There was no Lowell City Council meeting this week due to the summer schedule so today’s newsletter will dip into Lowell history. Two weeks ago, I wrote about the history of Clemente Park, the three-acre parcel on Middlesex Street that has become a center of social, cultural and recreational activity for the Cambodian community. Today, I’ll open the lens wider and write about some of the city’s other parks.

The city’s Open Space and Recreation Plan 2019-2026 lists 89 city parks and greenspaces totaling 463 acres. In this newsletter, I’ll focus on those two acres in size or greater. They are listed below in alphabetical order with the acreage, current usage, and history briefly explained. Parks and green spaces less than two acres in size will be covered in a future newsletter. Also, nine of these parks are scheduled for substantial upgrades either ongoing or coming soon, thanks to funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The city has more information about those projects on its website.

Before getting to the individual parks, a note about this research. Land ownership records for this region go back to the 1620s and are fully available online, but that does not mean that specific deeds are easy to find. When dealing with real estate, street address is the logical way to identify a parcel, but street addresses were not regularly included in the records of the registry of deeds until the late 1990s – and that’s not a typo! Ours always has been a name-based system which identified land by who owned it rather than where it was located, probably because in 1640 when our system was created, street address was not yet a thing.

The further back in time one goes in the land records, the more difficult it is to connect a written deed with an on-the-ground parcel of land. Because so many parks (and schools and other public buildings) in Lowell were acquired by the city long ago, the deed or other document establishing ownership in the city is often elusive. This is not unique to Lowell. During my 30 years as register of deeds, I often received frantic messages from some municipal official asking for help locating the deed to land presumably owned by the municipality that was needed for some urgent purpose. The research I’ve done for this newsletter is part of an ongoing attempt to conclusively document ownership of well-known public spaces inn Lowell.

Similarly, the origin of the names we call many of these places can also be obscure. It is good that we as a city and a society honor people for their accomplishments and their service, but this recognition can be fleeting if we do not preserve the stories behind the place names. In Lowell, there are between 600 and 1000 places named for people, but there is no central repository of their stories. But that will wait for another day.

Now, the stories behind city of Lowell parks and green spaces of 2 acres or larger:

Callery Park – 720 Stevens Street – 5.50 acres – 3 baseball fields; 3 tennis courts; 1 playground; parking area; concession stand; spectator bleachers. Originally called Highland Park, the land was acquired by the city in 1922. In 1967, the park was renamed Callery Park in honor of William Thomas Callery who was born in Lowell in 1945 and graduated from Lowell High School in the class of 1963. He enlisted in the US Army in 1965 and was stationed in Vietnam with the 1^st Infantry Division. He was killed in action on February 22, 1966.

Campbell Park – 30 Courtland Street – 4.07 acres – 1 baseball field; 1 playground; gazebo; parking. John B. “Jackie” Campbell was born in Lowell in 1928. He became one of the city’s greatest all-around athletes, starring in football, baseball and basketball at Keith Academy and then as a pitching ace at Notre Dame. He was a top professional baseball prospect until a sore arm derailed his professional career. Instead, he returned to Lowell and spent a lifetime teaching young people baseball and basketball as part of the Lowell Recreation Department. Formerly known as Flaggie Field, Jack Campbell Field was dedicated in 1976.

Cawley Stadium Sports Complex – 424 Douglas Road – 31.81 acres – 2 football fields; 1 multipurpose field; 1 field hockey/lacrosse field; 2 softball fields; track & field complex; 1 baseball field; 1 soccer field. Edward Denis Cawley was born in Lowell in 1893. He graduated from Lowell High School in 1912 where he excelled in football, track and baseball. After graduating from Lowell High, he played professional baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics but soon enrolled in Colby College where he was a multi-sports star and was captain of the Colby football team in 1915 and 1916. The stadium, which was constructed in 1937 by the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration, was dedicated to Cawley in 1966 and was re-dedicated in 1997.

Clemente Park – 803 Middlesex Street – 3.02 acres – 7 volleyball courts; 2 basketball courts; 1 skate park; 1 bocce court; 1 playground; concession stand; restrooms; picnic tables and benches. Constructed as a public park by the city in 1923 after taking the land by eminent domain, the park was previously the home of a professional baseball team of the New England league. Its original name of Washington Park continued until 1972 when the city dedicated it to the late baseball superstar, Roberto Clemente.

Donohoe Park – 2 Stratham Street – 13.04 acres – 1 playground; 1 baseball field; 1 basketball court; picnic tables and benches. James A. Donohoe Sr. was born in Lowell in 1880. He enlisted in the Massachusetts Militia and was deployed to Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War. While there, he contracted malaria, an illness that plagued him for the rest of his life. His son, James A. Donohoe Jr., was born in Lowell in 1916. He served in the US Army during World War II in the European Theater and returned to active duty during the Korean War. He was discharged in 1952 and worked at the Tewksbury State Hospital until his retirement. The park was dedicated in honor of Donohoe the older and the younger in 1987.

Durkin Park – 294 Chelmsford Street – 2.76 acres – 1 baseball field; 1 basketball court; playground. John L. Durkin was born in Lowell. Growing up, he was a star baseball player. He went to the Lincoln School and Lowell High then he worked in the print department for Courier Citizen. He enlisted in the Army in April 1918 and went to France as part of the 76^th Division. Although he survived the end of the fighting in World War I, he contracted broncho-pneumonia and died on December 15, 1918, in France, likely a victim of the global influenza epidemic. John L. Durkin Memorial Field was dedicated in his honor in 1923.

Edwards Soccer Fields – 26 Edwards Street – 8.79 acres – 6 youth soccer fields. Also known as the Edward J. Walsh Youth Soccer Complex. Walsh, the longtime commissioner of public works in Lowell, died in 2020 at age 92. He retired from the city in 2008 after 16 years as DPW Commissioner.

First Street Park – 61 First Street Boulevard – 2.67 acres – 1 dog park. This green space is on the north bank of the Merrimack River adjacent to the Hunt’s Falls rotary. It likely was owned by the Proprietors of the Locks and Canals and then acquired by the city at some point.

Fort Hill Park – 171 Rogers Street – 34.51 acres – open green space; picnic area; walkways; wooded areas. Originally called Rogers Fort Hill Park, the land was donated to the city in 1886 by the daughters of Zadock Rogers when they sold the family’s 247-acre farm to developers who created a residential subdivision. The city hired the landscape architect Ernest Bowditch to design the park. Fort Hill derives its name from a Native American defensive position used during conflicts with other Indigenous peoples before the arrival of the English colonists.

Fr. Maguire Park – 80 Woodward Ave – 4.59 acres – 3 basketball courts; 2 tennis courts; 2 playgrounds; 1 baseball field; 1 community garden. In 1956, the park was dedicated to Rev. Dennis McGuire, the longtime pastor of St. Rita’s Church, who died in 1945 at age 70.

Gage Field – 78 Thirteenth Street – 21.87 acres – 2 soccer fields; 2 baseball fields; 1 playground. Martina Gage bequeathed the 22-acre parcel between Bridge and Beacon Streets to the city in her will. Ms. Gage, who died in 1935 at age 82, had operated the Daniel Gage Ice Company for nearly three decades and had accumulated a substantial estate. At the time of her death, the Centralville parcel was used for grazing cattle, however, once the city obtained ownership, it employed the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to construct a first-rate park that featured a baseball diamond, a football field, a bowling green, and a playground for small children.

Hadley Park – 1650 Middlesex Street – 5.88 acres – 1 baseball field; 1 basketball court; 1 tennis court; playground. With land acquired by the city of Lowell in 1938, Hadley Park was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and was dedicated on October 12, 1939. The park featured “a baseball diamond, a football field, a wading pool and other features.” It was named for Samuel P. Hadley Jr. (1831 to 1919), who lived in Middlesex Village his entire life. Hadley served as justice of the Lowell Police Court from 1885 to 1912, and his father was the first lock tender of the Middlesex Canal which once ran through the land that became the park.

Highland Park – 150 Fleming Street – 19.97 acres – 3 handball courts; 1 deck hockey court; 1 t-ball field; 2 baseball fields; playground. This large parcel is behind the Daley Middle School and was likely acquired by the city in the early 1950s for the construction of that school which opened in 1956. The school was named for James S. Daley, a celebrated track star at Lowell High and Holy Cross who lived in Lowell but coached track at St. John’s Prep in Danvers. Daley died in 1955 at age 49 after an extended illness. The park name comes from the neighborhood in which it is located and was formerly used for Callery Park before that was renamed in 1967.

Hovey Field – 266 Aiken Ave – 8.54 acres – 1 soccer field; playground. In 1925, George H. Hovey bequeathed the land to the city in his will along with $5000 to be used to develop the land as a public park. Hovey was born in Dracut in 1848 but moved to Chicago where he became the president of a large women’s hat company. Although he lived in Illinois for most of his adult life, his will also left many bequests to charitable organizations in Lowell and Dracut.

Koumantzelis Park – 480 Pawtucket Street – 9.33 acres – 1 baseball field; 2 softball fields; 1 skate park; 1 basketball court; playground. Michael G. Koumantzelis (1964-1980) was a lifelong resident of the Acre neighborhood who died on August 17, 1980, while serving in the United States Navy in Okinawa. The city dedicated this park in his honor.

Lawrence Mills Park – 52 Lawrence Street – 4.93 acres – passive open green space. This parcel was conveyed to the city by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2009 as part of the development of the Renaissance on the River condominium complex in the former Lawrence Mills.

Lowell Memorial Auditorium Greenspace – 52 East Merrimack Street – 2.22 acres – passive green space. This is the green space that surrounds the Lowell Memorial Auditorium which was constructed in 1922. The parcel is home to many military monuments and memorials.

Manning Field – 303 Boston Road – 11.00 acres – 2 softball fields. Manning Field was purchased from the Bartlett Estate in 1925 by the cemetery commission to expand the Westlawn Cemetery but has never been developed as a cemetery. The cemetery commissioners rejected early plans to use the space for carnivals and other amusements on the grounds that such activities would detract from the neighboring cemetery, however, they did permit the parcel to be used for baseball, a use that continues today.

McDermott Reservoir – 197 Beacon Street – 14.96 acres – passive open green space. George H. McDermott was a lifelong resident of Lowell’s Centralville neighborhood who was instrumental in having the city’s old reservoir on Christian Hill cleaned and maintained. In the 1980s, the city dedicated the reservoir park to McDermott who died in 2003 at age 92. The reservoir was constructed by the city in the 1870s as part of a sophisticated system for providing water for drinking, cleaning and firefighting.

McPherson Park – 185 Hildreth Street – 10.55 acres – 1 swimming pool; playground; picnic area; 2 basketball courts; 3 tennis courts; 3 softball fields. Frank J. McPherson grew up in Centralville and became a star athlete in the city in baseball and basketball. Frank died at age 26 from wounds suffered in battle in France during World War I in August 1918. In September 1927, the city dedicated a new public park in his honor.

Mulligan Park – 89 Plain Street – 2.78 acres – splashpad; playground; 1 basketball court; whiffle ball field; volleyball court. This park is dedicated to Ricky Mulligan, who died in May 1975 at age 23 when he was accidentally electrocuted while climbing a telephone pole near the Lowell Connector. (Ricky was the brother of the late City Councilor Grady Mulligan.)

North Common – 413 Fletcher Street – 7.69 acres – swimming pool; 2 basketball courts; 1 softball field; 2 handball courts; playground; community garden; amphitheater. This land was purchased by the city of Lowell in 1845 from the Proprietors of the Locks and Canals along with the South Common. Together, they were the first public parks in Lowell and were referred to as “the lungs of the city.”

O’Donnell Park – 1170 Gorham Street – 15.29 acres – splashpad; 3 basketball courts; 3 tennis courts; 1 baseball field. John J. O’Donnell died in March 1918 while serving in the United States Navy during World War I when his ship collided with a British warship which left 16 American sailors, including O’Donnell, lost at sea. The city dedicated this playground, which had formerly known as the Lowell Fairgrounds, to O’Donnell on Memorial Day 1923. (O’Donnell was the uncle of John J. Shaughnessy who was killed in action on June 6, 1944, during the D-Day invasion and for whom the nearby Shaughnessy school is named.)

Pawtucket Memorial Park/LeBlanc Field – 475 West Meadow Road/38 Acropolis Road – 61.20 acres – 1 baseball field; 1 softball field; 1 soccer field; playground. This park is located next to the Pawtucket Memorial School from which it derives part of its name. Ronald H. LeBlanc was born on Fifth Avenue in 1952 and became a teacher at St. Joseph’s High School while also working for the Lowell Recreation Department for more than 12 years until his untimely death from illness in 1982 at age 28.

Reilly School Community Playground – 115 Douglas Road – 3.17 acres – 1 basketball court; playground. This park is alongside the Reilly School which was dedicated in 1959 to Peter W. Reilly, a former Vice President of Courier Citizen Corporation who died in 1927.

Shedd Park – 453 Rogers Street – 53.83 acres – 8 tennis courts; 1 basketball court; 3 baseball fields; 1 softball field; 2 playgrounds; splashpad; track; picnic area; event pavilion. The land for this park was donated to the city in 1910 by Freeman Ballard Shedd who also donated a substantial amount of money for improvements to the park. Shedd was a Lowell native who served in the American Civil War and then made a fortune from the sale of cologne which was concocted by his business partner, Eli Hoyt, for whom the product – Hoyt’s German Cologne – was named.

Sheehy Park (& Sheehy Park Extension) – 501 Pawtucket Street – 10.81 (total) – open greenspace; picnic tables. This green space is on the south bank of the Merrimack River across from the UMass Lowell South Campus. It is dedicated to John E. Sheehy, who was born in Lowell in 1925 and became a Golden Gloves champion. While serving in the US Army during World War II, he became a Prisoner of War of the Germans and was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds suffered in combat. After the war he worked for the city of Lowell in various capacities until his death in 1974 at age 49.

South Common – 200 South Street – 20.31 acres – pool; soccer field; tennis court; basketball court; playground; amphitheater; multimodal path. This land was purchased by the city of Lowell in 1845 from the Proprietors of the Locks and Canals along with the North Common. Together, they were the first public parks in Lowell and were referred to as “the lungs of the city.”

St. Louis Playground – 406 West Sixth Street – 6.38 acres – baseball field; softball field; playground; 3 basketball courts. This land was conveyed by gift to the city in 1939 by the Lowell Land Company along with five other parcels on the condition that they all be used for public purposes. (Lowell Land Company was likely a conduit from the Locks and Canals Corporation but more research is needed to confirm that.)

Sweeney Park – 951 Lawrence Street – 2.72 acres – passive open space; walking paths; gazebo. This park is dedicated to Dr. Joseph D. Sweeney, a well-known and highly regarded physician and surgeon who grew up and lived in the Sacred Heart neighborhood. Sweeney was born in 1904 and died in 1963. The park was dedicated to him in 2013 on the fiftieth anniversary of his death.

Tyler Park – 51 Tyler Park – 2.00 acres – passive greenspace; walkways. The land for this park was donated to the city in 1893 by Mary Ann Sanders Tyler and her daughter, Susan Emma Tyler. It was designed by the landscape architectural firm founded by Frederick Law Olmsted, the only such park in the city of Lowell.

Wang Soccer Fields – 820 Pawtucket Boulevard – 20.00 acres – soccer field. This is part of city-owned land on the north bank of the Merrimack River across Pawtucket Boulevard from the Lowell Water Treatment Plant and the former Wang computer manufacturing facility at 1001 Pawtucket Boulevard which is presumably why the field carries the Wang name.

Wannalancit Park – 10 Varnum Avenue – 2.00 acres – monument; walking path. This greenspace runs along the north bank of the Merrimack River at Pawtucket Falls. When the first English colonists arrived in the early 17th century, this was the site of a settlement of Indigenous people led by Passaconnaway, the father of Wannalancit, who succeeded him and for whom this park is named.

Western Canal Park – along Western Canal – 4.00 acres – walkway. This green space borders the Western Canal which runs parallel and to the west of Dutton Street. The space was restored and rehabilitated by the National Park Service and the city of Lowell in the 1990s.

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This week on richardhowe.com:

Leo Racicot wrote about popular Lowell eateries of the 1960s;

Rev. Steve Edington shared his observations of last Saturday’s “No Kings” rally at Kerouac Park;

Emilie-Noelle Provost has her “Living Madly” essay for June;

Cameron DaCosta wrote an eye-opening account of his recent tour of the inside of the Smith Baker Center complete with detailed photos;

Louise Peloquin translated articles about traffic problems and Aiken Street and the Bridge Street bridge that appeared in 1924 in Lowell’s French-language newspaper, L’Etoile.