By Frank Mustac, Special Writer
The name “Woolsey Park” is being proposed for a 167-acre propertyowned by Hopewell Township unofficially known currently as Alliger Park.
The Township Committee is proposing to name the parkland at 221 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road for the family of George Woolsey, the first person of European descent to settle the land circa 1700, the year Hopewell Township was formally created, according to language in an ordinance introduced earlier this month.
Mr. Woolsey’s lineal descendants, also named Woolsey, occupied and farmed the land until selling it in 1929. The Woolseys probably sustained the longest tenure of any family on their original parcel in the township, according to text in the ordinance.
A public hearing on whether to make the name change official will be held during an committee meeting scheduled for Monday, June 27. The committee will likely vote on the matter at the same meeting, following the public hearing.
The 167-acre property, which contains a veteran’s memorial, a 9-11 memorial, hiking trails and a natural water feature called Woolsey Brook, was acquired by Hopewell Township in 1998. The land has been used as a park and gradually developed as a park ever since, according to township officials.
“It was always called the Woolsey Farm before 1998,” Councilman Hart said on June 13.
David Blackwell of the Hopewell Valley Historical Society said the name “Alliger” is the surname of the landowner just prior to the township’s purchase of the property.
Mr. Blackwell spoke at the June 13 meeting about the society’s support for naming the land “Woolsey Park.” He also spoke about some of the male individuals in the Woolsey family tree.
Jeremiah Woolsey, son of George, built the circa-1765 National Register brick house, which still stands on the Woolsey land adjacent to the current park, Mr. Blackwell said. Jeremiah also assisted the cause of the American Revolution by helping to recruit soldiers and provide supplies for the Continental Army, and his son, Ephraim, served as a private in that war.
Capt. Henry Harrison Woolsey, grandson of Ephraim, served with distinction during the American Civil War. He was wounded in the Peninsula Campaign of 1862 and again at Chancellorsville in May1863. He was also wounded at Gettysburg in July 1863, and finally died of wounds received on June 19, 1864, near Petersburg, Va.
