Clarke House Park

ABOUT THIS PLACE

Clarke House Park takes its name from the house at its center, which William Clarke built in the early 1900s on Kingsley Avenue in Orange Park. The estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 15, 1998, and the Orange Park Historical Society now uses the house as its meeting place. The grounds around it are a working town park rather than a museum lawn. There is a large playground, a sand volleyball court, nature trails, gardens, a lake and a great many old oak trees, along with restrooms, grills and three rental pavilions. The pavilions are named for what they stand near: Pecan Grove sits by the playground, Beach Bay next to the volleyball court, and Bamboo Lake behind the Clarke House itself. The town rents them in three-hour blocks in the morning and the afternoon all year, and adds an evening block from late afternoon to sunset between April and September, which is when residents book them for birthdays and family gatherings. Bookings are handled by the town of Orange Park, and residents pay less than people from outside the town. For a visitor who is only passing through, the park is free to walk, and the oaks and the old house are worth the short turn off Kingsley Avenue