Forest Park

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it — and it's quite a story for one piece of ground. Denison, Texas, came into the world in 1872 — brand new, built from scratch as the southern terminus of the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad, the KATY. A railroad town draws people, and Denison drew plenty: a melting pot of cultures right there on the Red River prairie.

And right from the beginning, somebody had the good sense to set aside a little green ground for the people who were pouring in. That somebody was Robert S. Stevens, working alongside the Denison Town Company.

Stevens donated six acres — with one firm stipulation attached: the city would use that land solely as a park, and it would preserve it. Not build on it. Not sell it off.

A park, and nothing but. You have to admire a man who puts the conditions in writing before the ink on the deed is even dry. The park's very first test came quick.

In 1873 — just one year after Denison itself was born — the city held its first official public gathering right there on those six acres. A barbecue, to celebrate the town's first anniversary. There is nothing more Texan than marking the passage of a year with smoke and fire and your neighbors standing around, and Denison nailed it on the very first try.

For a while the place didn't even have an official name. That came in 1875, when it was christened Forest Park — and the reason is exactly what you'd imagine: dense, heavy forested woods covered those grounds. Not a bare municipal lawn.

A forest, right there in the middle of town. Now. Fast forward to 1922, and the story takes a sharp turn.

A nationwide strike of shop-union employees against the KATY Railroad rolled into Denison that year, and it did not arrive quietly. Violence ensued — those are the marker's words, and they earn their weight. It got serious enough that Governor Pat Neff sent in the Texas National Guard to keep order among nearly fourteen hundred KATY railroad workers.

Fourteen hundred. That's not a labor dispute; that's a situation. And where did the National Guard set up?

Right there in Forest Park. The 142nd Infantry Regiment erected a large tent city on those six donated acres and called it Camp Ellis. A second camp — Camp Leeper — was built to the west, near the KATY car shops.

From August 10 through October 21, 1922, almost three hundred civilian arrests were made. The park that had opened with a barbecue was now, for a stretch of weeks, a military encampment in the middle of an industrial war. That's the kind of history that doesn't make it onto the brochure — but it's exactly the kind Forest Park carried through the decades that followed.

The park kept growing. Tennis courts went in. A clubhouse.

A cast iron fountain. A restored bandstand. A skate park.

A playground with a splash pad. And in 1938, the Works Progress Administration built the original Munson Stadium right there on those grounds — eventually replaced by a new stadium complex in 2014. The WPA left its mark all over Depression-era Texas, and Denison got its share.

So here's where Forest Park stands: from Robert S. Stevens' six-acre donation in 1872, through a first-anniversary barbecue, through a military occupation, through every improvement the city could dream up across a century and a half — it's still Denison's premier downtown park. Still carrying that historic charm.

Still exactly what Stevens stipulated it should be. Some promises, it turns out, are built to last.

What the marker says

The city of Denison’s first public park was established in 1872. The town was founded in that same year as a terminus for the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas (KAYT) Railroad and began as a melting pot for many different cultures. Originally conceived by Robert S. Stevens and the Denison Town Company, the park began with Stevens’ donation of six acres of land and the stipulation that the city solely use the land as a park and continue to preserve it. The city’s first official public gathering happened in 1873 when the city celebrated its first anniversary with a barbecue in the park. Forest Park was given its official name in 1875, due to the dense amounts of forested woods that covered the park grounds at the time. In 1922, a nationwide strike of shop-union employees against the KATY railroad made its way to Denison. As much violence ensued, Governor Pat Neff sent the Texas National Guard to help keep order among nearly 1,400 KATY railroad workers. In the park, the 142nd infantry regiment erected a large tent city called Camp Ellis; Camp Leeper was built to the west near the KATY car shops. Almost 300 civilian arrests were made from August 10 through October 21, 1922. The park has seen many improvements and additions over the years which include: tennis courts and a clubhouse, a skate park, playground with splash pad, cast iron fountain, and a restored bandstand. The original Munson Stadium was built in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and replaced by a 2014 stadium complex. Forest Park has been a source of pride and recreation in the heart of Denison for its citizens. Today, the park still serves as Denison’s premier downtown park while continuing to maintain its historic charm. (2017)