Tibbetts Brook Park is a

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

located in the Lincoln Park section of

Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Opened in 1927, it was one of the first developed parks in

and is accessible only to County residents, with activities that include swimming, hiking, sports, nature watching and fishing. The park is named for

Tibbetts Brook Tibbetts Brook, originally Tippett's Brook or Tibbitt's Brook, is a stream in the southern portion of mainland New York, flowing north to south from the city of Yonkers in Westchester County into the borough of the Bronx within New York City. O ...

, which in turn is named for George Tibbetts, a Briton who had settled the land in 1668. The park is bordered by the

Cross County Parkway The Cross County Parkway (CCP) is a controlled-access parkway in lower Westchester County, New York, in the United States. The parkway is a critical east–west connection throughout Westchester, having full interchanges with every major n ...

to the north,

Saw Mill River Parkway The Saw Mill River Parkway (also known as the Saw Mill Parkway or the Saw Mill) is a limited-access road, limited-access Parkways in New York, parkway that extends for through Westchester County, New York, in the United States. It begins at the ...

to the west, McLean Avenue to the south and Midland Avenue to the East. Tibbetts Brook Park is .6 miles (1 km) north of

Van Cortlandt Park Van Cortlandt Park is a urban park, park located in the borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx in New York City. Owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, it is managed with assistance from the Van Cortlandt Park Al ...

along

South County Trailway The South County Trailway is a long rail trail stretching from the Putnam Trail in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx to the North County Trailway in East View, New York. Westchester County Parks constructed the trailway in segments beginning in ...

, and Tibbetts Brook crosses north-south through the park on its way to the

Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York City, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the United States mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyten Duyvi ...

. The park is the home ground of the New York Magpies in the

USAFL The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. As of 2011, there were over 1, ...

History

In 1668, Georger Tippett purchased the land from Elias Doughty who had owned a large estate that encompassed much of the land from the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

through the

Bronx River The Bronx River (), is a river that is approximately long, and flows through southeastern New York (state), New York in the United States and drains an area of . It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. It originally rose in what is no ...

and

Saw Mill River The Saw Mill River is a tributary of the Hudson River in Westchester County, New York, United States. It flows from an unnamed pond north of Chappaqua, New York, Chappaqua to Getty Square in Yonkers, where it empties into the Hudson as that r ...

. George's descendants were removed from the land after the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

for their loyalty to the Crown. Their land was subsequently confiscated and sold. The park was partially the site of the Battle of Tibbett's Brook or Battle of Kingsbridge in 1778. Sachem (Chief)

Daniel Nimham Daniel Nimham (also Ninham) (c. 1726 – 1778) was the last sachem of the Wappinger people and an American Revolutionary War combat veteran. He was the most prominent Indigenous peoples, Native American of his time in the lower Hudson Valley. B ...

, a Native American chief, and

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

joined with other Americans and fought the

Queen's Rangers The Queen's Rangers, also known as the Queen's American Rangers, and later Simcoe's Rangers, were a Loyalists fighting in the American Revolution, Loyalist military unit of the American Revolutionary War that specialized in cavalry tactics, clo ...

commanded by

John Graves Simcoe Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...

. Ninham led the

Stockbridge Militia The Stockbridge Militia was a Native American military unit from Stockbridge, Massachusetts which served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The militia unit was composed mostly of Mohican, Wappinger, and Munsee from t ...

, consisting of members of the

Mahican The Mohicans ( or ) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, whose indigenous territory was ...

and

Wappinger The Wappinger ( ) were an Eastern Algonquian Munsee-speaking Native American people from what is now southern New York and western Connecticut. At the time of first contact in the 17th century they were primarily based in what is now Dutc ...

tribes. The battle lasted from August 30 to 31. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

were victorious, while Ninham and other members of the militia died during the battle. They were buried in an area now known as Indian Field in nearby

. Four British soldiers were killed and three were wounded including Simcoe. Part of the

Old Croton Aqueduct The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity fr ...

runs through Tibbetts Brook Park. The aqueduct was built between 1837 and 1842 in order to supply fresh clean water for

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

which was suffering

water-borne disease Waterborne diseases are conditions (meaning adverse effects on human health, such as death, disability, illness or disorders) caused by pathogenic micro-organisms that are transmitted by water. These diseases can be spread while bathing, washing ...

outbreaks. In 1890, the Old Croton Aqueduct was decommissioned to make way for the new, improved and higher capacity

New Croton Aqueduct The New Croton Aqueduct is an aqueduct in the New York City water supply system, carrying the waters of the Croton Watershed from the New Croton Dam in Westchester County, New York, to the Jerome Park Reservoir in the Bronx. Built roughly ...

. In 1872, the site of Tibbetts Brook Park was purchased by Leonard W. Jerome, which became part of "Valley Farms". By the 20th Century, a garbage dump was located on the north side of

Yonkers Avenue Yonkers Avenue is an east–west street in the city of Yonkers, New York, Yonkers in Westchester County, New York, in the United States. It is one of four major east–west through routes in the city. The western terminus of the street is at Ne ...

near the site, with a lake created by the overflow of

. This lake, called ''Peckham's Lake'', was used as a swimming hole in spite of high levels of pollution and disease, due to the brook water passing through the garbage dump. The area immediately south had been a swamp which was a haven for mosquitoes. The entire site was referred to as "The Jungle". In 1923, the Westchester County Park Commission proposed constructing a park on the site, purchasing the land from Valley Farms in October of that year. Construction on the park began in September 1924, which included removing "fourteen feet of garbage" from the site. The park opened on June 25, 1927. Upon opening, the park was rather undeveloped, containing a boat dock. The park's pool was soon built and commissioned because children still swam in

. In 1931, the

from

Elmsford Elmsford is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. Roughly one square mile, the village is fully contained within the borders of the town of Greenburgh. As of the 2010 census, th ...

was completed and in 1940, a pedestrian bridge over the Saw Mill River Parkway and

the railroad ''The Railroad'' () is a 2006 South Korean film starring Kim Kang-woo and Son Tae-young. The second feature film of writer and director Park Heung-sik, it was also co-produced and co-edited by his wife, Park Gok-ji. ''The Railroad'' won the FIPR ...

was finished, allowing people from a western, yet undeveloped portion of the park to walk in. In June, 2007, Tibbetts Brook Park North, a complex of three sports fields were opened.

Attractions

Tibbetts was known for its 412 x pool which in June 2011 reopened as a state of the art saline water park featuring a river, various sprays and waterfalls, waterslides, and a small lap pool enclosed amidst the rest of the water park. The numerous walking/hiking trails include part of the

which runs near the western side of the park, and part of the Croton Aqueduct Trail. Tibbets also has a

miniature golf Miniature golf (also known as minigolf, putt-putt, crazy golf, and by #Nomenclature, several other names) is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest ...

course, ice skating/skiing (winter), two artificial lakes for fishing, playgrounds and camp sites along with tennis, soccer, football, and baseball facilities. The park is open 7-days a week from 8 am until dusk.

Wildlife

Many species of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

and

mammals A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle e ...

have been reported at the park Tibbetts Brook Park

List of species

References

{{Reflist

External links

Westchester Country Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation - Tibbetts Brook Park
1927 establishments in New York (state) Parks in Westchester County, New York Geography of Yonkers, New York Water parks in New York (state)