KIWANIS PARK
The Kiwanis Park is located on Park Street, Dover-Foxcroft, Maine
behind the Piscataquis Area Community Center
Kiwanis Park
The Kiwanis Park is maintained by the Kiwanis Club of Dover-Foxcroft.
The Park is open to the public daily and closes at sunset.
The Kiwanis Park is maintained by the Kiwanis Club of Dover-Foxcroft.
The Park is open to the public daily and closes at sunset.
Reserve the Gazebo
The Gazebo may be reserved for weddings, receptions, reunions and other community events. To reserve your event or for more information call either Cindy: 207-217-0963 or Barb: 207-717-3338
Enjoy your day at the Park
Visit our Gardens, Gazebo, Playground, Picnic Area and Fishing Pond.
KIWANIS PARK
History of Kiwanis Park, Dover-Foxcroft, Maineby Dr. David McDermott
An article to allow the establishment of the Kiwanis Park was approved at the Annual Town Meeting in Dover-Foxcroft in 1989. Kiwanis members, led in the charge by Kiwanian Ed Gilmore, worked tirelessly through the next two years to clear the land and create the park. The park was formally dedicated on July 1, 1991. In its dedication, commemorated in a granite monument in the park, it was dedicated to Henry Gerrish, a charter member of the club, and Mr. Gilmore. At the time of the dedication Ed received the “Maine Street 1990” Citation from Governor John McKernan for his leadership in building the park.
The Gazebo and Bandstand were built with the help of residents of Charleston Correctional Facility in the spring of 1989. This was initially located in what is now right field of the little league field here; when Steve and Debbie Boyd began building the little league field here in 2005-2006Kiwanis made plans to move the gazebo to its current location. The gazebo has been the site of many Kiwanis family events and recognitions. There have been dozens of weddings here. In 2022 the Club worked to make the gazebo fully handicapped accessible.
The staff and residents of CCF have also helped us with building picnic tables for the family picnic area. We have had to chain these to the ground in many cases as they proved to be too portable. We would find that tables would be great for a family one day then be in the skate park as a ramp the next, or used to allow kids to ride their bikes onto the gazebo. It is amazing how versatile a picnic table can be in the eyes of a creative student!
The gardens were a part of the park from the beginning. Started by the Kiwanis Club members, early assistance was given by Grace and Howard Furlong in planting the gardens and tending them. At one point they planted over 900 tulip bulbs in the gardens. After the Furlongs passed away a brass plaque honoring them was installed in the gardens. There have been several efforts to rebuild the gardens over the past twenty years. Local Boy Scouts have taken on parts of the garden maintenance and rebuilding as Eagle Scout Projects. The list of Kiwanians and community members who have dedicated countless hours rebuilding and maintaining the gardens is very long. We hope that you are able to enjoy the gardens in the park.
The original playground was made of pressure-treated wood and served kids well for its lifetime in Dover-Foxcroft. However, the durability of the wood in those park designs failed to be as good as expected. By the late 1990’s it became apparent that the wooden park was becoming a liability. Between 2000 and 2003 the Kiwanis Club, with generous grant support from the Piscataquis Public Health Council and the Maine Community Foundation, rebuilt the park with a series of new, safe, and non-wooden equipment. This revitalized the park and made it a center for families to return. The Kiwanis Club thanks Pleasant River Lumber for their ongoing support of the playground and the safety of the children who use it. When the wood chips wear down and need to be restocked they donate trailers full of chips for Kiwanians to move around the equipment and keep falls safe! The present equipment installed then is showing its age and in the mid 2020’s Kiwanians have begun studying the best way to preserve/replace/expand the equipment, with a goal to keep it safe and expand it to be welcoming to children of all abilities.
In the summer of 1996, after working with the DEP for several years and saving money for a major project the Kiwanis Club engaged Haley Construction to build the present dam in the stream. Actually consisting of two dams, one with variable water flow, this was a virtual engineering marvel compared to the earthen berm that it replaced. The remnants of the old dam remain in the pond just a few yards west of the current dam. This new dam kept water in place and allowed for more fish stocking by Inland Fish and Wildlife, but the pond itself was still a shallow bog.
In January of 2003 we were approached by Paul Johnson, the senior fisheries biologist from IFW in Greenville. He asked if we’d like to dredge the pond and make it deeper. We were able to secure a grant from the Maine Community Foundation which, when combined with club funds and generous donations of town trucks allowed us to deeply dredge the streambed in the entire park. This created deeper ponds which were more favorable to fish; the IFW began stocking the ponds several times a year and we have now become host to numerous “Hooked on Fishing” events every year.
Northern Light Mayo Hospital has promoted the marking of walking trails through the area, and central to these is the park. There are wooden steps from the hospital parking lot down to the park (another Eagle Scout project), walking bridges across the stream (each other Eagle Scout Projects), and well-marked trails along the old rail bed that connect to other walking trails in the region.
We want to make the park a positive and safe location for the families that use it. We have the gardens, the gazebo, the playground, the skate park, the ball field, and the pond. Kiwanis members have at least annual work dates in the park. Each year we cut undergrowth and lower limbs on the trees so that you can have line-of-site views throughout the park. This is an ongoing process, but through this we have made the park friendlier, safer, and more open for families to use and enjoy. The club welcomes you to the Park and hopes that you enjoy it. Please share with us thoughts you have for improvements! If you’d like to get more involved, consider joining the Kiwanis Club of Dover-Foxcroft—we welcome new members!
