Heritage Park: The heart of Junction City
As this
past weekend wrapped up and another successful Sundown Salute in Junction City,
many of you were fortunate enough to spend some time in Heritage Park. The town
center that is now known as Heritage Park has its beginnings tied with the
founding of the city. Heritage Park has
had some tremendous transformations over the years but it has always been a gathering
place for the community and a place of tremendous prestige.
In
1858, when the city was laid out, it was decided that the corner of 6th
and Washington would be a likely site for a city park. When the original town
site was surveyed in early 1858, the empty block was not given a block number
and instead was only described as “City Park.” There wasn’t much to the park at
first as it was just and empty grass lot as many looked at the city park as an
“overlooked homestead plot.” This soon changed as an early settler known as
“General” Knox planted and tended the first trees and cleared the first paths
in the park. Knox would water the trees and had tremendous pride in created a
park in the total sense of the word. There was a movement to name the City Park
after Knox, which fell flat before the city commission.
Although
the park had been planted and organized, many still saw the park as a place
where one could homestead and call their own. In June of 1864, a Mr. S.M. Stickler
was brought before the court for having appropriated the city park to use as
his own cattle yard, and was duly fined $10. Because of the trouble Mr. Stickler had
brought the city, a white fence was built around the park. The fence seemed to
have little effect as the problem of appropriating the park continued
throughout the 1800’s. In the late 1860s, a Mr. H.P. Hynes, decided that the
park was land that belonged to anyone who wished to claim it. The citizens of
the early pioneer town were much amazed one morning when they found a shanty
and some sheds erected on the park and Mr. Hynes was in possession of the
homestead. His “home” included a shanty house, a pig pen, and a chicken coop.
The excitement was intense but short lived, as Mr. Hynes, and his hastily
erected dwelling were promptly removed into the street by irate citizens. As a
result of this incident, it was long believed that city statutes had been put
in place prohibiting the constriction of any edifice with a roof in the city
park. However, this long-held misconception was laid to rest in the 1950s when
the current city attorney carefully searched the local law book to find that no
such ordinance ever existed.
The first “legitimate” building
built in the park was a bandstand that was erected in 1878. This was a simple
bandstand as it was made entirely of wood. Besides some reports of concerts on
the bandstand between 1880 and 1890, there are no pictures or documentation of
the original bandstand. A second bandstand was built in 1911 and stood for 62
years until it was razed in 1973. The bandstand that currently sits at Heritage
Park was built in 1996 after the re-establishment of a “municipal band” in the
early 1990s. Along with a new bandstand, the city park received a new name in
the 1980. Before 1988, the city park was known as Upton Park. The name change to
Heritage Park was made official in 1988, when the city Commission voted to
change the park’s name from Upton Park to Heritage Park, due in part from a
city wider essay contest which was won by local Geri Hoffman.
Perhaps
what Heritage Park is most known for is the majestic monuments that lay within
the park. These monuments honor and remember soldiers who have fought and lost
their lives in some of the most important American wars in history. Here is a
brief description of some of the more recognizable monuments at Heritage Park. The Civil War Arch at the northeast entrance
of the park came to be in 1898. Standing on the top of the monument is a Union
soldier with two cannons, one on each side. On the southeast corner, a monument
erected by the American war Mothers was erected to dedicated the “Geary County War
Veterans. This monument dates back to 1928. The maple tree, on the southwest
corner of the park, is a living memorial to those who fought in the Vietnam and
Korean War, which was erected on July 4, 1985.
The
interesting history of Heritage Park gives Junction City some character and it
reflects the history of the town, as it has evolved from a pioneer town to an
emerging town in the 21st century.
The ever-changing park has earned the reputation of being the “heart” of
the city in a physical and metaphorical sense.
This picture was taken in 1912
with the second incarnation of the bandstand that was built in 1911. This was
originally a postcard.
No comments:
Post a Comment