Major Clarence Tynan Barrett (1840–1906), part of a prominent Staten Island family, distinguished himself through careers in landscape architecture, sanitation engineering, and the military. The Clarence T. Barrett Park Zoo (also known as Staten Island Zoo) is located in the park, and honors Barrett at the site where he once operated a plant nursery. The zoo is one of six in New York parks: the Bronx Zoo, the Central Park Zoo, the Central Park Children’s Zoo, the Prospect Park Wildlife Center, and the Queens Wildlife Center.
A descendant of early immigrants to the American colony, Barrett’s great-great-grandfather, Colonel James Barrett, defended Concord, Massachusetts, against British troops during the Revolutionary War. Born across the river in Rahway, New Jersey, Barrett’s parents settled in Richmond County when he was young.