The Van Wert community came out to celebrate the openings of a brand new park.
The Van Wert County Foundation and Van Wert City Parks Department officially welcomed the public to Franklin Park with an opening day celebration. The park features a splash pad, skate park, and playground equipment, and fully accessible playgrounds with rubberized surfaces. There are also amenities for adults to enjoy such as a walking loop and a pickle ball court. Having green space that offers as much as Franklin Park does makes the area better for the people who live there and the people who are considering living there. Â
"If you look at a map of this area there's not a lot of green space in the area," says. "This is the largest green space so it's important for us to keep that. Right in the center, there's a big, grand lawn where someone can come and throw a Frisbee or play football or whatnot. We want to build a community, we want to make this park a place for the people. We want to make Van Wert attractive for people to want to live and play in."
The park, which is named in honor of the elementary school that stood on the land until 2013, was a four year, $1.7 million dollar project. It was funded by the Van Wert County Foundation and parks department, grants, and a donation from Scott and Nikki Niswonger.
