Henry Southard, who lived from 1767 to 1842, settled in Basking Ridge in 1755 and served as a Justice of the Peace, Assemblyman, and U.S. Representative. His son Samuel L. Southard, who lived from 1787 to 1842 and was born in Basking Ridge, served as the tenth Governor of New Jersey, Secretary of the Navy, and U.S. Senator. Father and son served together in the 16th Congress. The former Southard residence stands to the north of the park. Ten acres of these lands were given by Nelson and Rose Schaenen and dedicated on July 4, 1964, in the year of New Jersey's Tercentenary.