DANVILLE — In May 1908, the Mahoning Presbyterian English Congregation North (Grove Presbyterian Church) offered and donated a lot of land, formerly known as the Presbyterian Cemetery, to Danville as a public park.
The agreement stated the land must be used as a public park, no portion could be sold or leased, no road or alley could be built through the park and no alcohol could be sold on the grounds or within two squares.
The town council went about preparing the land for a park. The ground was filled, leveled and seeded. Trees were planted, and sidewalks put in place.
Danville’s civic pride emerged, and competitions throughout the 4th Ward began over flower beds.
Area merchants donated vases and flowers. Mrs. John Bennett, of Castle Grove, donated two iron benches and cast iron urns. Frank DeLong donated a flag pole for the park and gave instructions to a store owner to replace the flag every year and give the old one to a fire company.
Since the 1800s, the Civil War veterans had been raising funds for a Civil War monument, and the new park seemed like the logical site.
The Montour County commissioners gave $5,000 toward the monument, and the balance was raised by the public.
With James Foster as committee chairman, the monument took shape. It was to be an obelisk, 73 feet in height. On four sides were the figures of an infantryman, an artilleryman, a cavalryman and the Goddess of Peace. Four granite balls, three feet in diameter, were placed on each corner of the base. Two cannons, relics of the Civil War, stood guard until donated to the war effort for scrap metal in September 1942. Lights made at the Danville Foundry & Manufacturing Co. were erected on May 24, 1909.
Today, a few of the original lamp posts stand in Danville’s Riverfront Park. The dedication of the Civil War monument was held on May 31, 1909. The park was filled with thousands of people, schoolchildren waved flags and Thomas J. Stewart, adjutant general of Pennsylvania, made the dedication address.
As years went by, Danville residents dedicated other monuments to the brave men and women who defended their country in wars. Blocks of granite from Vermont support bronze tablets with the names of World War I Montour County soldiers and are topped with an eagle with outspread wings. This monument was placed beside the county courthouse and later moved to Memorial Park.
On July 4, 1925, the Spanish-American War monument was unveiled at the western entrance of the park and dedicated to those who fought in the war. It depicts a life-size Spanish-American soldier, “The Hiker,” mounted on a granite boulder.
In 1936, Danville was honored to be able to procure a small piece of metal from the USS Battleship Maine, which was destroyed in Havana Harbor in February 1898. This became another monument in Danville. Another relic was procured from the Naval Department, a piece of armor plate from the USS Monitor Montauk, a battleship in commission during the Civil War. This piece was set in concrete on the shaft of the memorial and was placed near Riverfront Park. It was moved in 1934 to the old Petriken Cemetery, across the alley from the eastern end of the park, and in 2008, American Legion Post 40 restored and moved this monument into Memorial Park.
Another world war occurred, and once again, Danville citizens proudly served their country. In 1949, another monument to honor those who served in World War II was dedicated at the climax of a three-day affair on July 4. A stone monument with columns and a dome-shaped top holds six bronze plaques inscribed with the 1,600 veterans’ names, and a white marble slab contains the 51 names of who gave the ultimate sacrifice and did not make it home.
A memento from this ceremony was a 36-page booklet containing the names of the living and dead who served their country. With the funds remaining for the erection of this monument, a marker with a bronze tablet that tells the story of the gift of Amos Wickersham, the cemetery and the park was set at the Bloom Street entrance of the park.
The first set of plaques honoring the men and women who served in Korea and Vietnam was dedicated on Memorial Day 1986. When it was learned that some names were missing, another plaque was dedicated in May 1989.
The first night watchman and caretaker of the park was John Marshall, and his successor was Joseph Law. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Raymie Diehl took care of the park. Rain or shine, he would push his wheelbarrow around keeping the park spotless. For many years, Raymie would not take pay for his work. Today, borough employees maintain the park.
The park is a source of pride to the people of Danville. Benches sit throughout the park, two World War II howitzers stand along Bloom Street and many of the old trees still stand to shade those who visit. During the summer months, Memorial Park is used for concerts and events during the Iron Heritage Festival. Scout troops and members of other civic organizations plant flowers and help keep the park beautiful throughout the year.
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