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Park turns 50 and celebrates like a kid

Sprayground at Activity Center Park off N. Main Street in Centerville lets children of all ages have fun getting wet in hot weather.

/Contributed photo Sprayground at Activity Center Park off N. Main Street in Centerville lets children of all ages have fun getting wet in hot weather.

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By Katherine Ullmer, Staff Writer 1:44 PM Tuesday, June 30, 2009

CENTERVILLE — On Saturday, July 4, children of all ages will be heading to the 21.1-acre Activity Center Park at 221 N. Main St., (entrance just south of Marion’s Piazza), to participate in the Americana Festival.

Besides the park’s own amenities — a zero-depth sprayground (open 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily); an all-access playground with wide ramps, large swings and benches that sway; ball diamonds; and picnic tables — the park will have inflatables, a petting zoo, games, entertainment and food.

This year’s Americana theme celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Centerville-Washington Park District’s parks and open space.

The Activity Center became a park in 1953, but first became part of the park district in 1972, when its owner — The Activity Center of Washington Twp. Inc., a not-for-profit organization formed by 100 area residents to purchase the land May 25, 1953 — turned it over to the park district.

It exemplifies the community nature of many of the area’s parks, as a large part of the community was instrumental in its creation and development, said Martha Lanese, office manager of the park district.

Sherwood Snyder, co-owner of the former Wishing Well Restaurant in Centerville, negotiated the purchase of the original 20 acre-parcel with the help of The Activity Center of Washington Twp. Inc., for $24,300, Lanese said.

“The Lions Club built the shelter, shuffleboard court and horseshoe pit. The Washington Baseball League constructed a grandstand and three baseball diamonds. The Kiwanis built and maintained the tennis courts. Boy and Girl Scouts transplanted dozens of trees and shrubs to the park.”

The park headquarters, originally in a barn on Miamisburg-Centerville Road, the current site of Tim Horton’s, was moved to the Activity Center Park in 1979, Lanese said. The building was expanded in 1981 and 1991, the same year an additional acre was purchased.

More recent improvements, such as the all-access playground and sprayground, have been funded by the Centerville Kiwanis Club, Centerville Noon Optimist Club, Centerville-Washington Foundation, the State of Ohio NatureWorks grant program, and the residents of Centerville and Washington Twp. through property taxes, Lanese said.

The park includes three baseball diamonds (one with lights), three new tennis courts, and practice facilities for soccer and football, she said.

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