By Ryan Palencer
AVON — The Avon-Washington Township Park has gradually expanded over the years.
The park was opened in 1989, purchased with the assistance of a $250,000 grant from the Land, Water, and Conservation Fund.
“It started in 1989, and in 2010 it will be double its size,” Park Director Kristen Hansen said.
Though the park currently maintains 73.5 acres, it will soon be expanding.
“The park is expanding, basically doubling our size,” Hansen said. “Just south of our existing park, there is a road that goes underneath the tracks. There’s about 85 acres back there with a pond and things like that.”
The new portion of the park will feature a new playground, some new shelters with restrooms, a splash pad, an amphitheater, and the new Washington Township Pavilion Center.
“(The pavilion center) is about a 12,000 square foot building overlooking the lake,” Hansen said. “That will bring even more events to the public, not just weddings and business meetings, but winter events like pottery classes and things like that.”
One thing that the park already offers is a state-of-the-art playground.
“It’s one of the biggest playgrounds in the county,” Hansen said. “It’s also ADA accessible, which is nice for people who bring their children who might have disabilities.”
Hansen, who began in 2007, said the park is working to be more environmental friendly. In addition, they have began the county’s only off-leash dog park.
“Not only have we worked on making the park better for the community by adding a dog park and putting in different benches, we have gotten grants from the Hendricks County Solid Waste Management to purchase recyclable material grants,” Hansen said. “A lot of our benches are made out of milk cartons. We’re trying to be friendly to the Earth.”
The park also offers many programs.
“We expanded our programs and events a hundred percent,” Hansen said. “There wasn’t a lot going on before 2006-07. The previous park superintendents had programs, but I’m not sure why (they didn’t last). Funding is always an issue with the parks, but when I took over, we started going out and getting sponsors (for events) ... Not only do we have physical things that we have built, but we have things for the community to enjoy.”
These events include camps, an Easter egg hunt with the Avon Optimist Club, a Dino mountain bike or running race, a concert series, movies, RibFest with the Avon Chamber of Commerce, and the Avon Heritage Festival.
Hansen said one of the major advantages about the park’s trails is the opportunity to get away from urban life.
“Although we’re right on U.S. 36, when you get back into the woods, you don’t know that you are in the middle of Avon,” she said.
The park is home to one of the last remaining Iron Whipple Truss Bridges in Indiana. The bridge crosses White Lick Creek. The road that passed over the bridge was originally named the “Indianapolis Road” because it linked Danville, the county seat, to Indianapolis.
According to the park website, the last known vehicular travel of the road was a fire engine in 1972.
In 1999, the bridge deck was replaced and side rails were recreated and installed for added protection for pedestrian traffic.
The park also owns about 50 acres on County Road 150 North. That land was sold to the park by the Pecar family and has yet to be developed. It is currently being leased for farming.
For more information of the Avon-Washington Township Park, visit the website at www.washingtontwpparks.org.
ryan.palencer@flyergroup.com
