Answer: The real estate that is now Briant Park was originally part of the Oliver J. Hayes (1802-1861) homestead. However, the beginning of the park is credited to William H. Briant (1827-1912) when he constructed the dam at the East end of the park creating a 12-acre spring-fed pond that was originally called Spring Lake. Skaters from the surrounding communities spent many happy hours there in the Winter when the ice was good. There was also a boathouse where rowboats were rented out in the summer and a picnic grove that was open to all, free of charge, for many years.
At some point William Briant took ownership to the property of Oliver Hayes, or a part of it, but  no records have been found to support the details of this transaction. In 1930 the estate of Mr. Briant sold the remaining property to the Union County Park Commission. Briant, who had been a Union County Freeholder, had apparently specified this transaction in his will.
For a more complete history of the park, click the "History" link below the header of selected pages.

Answer: The park is collocated in the Township Of Springfield and the City Of Summit, Union County, the State of New Jersey. To get directions click the "Map To Park" link below the header of selected pages.

Answer: It is highly recommend it as a great place to jog, walk, use the exercise facilities or just sit around on one of the numerous benches and enjoy the scenery In addition, there are facilities for picnicking located at the beginning of the path that circles the park which include tables, barbeque pits and a restroom.

Answer: Wally's Grove is a location within the park as well as a social gathering of mostly retired people for the purpose of friendship and camaraderie. It is located in the Northeast corner of the park at the intersection of Springfield Avenue and Briant Park Drive. See the area park map 
It consists only of a picnic bench. However, there is a marker on the bench in the vicinity in honor of Wally Peterson. See The Dedication.

Answer: K&K Developers, Inc. and Briant Park Commons, Inc. are planning the construction of a 138-unit condominium complex for the area East of the park's parking lot where the Carter-Bell Manufacturing Co, once stood.
See the aerial view

Answer: The project was approved and construction began on April 9, 2001. For more specific details click the "Apartments Bad For The Park?" link under the "Local Stuff" section of the BPN home page This link contains newspaper articles that chronicle the pre-construction period of this project.

Answer: During the construction period there will be considerable truck and construction vehicle traffic in and out of the site. Also, according to traffic studies provided during the application for construction, there will be a sizeable increase in automotive traffic in and out of the complex, especially during the rush hour. And, since Park Avenue is the only road providing access and egress, all of this additional traffic will be concentrated at the East end of the park.

Answer: The Internet Content Rating Association is an international, independent organization that empowers the public, especially parents, to make informed decisions about electronic media by means of the open and objective labeling of content. ICRA's dual aims are to:

• protect children from potentially harmful material; and,

• to protect free speech on the Internet.

Answer: Yes! The Briant Park Newsletter participates fully with the objectives of the ICRA and is registered with the Association.

Answer: The ICRA Website has complete instructions for setting up your browser to use this facility. Go to the home page of this site and click on the ICRA graphic that is in the right-hand column under the "Credits" heading. Scroll down about one page and click on "Frequently Asked Questions." Again, scroll down to and click on  item number 2.1 which will take you to an explanation of how to set up your browser for screening site content.

• The home page has an "Issued:" date in the upper right-hand and the lower right-hand corner that represents the date of the last time the home page was updated. These dates are also clickable yielding the exact time of the last update.

• The "Recent Stuff" section on the right side of the home page contains links to recent news items. The most recently added items will be preceded by this graphic - . You've probably already noticed that these text links are highlighted in blue letters that turn red, underlined when the mouse pointer hovers over them. This is true for all internal and external text links on this site.

• It is best to use the "Full-Screen" option (the F11 key) when browsing this site - especially for such pages as the "Briant Park Cybertour."

• This site displays better in 800 by 600 pixels resolution, but higher resolutions are o.k. if you have good eyesight.

• BPN was designed to be best browsed with Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Version 4 or higher.

• We appreciate your comments, questions and critique. If you have a message of general interest to all, please post it on the "Message Board" located at the top of the home page. To send a message specifically to the Webmaster, use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the home page.

Answer: The following graphic is located at the top of the left column on the home page. After you've entered the search criteria and clicked the Go button, the search engine will scan the Newsletter and return its findings. A summary of the search is displayed with ten finds to the page. A "Help" facility is available to explain how to structure your request. For a more detailed explanation of this feature use the "Site Search" option in the "Local Stuff section on the home page in the left column.