Carteret’s Waterfront Park was once the site of the world’s largest mahogany plant. Waterfront Park has been in development since 2003. Prior to that year, residents had no access to waterfront in Carteret.
In the 1920’s the property was occupied by the Ichabod T. Williams Co. Mahogany Plant and the waterfront was used for unloading logs. In 1990 the Borough acquired the 17 acre area.
In 2003 the Mayor and Council opened Veterans Memorial Fishing Pier and a public parking lot. This marked the beginning of the public’s access to a waterfront area that had been dominated by water-dependent industrial companies for about a century.
In December, Mayor Dan Reiman announced the receipt of two grant awards totaling $13.25 million for public access projects along the borough’s waterfront on the Arthur Kill. When the Arthur Kill Walkway is completed, the public will once again be able to walk along almost two miles of waterfront that had been inaccessible for so many years.
Read more about the redevelopment of the former Ichabod T. Williams & Sons site into Waterfront Park.
At Top: Ichabod T. Williams & Sons Sawmill & Veneer Plant, Office building at right and workshop with sawtooth roof at left. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Retrospective 