July 4th Community Celebration and the Rumsey Park Project

The Rotary club of Shepherdstown WV is spearheading an effort to revive an historic local park that had fallen into disuse. Shepherdstown's Rumsey Memorial Park, a 2.6-acre tract atop a cliff overlooking the Potomac River, was finished in 1915. It contains a 75-foot-high granite monument honoring local inventor James Rumsey, who conducted pioneering steamboat experiments in the river below in 1787. The State of West Virginia maintained the park until the early 1960s, when the property was turned over to a local "Rumseyan Society" for care and maintenance. The Society did its best to maintain the park for nearly 45 years but in 2007 finally deeded it to the Town of Shepherdstown. The last 95 years have not been kind to the park or its monument.  The magnificent views of the Potomac River from the park and monument were nearly totally blocked during the growing season by encroaching foliage. Weather and vandalism have taken their toll as well. Sections of the monument base railing and limestone wall around the perimeter of the park are damaged and/or missing. In addition, as tree and shrub growth was left unchecked, the available grassland and open area continued to shrink. With less and less open space available for citizen use, visitations to this park space continued to decrease.

Earlier this year, the Rotary Club approached the town with a plan to halt the deterioration of this historic local park, and to make it more attractive and accessible to residents and visitors. The town embraced the plan and, together, the Rotary Club and the town's Parks and Recreation Committee have so far accomplished the following:

• New signs have been erected to direct walking traffic to the park.
• Electrical service has been extended to the park for the first time, so events can be held there.
• Trees and bushes around the base of the Rumsey Monument have been cut back to improve the views from the monument and also make the monument itself more visible.
•  Trees and bushes along the park's riverside have also been trimmed back, to provide an unobstructed view of the river.
•  Trees within the park have been pruned to allow more airflow and sunlight while still providing shade.

On July 4, the Rotary Club and the Parks and Recreation Committee cosponsored a community picnic and concert at the park to showcase the improvements undertaken so far. The event was a great success; hundreds of people attendedundefined including some long-time local residents who had never even visited the park before.

Looking ahead, further improvements are planned for the future. "We will strive to restore Rumsey Park to its original splendor of open, breathtaking views with pristine landscaping, and draw it closer to the pulse of the town," said Carl Moore, who is chairing the Club's park-improvement effort. "We envision a multi-year effort that will have many partners." "This park has been underutilized for too long," said Club President Doug Alexander. "We look forward to continuing to help the town revitalize it."