M.U.P.D. HISTORY

            Orion Stover donated approximately 4 acres of land to the village of Milledgeville in the 1960’s. The local JayCees worked tirelessly in the effort to form a park district. In September of 1969 the Milledgeville Unit Park District was established. Stover Park was purchased from the village for a nominal fee. The rest is history. Thirty one and a half years of history to be exact. The park district boundaries include 75 miles of area and over 2000 residents. There have been 27 board members and 156 employees over the years. The board meetings were held in the Milledgeville Veterinary Clinic and Village Hall until 1972. At that point the board of commissioner purchased 30 acres of the former Bushman farm and the Tot Lot. There is now a park on each edge of the residential portion of Milledgeville. The major design and construction of the ball diamonds, tennis court and shelters was completed by 1974. The park district office was housed in the old Victorian home on the Bushman property until it was razed for improvements.  A contest was held to name the new big park. It was won by Sam Baughman with the name of Millwheel Park. Office space was rented in the Satin and Lace building and Marlin Trotters building for nearly the next decade. The park district office and meeting room for the board of commissioners finally had a permanent, rent free space with the purchase of Hazelwood Court in the mid ‘80s. A myriad of programs have been attended over the 3 decades. Some of the more popular programs are as follows: Kid’s Rec., Men’s Sunday Night Basketball, Basketball and Football Skills Programs, Soccer, Conditioning and Aerobics, Tot Time, Adult Bicycling (average age 65 with 3 wheelers), horseshoe pitching, archery, swimming, free movies on the library lawn, golf lessons, weightlifting, adult crafts and tennis. I am sure I missed many. But you get the idea. Activity popularity has an ebb and flow and we try to offer programs that are currently of interest. If there is something you are interested in participating in or teaching please complete and return the survey included in this site. It’ll be a walk in the park!

 

         

             Millwheel Roadway Before              Millwheel Roadway After

          

            Tennis Court Before                         Tennis Court After