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Beaverdam Park marks 20th anniversary

It was a long time coming, but residents and visitors have been able to enjoy a variety of activities at Gloucester’s largest park, Beaverdam, for 20 years.

The park is celebrating its 20th anniversary, with gradual steps taken over time to make the park what it is today. The park opened to visitors in the summer of 1990, holding its official grand opening in March of 1991.

Beaverdam Park surrounds a 635-acre reservoir that was constructed to provide drinking water for residents and businesses of Gloucester County.

Carol Steele, Gloucester’s director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, recalled some of the controversy surrounding the park in the late 1980s. "It was difficult for some of the land owners to give up their land," Steele said.

A lawsuit was initiated, but in the end, the county’s need for a public water source eventually prevailed, Steele said.

"It definitely affected people’s land that had been held in their families for ...

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