MORENCI — Morenci’s Stephenson Park reopened to the public on June 26 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the park’s extensive renovation, made possible by an $863,500 Spark Grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Originally gifted to the city in the 1860s, Stephenson Park has served its community as a gathering place for many activities from shuffleboard to playground fun. For generations, Morenci’s community has enjoyed what the park has had to offer, so when it came to its reopening, many came to celebrate.
From community members and local leaders, to words shared from state representatives, many gathered under sunny skies to mark the transformation of the park into a more accessible, inclusive, and inviting space.
“Thanks to the Spark Grant, we have been able to transform Stephenson Park to become accessible, inclusive, and safe for neighbors and visitors to gather, play, and stay active for years to come,” said Heather Sarnac, director of community and economic development for the city of Morenci, as she welcomed attendees.
The ceremony honored key figures who helped bring the project to life. Among them was David Green, owner and publisher of the State Line Observer, who assisted in telling Morenci’s story during the grant application process.
“I don’t know how they could tell us no,” Green recalled saying at the time, about the community’s strong case for funding.
Lisa DuRussel, a registered landscape architect and professor at the University of Michigan, was recognized for her leadership in designing the new park features.
“Lisa has served as the project’s prime professional, my partner, our advocate, bringing the community’s vision together into a thoughtful, sophisticated, and welcoming design that is now here, in real life,” Sarnac said.
Kelsey Dietz, representing the Michigan DNR, attended to celebrate the agency’s role in funding the improvements, while Morenci Mayor Tracy Schell and Tracy Oberleiter from Sen. Joe Bellino’s office offered remarks highlighting the project’s importance to Morenci’s future.
“What we are celebrating today is more than an improved park,” Sarnac said. “It’s a reflection of what can happen when people come together with a shared purpose. … This space will serve not just our community today, but future generations of families, kids, residents, and visitors who will gather here, play here, and build new memories here.”
History of Stephenson Park
Following is a speech given by David Green on June 26 at the dedication of the renovated Stephenson Park, outlining the park’s history.
In 1814, a baby was born in upstate New York and he was named Andrew Stephenson. When he was in his 40s, he moved into Seneca Township and bought farmland. He moved to Morenci in 1856 when the village was only about 20 years old.
He bought 120 acres of land that eventually became much of what’s now the southern part of town. In 1866, he donated this large square of land specifically for use as a park.
Stephenson wanted this property to resemble the town squares that he remembered from back east, although this was far from the center of town.
I know Stephenson Park because I used to play here as a kid and then 40 years later my own children played here. And now the grandkids play here.
But everything else about its history comes from reading old Morenci Observer newspapers. I said earlier that he donated the land in 1866. That’s what I read in village council minutes from the 1930s. The late historian Maude Chase offers a variety of dates such as 1875 or just the 1860s.
I learned that when the circus came to town in the 1870s, tents were often set up here.
In 1920, members from Morenci’s four churches got together and did some landscaping work on the park. It included the planting of a shrub in each of the four corners to represent the churches.
In 1923, a resident wrote a letter to the editor suggesting that Stephenson should became a tourist park for camping. “This is a day of tourists and every town and village of any consequence is bidding for the business,” he wrote. Apparently Morenci was of no consequence until five years later when the new Riverside Park became the tourist camp.
Stephenson park was in the newspaper often during the 1930s, although it was generally referred to as South Park. For the most part it was merely a mention in the council minutes listing who was paid for mowing or raking leaves. The going rate was 25¢ an hour.
In the 1934 there was a discussion about moving the soldier’s monument from the park to the Oak Grove Cemetery.
A tennis court was built in 1941 in southeast corner.
Here’s a typical July from the 1940s. The Missionary Circle of the Baptist Church will meet at Stephenson park. A couple of weeks later the Methodist Church Sunday School will meet at Stephenson Park. The next week it was the Ladies Union of the Congregational Church and then a few weeks later the Girls Interest Group.
In 1951 the city accepted a 99-year lease of South Park from the county. What? For some reason the land didn’t belong to Morenci, but the lease gave the city the right to make improvements, so restrooms and a shelter house were built by the Morenci Improvement Association.
Watercolor classes were offered and a program for 4- to 6-year-olds began that included splatter painting, croquet and making dolls from wooden spoons. That was the same week as a bicycle race for the older kids. They were dropped off at Munson and had to pedal five miles back into town.
New playground equipment came in the 1950s along with a ball field. The park was used for Grange picnics, family reunions, Camp Fire Girls meetings, 4-H club meetings and much more.
In the 1960s, the city decided to banish hard ball in the park due to the injuries sustained by young children and damage to property in the area.
The high school band gave a performance in the park in 1964 and I was probably a member of that group, although I no longer have any recollection of that event.
A new merry-go-round was installed in 1968 and it was a doozy. It probably wouldn’t be allowed today due to safety concerns.
In the 1970s the restrooms were vandalized, the fire department unsuccessfully tried to construct an ice rink, and two girls found a snake in the park and brought it into the Observer office. It slithered under the cash register. My father was not pleased.
On the morning of July 4, 1972, peanuts had been distributed around the park and 50 kids showed up to try to find them. The winner in the older group was Peggy Brown, now known as Peggy Decker.
In 1982, the Child Study Club decided to do some work at the park and buy new playground equipment. They had only $500 and city council for help. Sorry, there were no funds available for that.
In 1994 two shuffleboard courts were constructed. If you look at the floor of the new shelter houses you can still see the markings.
Before the Wakefield Park playscape was built in 2000, some of the equipment was moved to Stephenson. The South Park basketball court was built in 2002, but most news from the park was on page 3 of the Observer in the police report.
Fire at Stephenson Park. Assault at Stephenson Park. Disorderly persons. Juvenile problem. Suspicious situation. Loud persons.
There was a lot of vandalism. There was a lot of talk about making improvements, but without much action.
But I’ve been holding out on you. Perhaps the biggest news in the park’s 159-year history occurred in June 1964. The headline in the Observer read: Monkey loose in park.
Danny Hart’s pet monkey escaped and headed for the trees of Stephenson Park. Danny’s mother placed a cage in the park and baited it with bananas, but kids ate them before the monkey had a chance.
The fire department tried to wash it out of a tree, but the hose burst, soaking the police chief who was standing by. Later a veterinarian with a tranquilizer gun roamed the park, but the monkey was never seen again.
That was the biggest news — until today.