Welcome to the Glen Rock Arboretum 460 Doremus Avenue, Glen Rock, New Jersey

In the beginning, there was a swamp, willows, maples and oaks, tall marsh grasses
and a sparkling brook winding southward to the Passaic River. The brook was cold
and clear with bass and native brook trout along with the indigenous turtles, frogs and
other wild life.   There was also a spring fed pond hidden by a wild over growth of
reeds, wild roses,   native shrubs and trees. Thus, begins the history of what is now
known as the Glen Rock Arboretum.

Today, the acreage known as the Arboretum in Glen Rock remains a wetlands forest
but areas have been tamed and beckon as a favorite destination for walking the nature
trails and woodland paths. It is a place to enjoy small ‘pocket gardens’; a perennial
garden,  azalea and grass gardens, a special area for wildflowers, an Allçe of Kousa
Dogwood trees  and the pond  with  fountain,  aerators and numerous ducks and other
wildlife. The maintenance and preservation of the forest and gardens is a ongoing
project.

In the early part of the twentieth century, eleven acres of land were cobbled together by
a Dr. Fred Morris for a home site.  He lived there, until he died in 1941.  The property
passed through two more owners and was finally purchased by the Borough of Glen
Rock in 1954 as a result of a petition from homeowners living on Doremus Avenue to
deter construction of apartments on the eleven acres by a real estate developer.

In 1959, the area was declared a municipal park.  In 1964, at the behest of garden club
members, the park was declared an Arboretum. The garden club offered to donate
ornamental and native trees and shrubs and for many years the club held a “Know
Your Arboretum Day” and also supervised an “Annual Clean Up Day” at the Arboretum.

In 1978, G.R.E.E.N., (Glen Rock Ecology and Environment), gave financial support for   
dredging the pond and installing an aerator pump. In 1996, the volunteers at the
arboretum became an independent group organized under the name of The Friends of
the Glen Rock Arboretum, Inc. ( FOTA).  Later that year they received status as a 501(c)
3 tax exempt, not for profit organization by the IRS.

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