Sawtell Park -- dedicating green space to an important Woodstock family

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 13^th 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 Points

Trail system from Dundas Street to Tecumseh Street