Greeley Park

Greeley Park is a public park in Nashua, New Hampshire, United States, occupying 125 acres (51 ha) extending from the Merrimack River, across Concord Street, to Manchester Street. The property was originally bought in 1801 by Joseph Greeley, who passed it on to his son after his death. The land was deeded to the city of Nashua in 1896 by Joseph Thornton Greeley, the grandson of the original Joseph Greeley.[1][2] In 1908, John E. Cotton[3] donated $5000, an amount that was "matched by city funds", to change the Greeley Farm into a public park. The money was used to create a "stone and cement rest house, a fountain, a shallow pond, a gravel walk, and flower beds".[2]

A German howitzer from World War I is located in the park

Entrance to Greeley Park, from a c. 1920 postcard

Greeley Park hosts many citywide events, such as the Fairy Tale Festival, Art Show, and Halloween "Fright Night", and is a traditional photogenic place for prom night for Nashua High School South and North. On a smaller scale, at the bandstand in the spring and summer there are plays, movies and music festivals.[4] The park also features hiking trails, horseshoe pits, ball fields, tennis courts, a community gardening section, and the only, if decrepit, boat ramp on the west side of the Merrimack River between the Massachusetts border and the first rapids in New Hampshire.

At the northern boundary of the park, near the river, the park is dealing with the threat of creosote contamination that flows from the closed nearby historic railroad tie plant.[5][6]

During September 1999, American politician John McCain officially announced his candidacy for president of the United States to a crowd of around one thousand in Greeley Park, beginning his first presidential campaign.[7]

During June 2020, Black Lives Matter hosted a vigil for George Floyd that was attended by over 1,000 people[8]

References
  1. Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration (1938). New Hampshire: A Guide to the Granite State. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 216. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
  2. Trustees of the Hunt Building (1999). Nashua: In Time and Place. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 9, 121. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  3. "Gift of $5000 for Park Improvement ", Nashua Telegraph, 25 March 1908: 1+.
  4. nh.com: Greeley Park gears up for second Music and Film Festival
  5. "Find New England Sites - BEAZER EAST". EPA.gov. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
  6. "Jay Cashman Environmental: Beazer Site Remediation- Nashua, New Hampshire". Jay Cashman, Inc. Archived from the original on 2010-09-07. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
  7. Alexander, Paul (2004). Man of the people : the life of John McCain. New York: Wiley. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-471-47545-3.
  8. Callery, Tim (June 6, 2020). "Hundreds in Nashua come together for Black Lives Matter vigil". WMUR. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
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