The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-06-19

sentatives, the Common Council of the said city, rendered to their fellow citi- zen, James w. Beardsley, for his mag nificent gift to the city of a public park, and that the appreciation of this body and of the public of his public spirit may be perpetuated it is fur ther
 .Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the city records and a copy thereof be presented to Mr. Beardsley." The park was at once placed in charge of the Park Commissioners who, guided by it's donor, began the work of beautifyirg it. but on account of inadequate appropriations it pro ceeded too slowly to suit MT. Beards- ley. He made repeated complalnts that his purpose in giving the land was practically defeated. by this insuffi- ciency, but as there was no express condition in the deed that any partic- ular amount should be expended by the city, they were of little avail. Fin ally, in 1881, he hit upon a scheme to secure his desired object.
 On March 7th, 1881, at meeting or the Common Council, the Park Com missioners reported that, at a confer ence with him about a proposed fur ther gift of lands to the city, to be added to Beardsley Park, he had agreed to convey to the city certain pieces of property that it might make its outlays and improvements on said park and addition on sure basis as a whole, but subject to the following conditions:
 served, held and improved by said city as a public park, to be called by the name of Beardsley Park and for no other purpose.
 described the city should expend s. 900 per annum for the next ten years for laying out and improving the same as a public park, including a proper mapped layout for the improvement or said lands as a whole.
 The Commissioners recommended the acceptance of the offer and concluded their report as follows:
 this magnificent gift of over one hur1- dred acres of water, wood and rolling field. We deem this example of gen. erous giving worthy of grateful mem ful and liberal have earned from those benefited and honored by the gifts, memorials more lasting than the1r words. We cannot but hope that such a gift, made in the lifetime Of the donor. will, while he still lives, be sig nalized by some memorial statue or monument which shall tell of the gift and giver forever"
 The Council thereupon adopted the
 Resolved, That the Council in be- half of our city gratefully accept the written offer this day submitted by James w. Beardsley to convey to our city in fee simple the lands therein named, provided the same be free from all encumbrance."
 During the remaining twelve years of his life he was largely occupied, with the Park Commissioners, in de- veloping his gift and, in its broad ex- panses of green turf, rustic bridges, groves and shady dells, fine water front and winding drives, was worked out his conception of what it should he. To it he made large donations of trees. shrubs and blooming plants. and he was intending still further to add very much to its decorative ma terial, when his life came to an abrupt end.
 By his will, mace shortly before his death, he further added to its extent and capabilities by a gift of nine acres more, and provided that should the city see fit at any time to erect buildings on the same to be used as an Old Peoples Home, Orphan Asy- lum, Children's Home, or for any benevolent or charitable use that shall not te sectarian, reformatory or penal, it should have full power to do so. So practical and all embracing was his charity.
 In the sixteen years since his death, the city has str tretched out over the intervening fields and is now at it's gateway. It will soon pass on and envelop it. It's population has become well nigh a hundred thousand. By the introduction of the trolley. every one in the city can now reach it in most of those in the adjoining towns