47 Parks
932.817 acres
Read about the history of each park
William S. Yeck, Founder and Chief Architect of the Park District
"We want to see a great open space community in Washington Township. We want something better than house after house after house. We want to preserve streams from becoming concrete drainage ditches. We want to take excess land and make it public land."
Bill Yeck
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Neighborhood Park
► 5 to 10 acres
► for use by the people who live near it
► no lights or planned events
► closes at dark
► has a playground, landscaping, drinking fountain and a meadow
► each park has it's own personality
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Community Park
► is 20 to 30 acres
► has a parking lot
► is lighted
► has planned programs day and night
► is an athletic facility with ball diamonds, soccer fields, tennis courts
► a lot of open space to run around in
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Nature Park
► has very little development other than trails and bridges
► it preserves the trees and woodlands, the streams and creeks
► it preserves the natural environment and the animals and species of plants that it draws
1 Setting the Stage
As housing development moved south in Montgomery County, the residents of Washington Township realized that there were no zoning laws in place and they found themselves in a position to not only control the development but shape the township as they wanted.
The Village of Centerville covered 2 1/2 square miles in the early 1950s. The unincorporated part of Washington Township, which covered 30 square miles, was 90% farm land. That open space included beautiful countryside, many natural wooded areas and a network of creeks and streams. In 1952, Montgomery County brought the public water line into the township, making the area ready for development, both housing and commercial. The residents were very worried that the developers would buy entire farms and cut the acreage into small lots. There were no township zoning controls nor plans for development. And there were no plans to leave open space or create parks.
A Committee of 100, led by resident William S. Yeck, was formed to promote the adoption of the Montgomery County zoning regulations. In May 1953, the first zoning law was set in place and solved the initial concern. But the county zoning laws were more permissive and allowed the subdivision of land into 50-foot lots which was smaller than the township people envisioned. The residents were also concerned about the development of trailer courts, heavy industry, and commercial development. By researching the law, the committee learned that they could design their own zoning plan which would then be approved by the voters.
A Zoning Commission was created with William Newill, chairman, Ethel Winterhalter, secretary, Mars Nafe, Dale Martin, Robert Easton, and Bill Yeck, who was asked to form a committee and draft a resolution. Bill and his committee did extensive research and then drafted the zoning resolution using ideas from other suburban communities with low-density occupancy, and some of the latest concepts of development. It was unique in Montgomery County. It called for...
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minimum lot sizes of one-half acre
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requirements for parks within a half mile of every home
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landscaped buffer strips around tree-shaded parking lots
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strict limitations on the size of business signs
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the elimination of billboards
This new and innovative resolution became public in the spring of 1956 and the job of creating a unique community began. The Montgomery County Builders Association attacked the plan, the Montgomery County Planning Commission opposed the resolution, a Dayton Daily News editorial said that one-half acre lots was an unreasonably strict limitation, and a group of residents against the resolution formed the Washington Township Homeowners. Residents in favor of the plan formed the Committee of 500 which grew to the Committee of 1000. The Kettering-Oakwood Times supported the plan and told the residents "Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes." In the February 7, 1957 election 1,184 residents voted for the proposal and 651 voted against.
2 A Park District - Parks of all different sorts were just what a family-oriented, open space-minded community needed. A Park District was formed but Ohio law allowed only one park per township. It was up to the residents to get the law changed.
3 Density Zoning - Something new had to be put in place to accomplish their vision and the Open Space Committee came up with an original idea.
4 Against the Tide of Controversy - Like all new concepts, density zoning had to be put to the test. Did it work in the real world?
5 Township Zoning Amendments - "We have an opportunity to establish a great open space community and density zoning is a means to accomplish it."
6 The commissioners, staff, and volunteers - The people behind the parks.
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The Park District has 10 to 15 Scout projects a year, like this bat box at Black Oak Park.
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As each neighborhood park was developed it received a t-swing, sandbox, and swinging gate.
Now, each park has been updated with newer, and more safety-compliant pieces.
Each time a new playground is planned, research in done to see what new and unique pieces are available.A lesson was learned to always include swings.
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The first dog park for the Park District is a howling success!
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Tricentennial Time Trail shows how a field turns into a forest
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There are three school and park
combinations working together:
•John Hole School and Woodbourne Springs,
•Watts Middle School, Normandy School and Grant Park
•Primary Village North and Village South Park
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Forest Field Park is an arboretum, as well as a field for sports, with 14 varieties of evergreens and 41 species of deciduous trees.