Goffle Brook Park was officially reopened on Saturday, October 26, 2013 after a long rehabilitaion project. Its 103 acres spread out along two miles of stream. It took 10 years and $3.1 million to re-grade and fortify the brook’s banks, which had become steep and treacherous from erosion. Now they are protected with a combination of soft matting material and boulder walls.
The rebuilding effort also focused on preserving the park’s history. The area was used for encampments by generals Lafayette and George Washington during the American Revolution.
In 1927 the county hired the Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm, founded by the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, famous for designing many early parks around the country including New York’s Central Park. The firm envisioned a wide-open park with views that would invite people down to the water.
Returning it to that appearance required removal of many trees and some pruning of the trees that remained. To compensate, the county planted 415 trees and 500 shrubs.
The project also included construction of two miles of walking paths made of crushed stone.
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