WARSAW, Ind. -- This week, Kosciusko County Commissioners voted unanimously to transfer ownership of the Chinworth Pavilion property near the Tippecanoe River, from the Historical Society to the county.
County Attorney Ed Ormsby told the commissioners, “We have a deed from the (Kosciusko) Historical Society for the Chinworth pavilion that’s near the Tippecanoe River. This is being transferred by the Historical Society to county so that the Parks can use it and maintain it. For that to happen, for the county to accept the property, we just need a motion to approve that acceptance.”
The property, trail, and river area are all near Chinworth Bridge and will make up the new park. The park will be called 'Old Chinworth Bridge Trailhead Park' and will be Kosciusko County's first park. The county has only had a parks and recreation department and board for about four years.
Officials are already considering improvements for the small park, which is about 1.5 acres, and runs alongside the Tippecanoe River and Old US 30. The Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Department and Board will work to seek grants to implement improvements and bridge repairs.
Aggie Sweeney, one of five appointed members of the Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board, said, “We’ve been working for a number of months on plans for the Chinworth Bridge park area, and appreciate that the Kosciusko Historical Society has been willing to turn that land over to the county.”
She said because of the trail that runs through it, and with the river also running through it, “it’s a really wonderful opportunity for us to develop it into a park for even more uses. And it also is historic. It’s the first park in our county.”
The Friends of Trails, a volunteer group, have already started doing work out there, she mentioned, to remove some of the invasive species and to help clean up the river shoreline. The Kosciusko County Highway Department also has been tremendous in helping with that, she stated.