Payton Baggett Reporting
pbaggett@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Montgomery County Government celebrated the first of two phases in the completion of RichEllen Park with a public Groundbreaking Ceremony the morning of July 30.
Several Montgomery County Commissioners, Sheriff John Fuson, Mayor Carolyn Bowers, and other county officials were present at the event.
The park, located off Highway 149 in the Palmyra area just two miles past Hilltop Market, is being developed on 50 acres of land purchased in 2010 from Annette Hoffman Tinnin and her husband. The park is named in memory of Tinnin’s parents, Richard and Ellen Henry Hoffman, who were both natives of Clarksville.
The contract for excavation on the site is with Jones Brothers Inc. of Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
RichEllen is now undergoing a stage of grating and drainage work, while the second stage will introduce features including a pavilion and baseball complex of eight fields.
Andrew Johnson, the lead designer of the project said that the site will be “ultimately a first class and high character facility unlike many that you will see…something that the county will really appreciate and enjoy for years to come.”
“This whole community is extremely excited, and this is a unique piece of land because of the way it lays,” Mayor Bowers said. “For the whole county it’s going to be a great complex for baseball, softball, and a park that will also have playground space, walking trails, and picnic areas. It’s something that will be new to this side of the county especially, since there are no other parks on the south side of Montgomery County.”
Mayor Bowers also commented on the natural beauty of the RichEllen, saying, “When you come up, it plateaus off into a beautiful scene, as you can see, with a beautiful view, many miles away, surrounded with trees and forestry, so it looks fabulous.”