Wilcox Park () is a park and

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

located at 44 High Street, Westerly, Rhode Island. It is open to the public from dawn to 9 pm, without fee, and has been on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

since 1973 as Wilcox Park Historic District. The historic district includes 84 houses/buildings of the neighborhood surrounding the park covering a area, including the main post office and library within the town of Westerly.

History

Wilcox Park was the 1898 bequest of Harriet Wilcox, widow of Stephen Wilcox. The latter invented the non-explosive boiler and founded, along with fellow West'lyan Herman Babcock, the giant engineering firm of Babcock & Wilcox, and was a major funder of the Romanesque Westerly Library, which faces the park and was built in 1892. Wilcox Park was designed in 1898 by

Warren H. Manning Warren Henry Manning (November 7, 1860–February 5, 1938) was an American landscape designer and promoter of the informal and naturalistic "wild garden" approach to garden design. In his designs, Manning emphasized pre-existing flora through a ...

, who had been until 1896 an associate of

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...

, and originally dominated by plants native to the region. However, in the 1960s efforts began to develop the park as an arboretum. Current specialties include a dwarf

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

garden,

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

garden, garden of the senses, and

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

garden, set off by fine Westerly granite masonry designed by landscape architect

Arthur Shurcliff Arthur Asahel Shurcliff (1870–1957) was a noted American landscape architect. Born Arthur Asahel Shurtleff, he changed his last name in 1930 in order, he said, to conform to the "ancient spelling of the family name". After over 30 years of success ...

in 1929–1930. The park contains a number of monuments and memorials including the Wilcox Memorial Fountain (1930), designed by John Francis Paramino and given in honor of Harriet and Stephen Wilcox. One tree was planted in memory of boxing champion Rocky Marciano. Today, Wilcox Park is privately operated by the Westerly Library and Wilcox Park's board of trustees. Both paid staff and volunteers are responsible for the upkeep of the grounds. In 2006 the board announced a plan to restore the park's original character by replacing the many walkways and the aging path lights. The park is the location of the Summer Pops by the

Chorus of Westerly The Chorus of Westerly is a 190-voice chorus based in Westerly, Rhode Island. It is one of the few choruses in the United States that has children singing alongside adults for every performance of its season (regardless of work or difficulty). Mem ...

(since 1980) and the Shakespeare in the Park productions by the Colonial Theatre.

Gallery

File:Granite Theater, 1 Granite Street, Westerly.jpg, The Granite Theater, formerly the Broad Street Christian Church (1849) File:Old Town Hall from southeast, 10 Union Street, Westerly.jpg, Old Town Hall (1874) File:2021 Westerly Memorial and Public Library 1.jpg, The Westerly memorial and Public Library (1894, 1924) File:Christ Church 2, Westerly.jpg, Christ Church (1905) File:Town Hall and Court House, Westerly.jpg, The Town Hall and Court House (1912) File:South County Public Service Company Building, 53-55 High Street, Westerly.jpg, The South County Public Service Building (c.1920s)

References

External links

Wilcox Park
from the Westerly Library {{Authority control Arboreta in Rhode Island Botanical gardens in Rhode Island Westerly, Rhode Island Protected areas of Washington County, Rhode Island Historic districts in Washington County, Rhode Island Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island 1898 establishments in Rhode Island Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links