Hoosegow Park

The longest and largest project of 2014/15 was the completion of Hoosegow Park.  What began as underutilized, difficult to enter, overlooked park, within the Village, due to the dense overgrowth of shrubs and trees and rickety steps was turned into a usable, accessible gathering place.  The spark behind this project was a Rotary club president who thought if AGIB could plant some flowering trees “up there” people might notice the park and she wanted to take this on as her project.  It took longer than her two years in office to completion.

A drought resistant landscape design was drawn that included flowering trees. The volunteer shrubs and trees and the turf were removed leaving the native oaks. An ADA accessible ramp and path plus retaining wall was installed. A 30’ diameter patio and flagstone bench was built and placed to highlight the Hoosegow.  Custom trash and recycle containers and a picnic table were added. A 120’ long split rail fence was built. The existing light standards were painted. The landscape was installed over a period of a year along with the drip irrigation system connected the City’s master system.  New signage was placed at the park.  Also, the Historical Society will be adding a display and informational signage for the Hoosegow sometime later this year.  The plant material used in the park is listed with cultural information on AGIB’s website. The groups involved in this project both monetarily and physically were: AGIB, Rotary, a one-time volunteer group from the high school, a local family trust and the City.  A place was found for the Tree Guild to add one more flowering tree this summer with a group of Special Olympic athletes. Only the finishing of the flagstone bench and the ADA ramp were contracted out. The dedication of the park was on April 25th.

For a list of the plants used in the design, click here.