Jerome Playground South

What was here before?
This playground is situated in what was once known as Quinnahung, or Planting Neck, by the Weckquaesgeek people. Edward Jessup (1624-1666) and John Richardson (1630-1680) bartered with native people in 1661 and subsequently received a patent from the British Royal Crown in 1666, naming the area West Farms. The Cromwell-Poole family farm once occupied this site. Their primary residence, known as the "Townsend-Poole Cottage," built in 1782, was at the crossing of Macombs Road and Featherbed Lane.

How did this site become a park?
The City and Parks acquired this property as part of its effort to accommodate the construction of the Cross-Bronx Expressway. In 1946, over 700 Families were notified by the city to evacuate structures that fell in the path of the proposed construction site. New roadways intersected rectangular building lots forming several uniquely shaped plots, many of which are now public recreational areas. In 2023, Jerome Playground South, previously the site of two handball courts, was remodeled as a skate park.

Who is this playground named after?
This park and the adjacent Jerome Avenue bear the name of Leonard W. Jerome (1817-1891). Known as the “King of Wall Street” for his career as a stock speculator, Jerome was also partial owner of the New York Times, as well as co-founder, along with his brothers and August Belmont (1816-1890), of the Jerome Park Racetrack. The racetrack would become the birthplace of the Belmont Stakes, one of three major horse races that constitute the Triple Crown. The City condemned the property in 1890 for the New Croton Aqueduct. Today, the former racetrack is the site of the Jerome Park Reservoir.

In 1888, Catherine Hall Jerome (1822-1898), Jerome’s sister-in-law, had bronze street signs made with her own money bearing the name “Jerome Avenue” installed after the City desired to rename the avenue.