Early History

In 1902, Montclair resident Charles W. Anderson offered to donate 14.85 acres of parkland to the Essex County Park Commission. This came at a time when Essex County was facing a lot of population growth, which brought more homes and less greenery. While Montclair was shifting away from a focus on agriculture and into suburban development, the community recognized a need for parkland.

Fredrick Law Olmsted Sr. died in 1903, but his stepson, John Charles Olmsted, designed Anderson Park. The elder Olmsted was best known for designing Central Park in Manhattan, and his successor firm also designed many of Essex County's parks. For Montclair, the landscape architects envisioned a "neighborhood park". At a time when Theodore Roosevelt was dedicating land to America's national parks, voters quickly approved a park bond issue so that Essex County would accept Anderson's donation.

The park was called Montclair Park until 1909 when the name was changed to Anderson Park at the request of the town to honor Charles W. Anderson.^[1]

Modern Day

In 2006, Friends of Anderson Park formed to rejuvenate the original 1904 Olmsted Planting Plan.^[2] Since then, the conservancy has planted more than 230 trees and shrubs.