshore Waterfront Park x x x x Bel-Aire Golf Course x x Big Brook Park x x PARK AMENITIES PARK Charleston Springs Golf Course x x Clayton Park x x Crosswicks Creek Park x x x Deep Cut Gardens x x Dorbrook Recreation Area x x x Fisherman’s Cove x x x Fort Monmouth Rec Center x Freneau Woods Park x x x Hartshorne Woods Park x x Henry Hudson Trail x Holmdel Park x x x x x x x x Hominy Hill Golf Course x x Howell Park Golf Course x x Huber Woods Park x x x x x x Historic Longstreet Farm x x Manasquan Reservoir x x x x x x x x Manasquan River Greenway x x x Mount Mitchill Scenic Overlook x Perrineville Lake Park x x x x Pine Brook Golf Course x x Seven Presidents x x x x Shark River Golf Course x Shark River Park x x x x x x x x Sunnyside Equestrian Center x Swimming River Park x Tatum Park x x x x Thompson Park x x x x x x x Turkey Swamp Park x x x x x x x x Union Transportation Trail x Historic Walnford x x x Weltz Park x Wolf Hill Recreation Area x x For more information about these and other activities and facilities available in your Monmouth County parks, visit us at www.MonmouthCountyParks.com. 4 QUESTIONS? TO REGISTER: 732-842-4000, EXT. 1 • GENERAL PARK INFORMATION: 732-842-4000, EXT. 4312 EARTH DAY CELEBRATIONS DAY EARTH Earth Day Celebrations Saturday, April 18, 11:00 AM-5:00 PM Earth Day is one of the best times of the year to get back outside and into nature either by yourself or with family and friends. This year is even better as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in the United States. Join Monmouth County Park System staff as we celebrate Earth Day at several parks throughout the county. Bayshore Waterfront Park Activity Center, Port Monmouth Celebrate the shore as we discover cool coastal animals and artifacts like whales, sea turtles, fish, crabs, and even tiny plankton during this interactive touch and tell program.