History
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In 1889, a group of citizens formed the Meadow Land Society and acquired three large parcels of land to protect them from encroaching industrialization, including what is now Meadowlands Park. The Society purchased a barn and 23 acres from Edwin Henry Mead for sporting activities, and Mead's barn became the first clubhouse for the South Orange Field Club. In 1895, the barn burned to the ground and a new clubhouse was built soon afterward. By 1929, the private club had become a public community center. In 1930, the clubhouse was renamed the Baird Community Center in honor of local resident William T. Baird, the first president of the Meadow Land Society and president of U.S. Rubber Co.
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South Orange, New Jersey · United States
