Ribbon cutting ceremony officially creates new Woodstock park
By Mark Schadenberg
The ‘Square’ now has a name.
In 2018, the City of Woodstock purchased two parcels of
land from the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) and at the time
these green spaces were referred to as the ‘Square’ and the ‘Sliver’. In many
City reports, the Square was also referred to as P1, while the Sliver was P2.
Even though a sign can prominently be seen already on
Pittock Park Road noting Sawtell Park it wasn’t until yesterday (July 22) that
the Sawtell family gathered with members from the City of Woodstock staff and
council to officially cut a ribbon to dedicate the ‘Square’ as Sawtell Park. The
ceremony took place indoors at Cowan Sportsplex.
There are many family connections with the Sawtell surname and
Woodstock from an insurance and real estate business dating back to the 1800s,
and the fact that Roland Sawtell was Woodstock Mayor for two years, 1908 – 09.
Making this mayor connection even more significant is that Sawtell was the city’s
mayor at the time that it was decided Southside Park would be created from a
marsh surrounding Cedar Creek to become this community’s main parkland. Now, a mere 114
years later, the Sawtell name and other members of the family could celebrate
the family’s history with their own very deserving park naming.
R.G. Sawtell was a partner in the Roland Williams Sawtell
Insurance Agency at 527 Dundas St. from 1884 to 1912. Roland Williams Sawtell
started the insurance and real estate company in 1865 that eventually became
Sawtell Brothers, said a report to City Council two years ago. The two helped establish the Oxford Historical Society in
1897 and wrote extensively about local history, including the formation of the
city’s First Baptist Church
The
Sawtell Brothers operated from 1914 to 1972 and handled insurance, real estate,
loans and bonds before eventually amalgamating with Jamieson-Hilts Insurance
Brokers in 1985 (Today is the Insurance Store in Cedarwood Plaza).
By the way, by my count Sawtell becomes the 13th
mayor with a park in his name – see the list below. It was in March of 2019
that City Council passed a motion for park naming – a motion made by Sandra
Talbot and Deb Tait.
Sawtell Park is located between Pittock Park Road, Summit
Crescent, Meadow Wood Lane and the current trail which begin the Hickson Trail.
There is a map attached here somewhere.
The UTRCA became interested in selling both land parcels to
the City because Woodstock parks and recreation has been studying for many
years the exact connectivity of trails, which translates into a track or loop around
Pittock, so the Sliver (62 acres) became an important piece of the puzzle as it
runs parallel to the CPR railway tracks and is on the north side on the Pittock
Conservation Area, so it is also essentially an easement where homes could
never be built anyway. The Sliver also included a wetland which today features
a stunning (award-winning) curved bridge over it.
As for our subject today, the Square is essential also required
in creating connected trails beyond the City limits as groups such as the
Oxford County Trails Council are weaving nature walks from Beachville to
Woodstock, and in this case Woodstock to Hickson (also a former train line
which is fully inside East Zorra-Tavistock township for maintenance / geographic
purposes).
Sawtell Park is 26 acres in size. The City’s press release
back in 2018 noted that the community had gained a 21% increase in total park
size with this transaction with the UTRCA. The vision for the future is serene
trail space – so no playground equipment or basketball rims.
The addition of these 2 park parcels was also significant,
as noted by parks and recreation director Brian Connors, because of the amount
of refuse which had gathered over the years. For the UTRCA, neither property
fit into its long-term mandate and the City could certainly control any flood
plain hazard that might exist. For the City it was a terrific opportunity to
clean up 2 areas which could sprout a healthy nature respite in City
boundaries.
“This will definitely add trails. As
Woodstock continues to grow, this will be a very nice green space in the city.
This type of space will become more valuable to enjoy nature as we get more
urban. I think this will be very good going forward to have this available,”
said Connors in a Sentinel-Review story from 2018.
By the way, even without owning the land, the
UTRCA maintains its mandate for flood control and even tree coverage as an
opportunity to improve or certainly maintain the environment. While Paul Butler
is the Woodstock arborist, the UTRCA has a ‘Natural Woodland Cover’ report it
compiles for the entire watershed.
The Pittock Conservation Area is over 2,000 acres. The
south shore of the Gord Pittock Reservoir already features many great trails
through Roth Park and then westward beyond to Burgess Park and County Road 11 (Or Dundas
Street in the west end of Woodstock). With an agreement with the City of
Woodstock, the day-use park area on the north shore which is a significant green
space is free (with activities ranging from disc golf to canoe launching to a
splash pad) and the access over the Pittock Dam has been open for 3 years now.
It’s all about fresh air, nature, clean recreation spaces, accessibility in all
manners, physical activity, and preserving green spaces.
I write proudly about the Sawtell Park naming as I’m both a
member of Woodstock City Council and a board member for the UTRCA.
Enjoy your trails !
www.cityofwoodstock.ca
www.thamesriver.on.ca
www.oxfordcountytrailscouncil.ca
https://www.tourismoxford.ca/Portals/Tourism/Documents/pdf/2018-OxfordOutdoors-Map-Lo.pdf
www.tourismoxford.ca
https://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/news/local-news/council-briefs-expenses-remuneration-released-park-named-tenders-awarded
FACEBOOK: City Of Woodstock, Ontario
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Mark Schadenberg
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
(519) 537-1553
MAYOR PARKS –
Hugh Richardson, William Grey, Joseph Sudsworth, James Kintrea, Thomas Cottle,
Homer Brown, John McWhinnie, James Sutherland, Donald Thomson, Bill Dutton,
Trevor Slater, Les Cook
MAYOR
STREETS – Henry (and John) Finkle, William Wilson, Robert Revell, Thomas Parker,
Warren Totten, John Grant, Arthur Francis, Dennis Karn, Malcolm Douglas, James
Hay, Richard Knight, John Butler, AB Welford, Jack Sales, Charles Hayball,
Edward McKenzie, Bernadette Smith,
Charlie Tatham, Bill Dutton, James Hutchinson, Wendy Calder, Joseph Pember,
Margaret Munnoch. Joh Geoghegan, Pat Sobeski, Michael Harding.
Reference PointsTrail system from Dundas Street to Tecumseh Street
