Our Past Is Present January 18, 2018

January 18, 2018

            This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

            Today’s story was taken from an article written by our Executive Director, Katie Goerl, on the topic of “Heritage Park – A Trip Back In Time”.  It was published in a special edition of the “Junction City Living Magazine” in the spring of 2017.  She wrote: “The park was first named City Park.  A fitting name as it was included in the original city plan when the city was planned in 1858.  The block where Heritage Park is, was purposely left blank on the map for use as a city park.”  The park remained City Park until 1988 when the park was renamed Heritage Park. The unlikely source of the new name was a local fifth-grader, Gery Hoffman. A city-wide competition was held to gather name suggestions and the youngsters name choice was deemed the winner.

            Organizations have honored Junction City’s long standing and important history with the military and Fort Riley with memorials. The first structure in the park was a wooden bandstand, which was erected in  1878.  In 1911, community members replaced the wooden bandstand.  The first monument installed in the park was the Civil War Memorial Arch that visitors pass under as they enter from the northeast side of the park.  Civil War veterans who were members of a fraternal organization composed of veterans from the Union Army suggested the memorial and advocated for its installation in the park in 1898.  Community wide fundraisers were held to fund the construction of the arch.  Schoolchildren even got involved by selling buttons to pay for the arch.

            The water fountain in the park is lighted and shoots water up to 12 feet in the air.  The fountain was gifted to the park in 1937 through the will of Jacob Benton Callen. The Vietnam Memorial, with more than 700 men and women who fought and were killed in action in Vietnam is also located in the park on the East side of the park.  The third oldest memorial in the park was installed thanks to efforts of the American War Mothers.  The memorial served as a special place for the mothers of soldiers who died overseas, many of whom did not have the opportunity to bury their sons.  Recently the memorial was restored through fundraising by Lincoln Elementary School.”

            Stop by and see these memorials and others in Heritage Park at the square between Fifth and Sixth Streets and Washington and Jefferson Streets. 

            And… that is today’s story on “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.