Big attractions await visitors to small parks
Big attractions await visitors to small parks
From Revolutionary War heroes to a man preserved in whiskey, islands in lakes to miniscule tracts in towns, little parks can offer a surprisingly welcome variety of attractions and appeals.
In 1948, the city of Portland, Oregon, intended to erect a flag pole in a downtown median strip. When the plan failed, a journalist whose office overlooked the tiny site planted flowers there and named it “Mills End,” after the wood scraps left over at lumber mills in the area.
In 1976, the two-foot-wide plot was renamed Mills End Park. Soon people began decorating it with items that included a horseshoe, a miniature Ferris wheel, and a minuscule swimming pool complete with a diving board. At one time, it was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest park in the world.
Little parks with big attractions
This story demonstrates that large attractions can come in small sizes. Several little parks throughout the United States have equally intriguing stories to tell and warrant a visit and perhaps a photograph.
Other parks challenge Mills End in terms of size or lack of it. Waldo Park in Salem, Oregon, measures 12 by 20 feet. It consists of a giant sequoia tree surrounded by landscaping and marked by a plaque and sign.
It’s named for William Waldo, an attorney, and judge who planted the tree on his property in 1872 and later sold it to the city with the promise that the sapling would be preserved. In 1936, the tree was made a city park; since then, it has reached a height of 82 feet.
Petite parks perched on islands
Some petite parks occupy an island. In the 19th century, a man who owned an outcrop of less than an acre in Gardner Lake, Connecticut, (above) named it for his niece, and Minnie Island State Park retains her name. The thickly forest land rises 16 feet above the water and is accessible by boat.
Oak Point State Park (above) is a 1.5-acre enclave on South Bass Island in Lake Erie, Ohio, which was formed during the glacial period and still displays evidence of that time. Native Americans, British troops, and American Colonists disputed ownership of the area until an American fleet under the direction of Oliver Perry won control of Lake Erie in 1813. Later the island was home to a sheep ranch, fruit farm and wine grape orchards
The park is close to Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial (above), which celebrates one of the most decisive battles during the War of 1812 and the lasting peace between Britain, Canada, and the United States, which followed the fighting.
Small parks that tell sad stories
There also are parks that tell sadder tales. Elizabeth Crockett’s grave was the smallest Texas state park (260 square feet) until ownership passed to the state’s Historical Commission. She was the widow of David (Davy) Crockett, the renowned frontiersman, soldier, politician, and hero.
After his death, she is said to have mourned until her own by wearing black daily. Her gravesite is marked by a statue of Elizabeth, a hand shielding her eyes, peering into the distance, hoping to see her husband.
In the early 1900s, a man named Alfred LeFevre and his son Albert maintained a small park in West St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1930, 15-year-old Albert went swimming in the Mississippi River with several friends and drowned. His father got permission from the city government to name the area of Albert Park.
He planted flowers for the rest of his life and meticulously maintained the park in his son’s honor. A plaque notes that Ripley’s Believe It or Not once declared it the smallest dedicated park in the United States.
The Resting Place of the Pickled Pioneer
Visitors to Washington State who stop at a State Parks highway pull-out near Raymond may relive the rather macabre story that ended there. It began in 1855 when 19-year-old Willie Keil, preparing to leave Missouri and follow the Oregon Trail west, suddenly died.
In keeping with Willie’s wish to make the trip, his family had a wood barrel lined with lead, filled with 100-proof whisky, and their son was placed inside. After the six-month wagon train journey, during which Willie’s body was preserved, it was laid to rest at its present-day location. As the account of Willie’s trip spread, he became somewhat of a folk hero, known as “the pickled pioneer.”
The smallest National Park dedicated to Thaddeus Kosciuszko
Another hero was a Polish engineer named Thaddeus Kosciuszko, who aided the American colonists in their battle for freedom. He served in the Continental Army and designed and fortified military sites that proved critical in the War of independence.
A memorial in downtown Philadelphia (above), ensconced in .02 acres of space, is touted as the smallest site in the National Park System. It’s fittingly located close to Independence National Historical Park, where several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation’s founding are preserved.
Victor Block
After gallivanting throughout the United States and to more than 75 other countries worldwide and writing about what he sees, does, and learns, Victor Block retains the travel bug. He firmly believes that travel is the best possible education and claims he still has a lot to learn. He loves to explore new destinations and cultures, and his stories about them have won many writing awards.
Nice "little" story