There's plenty to see and do in Peterson Park's acres

Tag: Wall Switch

One never knows what sights are in Peterson Park as it enters its busy season.

There might be children turning the World War II Stuart tank cannon into a jungle gym as laughing adults capture the scene on a camera.

Young lovers might be tying the knot in the gazebo by the tall Peterson House. A gray-haired man might be horseshoe pitching to young people under the shade of bowing cottonwoods.

A hawk could be stalking a squirrel as the energetic furball browses through the garbage cans for a snack while crows wait to pick up leftovers. Or woodpeckers might be rattling away on the many trees or even manmade structures.

 “I’ve seen a hawk under a picnic table keeping his eye on a squirrel. And you might have crows looking for food out of the barrels and then squirrels digging and dropping it on the ground.

“And I’ve heard a woodpecker beating his head on the steel poles at the ball diamond. That’s a lot of rattling. It’s really comical some days out here,” said Mattoon Parks, Lakes and Cemetery Superintendent Kurt Stretch, who has overseen the city park system for nearly 20 years.

Peterson is the most diverse city park with so many options for fun on a given summer day that it is a major destination for people during the warm-weather months. Some come for the ballgames at Grimes Field, or for family gatherings at the pavilion or a quick round at the miniature golf course. Others enjoy a fitness walk on the curving park roadway or a quiet shaded lunch break.

“People compliment us on the openness of the park. They like the picnic tables and how they can relax here,” said Stretch.

The park’s link to the city goes to 1890 when Judge Abner M. Peterson willed the acres and house as a gift to Mattoon. The then-rural acres were annexed to the city in 1903 and in coming years a bandstand, fountain, wading pool and playground were all added. The rest is R&R history in Mattoon.

The Peterson House dates back to the 1880s, making it the oldest manmade structure in the park. The brick house now houses the Mattoon Chamber of Commerce office, renovated as a historic welcome center to the community.

But years ago, the house was the residence for park superintendents and their families. It was saved from decay by local volunteers associated with Friends of Peterson House.