The three ponds of Roslyn have been a historic feature of the village and town for over 300 years. The mill on Paper Mill Road was likely the first paper mill in New York State and was visited by President George Washington on April 24, 1790 during his tour of Long Island. The Town of North Hempstead acquired 11 acres for the Roslyn Park in 1913. From 1913 to 1929, the property remained mostly a marshy swamp due to lack of funding.

An effort to create the Roslyn Park was led in 1929 by George Robertson, publisher of The Roslyn News and winner of the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race. Robertson discovered that former Roslyn resident Alice Hicks had established a trust fund for a memorial center for Henry Bergh, founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He convinced the Hicks’ executor that the “memorial centre” should be built in Roslyn Park rather than New York City.

The Hicks Memorial Centre consisted of a stone bridge, a seating area and a 28 inch bronze plaque honoring Bergh. It is located above the bridge just west of the Bryant Library on Paper Mill Road.

The plaque, created by sculptor David Evans, was placed on the stone bridge on Paper Mill Road in 1931 with the inscription “To Henry Bergh, founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals April 10 1866 Presented by Benjamin D. Hicks.”

Robertson also “corralled officials from the Town of North Hempstead and local organizations” to pay for the other elements of the park. Work soon began on the park as part of the memorial center. This was the beginning of the Roslyn Park, which in 1937 was described “as the most beautiful spot on Long Island.”

In 2001, the Roslyn Park was renamed Gerry Pond Park in honor of the preservation efforts of Dr. Roger and Peggy Gerry.

The bronze Bergh plaque was stolen around 1990.

In August 2016, a grant of $25,000 from the Gerry Charitable Trust was awarded to the Town of North Hempstead to reproduce the Bergh plaque and restore the Memorial Centre. A replica of the plaque was produced in 2017 and still awaiting reinstallation upon restoration of the Memorial Centre by the Town of North Hempstead..

The Memorial Centre above the bridge with the location of the stolen Bergh plaque..

The stolen plaque and the replica of the Bergh plaque currently in storage by the Town of North Hempstead awaiting the restoration of the Memorial Centre.