Teaneck's largest park is also its least accessible.
Only about 10 percent of Argonne Park's 54 acres is set up for traditional park activities. The rest is woods. But unlike other passive township parks, Argonne's woods are wild, trail-less and unmaintained.
The park was named to commemorate local residents who died in the Battle on Argonne Forest, a decisive battle fought late in World War I in which thousands of American troops, many from New Jersey, lost their lives. Some streets bordering the park are named for Teaneck residents killed in the battle, including Schoonmaker Road, named for Capt. Stephen Schoonmaker, and Hubert Street, named for Pfc. Hubert Roch.... Loraine Street on the western edge of the park, owes its name to the Loraine region in France where the Argonne Forest is located.
The impetus for naming the park and adjoining street came of Wallace Beveridge, a World War I veteran. Beveridge himself is memorialized by Beveridge Road. Although there are no marked trails in the woods, there are informal pathways. Some say it "is like walking in the Poconos."
Source: Teaneck Suburbanite, October 15, 2008 (Courtesy of Teaneck Public Library)
Congrats to Walkin' Ed on FTF!