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Your Park > Flagship Parks & Virtual Tours > Van Cortlandt Park

The Parade Ground

The Parade Ground has been the area's center of human activity for centuries, first serving as a principal settlement site for local Native Americans and continuing to serve as rich farmland well into the 19th century. When it became city property, the Parade Ground was specifically set aside for the National Guard to practice military drills. At other times, the field was used for public recreation, continuing a trend begun by the land's former owner, Augustus Van Cortlandt. In 1907, the Parade Ground was used briefly to "house" 15 bison who grazed on the flats while awaiting their fall trip to an Oklahoma reservation for reintroduction. During World War I, it served as a training ground for the U.S. Army.

image of field
Malcolm Pinckney

 


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map of Van Cortlandt Park has hot spot links to sections of virtual tour Hot Spot link to The Van Cortlandt House Museum Hot Spot link to The Parade Ground Hot Spot link to Vault Hill Hot Spot link to Van Cortlandt Lake Hot Spot link to The Putnam Trail Hot Spot link to Old Croton Aqueduct Trail Hot Spot link to Indian Field Hot Spot link to Memorial Grove Hot Spot link to John Muir Nature Trail Hot Spot link to Van Cortlandt Golf Course Hot Spot link to The Cass Gallagher Nature Trail Hot Spot link to Tibbetts Brook

1. The Van Cortlandt House Museum
2. The Parade Ground
3. Vault Hill
4. Van Cortlandt Lake
5. The Putnam Trail
6. Old Croton Aqueduct Trail
7. Indian Field
8. Memorial Grove
9. John Muir Nature Trail
10. Van Cortlandt Golf Course
11. The Cass Gallagher Nature Trail
12. Tibbetts Brook