In 1887, following the purchase of Ellarslie Mansion from George Farlee, a committee of the Common Council for the city of Trenton began to seek a location for what would become the City Park. Edmund C. Hill -- a baker by trade, a developer by avocation, and a member of the Common Council -- was chairman of the committee and principal advocate for the idea of the City Park.

After the purchase of the Farlee estate, the city contracted the landscape designer, Frederick Law Olmsted. Olmsted's style is defined by natural rolling landscape, plantings of various species and subspecies of trees and shrubs, the consistent use of curved footpaths and roadways, and often the addition of animals in a natural habitat.

Though perhaps best known for his design of Central Park in New York, Olmsted applied the same approach to the nearly one hundred acres of the former McCall estate, resulting in what is now Cadwalader Park.

With over 100 acres of urban parkland, Cadwalader Park offers a deer paddock, a stream, a small lake and hundreds of trees, including some that are rare at this latitude. An arm of the historic Delaware-Raritan Canal flows through Park, a perfect setting for nature walks.

Photo by Cie Stroud, (c) 2002

Ellarslie Mansion is a centerpiece of the Olmsted-designed Cadwalader Park.