Henderson officials say a $245,000 grant will allow the city to potentially add a splash pad, upgraded playground equipment or a play surface to Anthony Brooks Park.
The funding, announced at Tuesday’s Henderson City Commission meeting, came from the Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant.
A release from the city said officials expect the renovations to take up to three years at the Madison Street Park across the street from the John F. Kennedy Center.
The remainder of 2024 will be used to finalize designs for the park with hopes for a groundbreaking in 2025, said the release. The city will match the funds awarded by the LWCF grant.
The park is named for local civil rights activist Rev. Anthony Brooks, Sr.
A minister for over 50 years at Seventh Street Baptist Church, he served as president of both the Henderson and Evansville chapters of the NAACP, as well as the vice president of the Kentucky NAACP during the 1960s. Brooks marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Frankfort and Louisville, and locally, he organized sit-in campaigns to integrate Henderson restaurants.
He passed away at the age of 86 in September 2020.
Last year a group of local residents, including Brooks’ family members, and asked the city for upgrades and renovations to the park, said the release.
They told the story of Brooks’ life and requested the quality of the park reflect the many contributions he made to the Henderson community.
“Our family is grateful for the efforts of the officials and citizens of Henderson upgrading the Anthony Brooks Park,” said Rev. Adrian Brooks, Sr., son of Rev. Anthony Brooks and current pastor at Memorial Baptist Church in Evansville. “It will ensure that this fitting memorial and recreational area continues to honor this civil rights activist, educator, and community pastor. It makes us all proud to watch Henderson embrace his legacy of service.”