Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-02-07
ONE ACRE Of PARK HERE
FOR EVERY 1856 PERSONS
Sixty Per Cont OF Our Open
Acres, Valued at ST 600. 600,
Donated to the City.

The fact that Wilmington owns and
maintains sss acres Of public parks
will he surprising information to our
people who may not have given especial
thought to the matter. nor to have
considered the number of play and
recreation places that are open to the
public Few cities of the country have
more land set apart for the benefit of
the public. and certainly there Is no
othey playground so beautiful as
Rrandywine Park. that indeed seems
ike an exquisite revelation of nature
NJ her hest. In the spring or fall sea-
this stretch of water and wood
vistas that have made the Brandywine
is indeed Incompatible: it is such
vistss that have made the Brandywine
scenery famous.
IL is perhaps likewise surprising to
know that the value of our park lands
has been recently appraised at s1.49S,-
900. that donated TO the city represent
ing moro than 100000 of the aggre-
gate valuation Indeed only 40 per
cent Of our more than square mile of
rark land was acquired by purchase.
the remainder coming as gifts from
about a dozen of our citizens. OF these
generous gifts. 2s5 acres. or 80 per
cent We're donated to the city by VIII
liam =. Bancroft. and 129 acres. or
:: per cent. were the gifts of Pierre
: du Font and Irenee du Pone, the
second largest donors The other
donors We're the Lobdell Car Wheel Co.
William NJ Field. Clement + Smyth.
samuel PanCroftt. il. William Bead
enkopf George Pepper Norris. Howard
peHaven Ross. and there may be one
ur two others. that a more careful
search Of the Park Commissioners old
records might disclose
In the Is years since 1884 our park
.ec has more than doubled II was
then - acres. The city has likewise
,Npandod her boundaries almost At the
same ratio until today it covers 5.757
acres. an increase of 3.237 acres. giving
ne acre of open or park and for every
-. acres Of the city. Since 1894 our
population has increased from $4,000
IT, l10.l6S. 50 We have an acre of open
~nacc for every l6S persons. II like
NIsc may he interesting to know that
taere arc supervised Fairgrounds.
baseball fields. six fields whereon
taofhall MAY ~ played. ~ Tor tennis.
BASKET hall field and four swimming
i'ools one section al the city can
nardly rais. The objection that another
Is more favored With these open
spaces for they are pretty eQuitably
distributed
Probably the central point Of interest
lu ous system IS thc surprising big
tesS and diversified beauties Of the
nau x contiguous parks in the
.randywine- Eocklani section These
4u The aggregate cover q trific more
nan 3>t acres. including the North
t.randywirc Park Of lGe acres. South
i'randywine i'ark. = acres kentmere
'arkway and Rockford Grove, 10 acres;
l,ockford Park. 50 acres and AlapoCas
Woods Of 10s acres. 1t is these beauti-
ful acres that give such a charm and
Nariety in scenic beauty. and are of
course the most conspicuous of All our
open spaces for recreation.
The beautiful park that follows the
course Of the Brandywine for more than
q mile above Market street was the
parent the father or mother Of our
present system. This tract was ac-
uired hy purchase after long and
r1ther bitter contention in City Council
Ia lss6-s7. al cost Of about s15O,00O
It was the first Of ON public parks
and many remember the opposition
hat the proposed purchase aroused
and the cries Of extravaganza that tfle
hr,al purchase evoked. II probobly is
Conceded however at this time that
the Brandywine Park is one Of VII
inington's best assets. Its value has
more than doubled in the years since
The city acquired it.
OF course. everybody remembers the
active interest maintained by William
~ Candy in the Inauguration and the
sontinuance of our parks and his in
; sstence that the acreage be augmented,
md the grounds increasingly beautihed,
nd he fairly won the title of the
Father OF Wilmington Parks" that
was bestowed upon him by friends Of
The movement who watched the de-
1eloprnent Of these beautiful lands IN
der his care and the increasing interest
of the public in these breathing spaces
IN the beautiful outdoors. thus stimu
lated
other early workers in the same
field are.--or were. for many OF them
have passed on-William P. Bancroft.t
who az noted before. has given richly Of
land and money and his time 10 build
ing UP our parks-until he too might
be referred 70 as the real practical head
and sponsor OF the splendid system Of
recreation spaces. in the sun and air.
Henry A. du Pont also was active in
the work in the earlier days, as was
Thomas F. Bayard, Joseph L. Carpen-
ter. Jr, Dennis J. Mention. Samuel Ban
croft. Jr.. J. Taylor Cause, George W.
Lush snd J. Newlin Gawthrop. VIII
liam NJ. Candy was one OF the early
presidents Of the board of commission
ers--the first-and Joseph A. Richard
son was long secretary and treasurer.
II was. indeed difficult 10 bring the
public TO a realization OF the advantages
and benefits TO be derived from public
parks when the movement for such
was first set afoot, and IL required
persistent pressure from such an en-
thusiastic advocate as Mr.. Candy. and
from such a wise and patient Leader as