St. Cloud Parks; The Story Behind, Hester, Whitney and Seberger Parks

Hester Park is a park located on the north side of St. Cloud along the Mississippi River just south of the St. Cloud Hospital.  St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis joined me to talk about St. Cloud parks.  We focused today on Hester, Whitney, Seberger, Pantown and Centennial Parks.

Charles Gilman once owned the land where Hester Park is currently located.  He donated that land to the city in 1910.  Gilman served as Minnesota's 9th Lieutenant Governor from 1880-1887 and he was Speaker of the House from 1878-1879.  The town of Gilman is also named after Charles Gilman.  Gilman wife's name was Hester and when he donated the land the stipulation was that the park would be named after her.

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Dave Kleis says the shores of Hester Park, along the Mississippi River, were often used for swimming prior to the opening of the Municipal Pool.  He says the Works Progress Administration did plenty of granite work on that park between 1935-1943.  After the municipal pool was built a wading pool was put in the park.  That pool is no longer being used.  The St. Cloud Water Treatment facility is underground underneath a large part of the park.  The park has tennis courts and playground equipment.  It is also one of the most heavily used areas to watch the 4th of July fireworks.

Whitney Park is known for their softball, baseball and soccer fields but it wasn't always a park.  Mayor Kleis says the first airfield in St. Cloud was at Centennial Park but Whitney Park was the next location for the St. Cloud airport.  Kleis says the Whitney family owned the land prior to it becoming an airfield.  The Whitney family were some of the earliest settlers to Stearns County.  Albert and Alice Whitney were distinguished residents of St. Cloud in the early 1900s.  When Albert died the land was donated to the city of St. Cloud to be used as a recreational area or airfield.  It was an airport initially before coming a park.

The St. Cloud area YMCA and aquatic center and Whitney Senior Center are now a part of the expansive land along the Mississippi River on the north side of St. Cloud.  The Whitney Senior Center building used to be the hanger for planes when the location was used as an airfield.  Kleis explains the expectation is that an outdoor water feature will be added on the north side of the YMCA building within the next couple of years.

Centennial, Seberger and Pantown parks are all parks on the north side of St. Cloud. Kleis says the Seberger park was named after Peter J. Seberger.  He says Seberger is really the father of the modern park system in St. Cloud.  Seberger park has a wading pool, play equipment, tennis and basketball courts and ballfields.  Peter Seberger was the mayor of St. Cloud in the early 1900s.

Centennial Park was named in honor of the city's Centennial in 1956.  Pantown Park is a park located next to Madison Elementary in the Pantown neighborhood.  Kleis says some of the park land is owned by the school district.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Dave Kleis, it is available below.