(I saw Mike Berry’s article about Liberty Park in The Kewanee Voice last week and thought a brief recap of the history of the park would be appropriate as the Kewanee Park District moves forward with its plans for a splash pad at the park.)
In January 1920, the Kewanee Park District identified a half-acre, triangular piece of land, 330 ft. x 358 ft. by 161 ft., across the railroad tracks from the Kewanee Boiler Company, as a possible park location. At the time, it was flooded and being used for ice skating.
By July 1920, Liberty Park had been named and initial funds allocated for its development. Bounded by the tracks to the north, Rose Street to the south, and Franklin Street to the east, the park would be built after Northeast Park was completed.
By early 1923, plans were underway for Liberty Park to have a comfort station, wading pool, sand pits, and playground equipment, including chutes, swings, teeter totters, and other apparatus.
Liberty Park opened in time for the Fourth of July. Although not all of the playground equipment had arrived, the wading pool and covered sand pit proved popular for the target group, children under 10 years old. On July 24, Genevieve Sparling, the park’s summer supervisor, reported that 305 youngsters had used the park on that day alone.
Over the years, the park was used for a multitude of activities. There were various exercise and swimming classes, children’s pageants (attended by up to a thousand spectators), picnics, wiener roasts, fireworks, and other events large and small. The focus, however, always remained on young children.
But as the city grew in size and use of automobiles grew as well, the park district worried for the safety of the children. Traffic on Rose and Franklin Streets increased, and the railroad tracks always presented a hazard. In 1950, the park district explored its options.
In 1951, the city, which owned West Park, and the park district reached an agreement for the Liberty Park playground to be moved to the north part of West Park, which had been used only sporadically. The new playground area was bounded by the diagonal sidewalks on the north side of the park which converged near the middle of the park. A new wading pool, bathhouse and dressing rooms, and a filter house were constructed, and the playground equipment was moved from the old location. The city continued to own the land while the park district was responsible for operating and maintaining the playground park and equipment. Kewanee Boiler purchased the land on which the old Liberty Park sat for use as a parking lot.
The city government leased the land to the park district, which was responsible for managing and maintaining that portion. That arrangement continues today, with Liberty Park located on the north end of West Park, Kewanee’s very first park. The park district’s new plans will continue the focus of Liberty Park on young children. Yea!
