If you have stopped by Columbia’s Citizens Park recently to spend some time in the nature trail or let your dog socialize, you may have noticed the work being done. Cranes, trucks, and workers have been a constant presence the last few weeks as renovations continue.
Next to the picnic shelter, a restroom complex is being constructed. The foundation is finished and more supplies are at the park and ready to be used to complete the structure. Sporadic and extreme weather conditions have set progress back on the restrooms though city employees Terry Moore and Craig Lasley believe they will be finished within the next month or so.
But the largest construction and renovation progress is being carried out just to the left of the restrooms.
Five years ago, during the summer of 2020, a historic building burned down at what is now the Citizens Park. The Hurt/Foust House was noted for its Civil War connection as it was in close proximity to the Battle of Tebbs Bend. The house was originally intended to be the site of a museum in the future.
Now, its foundation is all that remains. The home’s outline, formed by bricks and rubble, is still visible at the Citizens Park. This will, in the near future, serve as the base for a pavilion-like building that Mayor Hoots likens to a barndominium.
“We approved to apply for a grant…We met with someone who is going to help us with a possible design,” Hoots said. “We are looking at possibly the front of it having a door like a house, but when you come around the side, it will have a decorative garage door… We’re trying to make it all blend in. (Barndominiums) are really pretty.”
Hoots says she hopes the development on the Hurt/Foust House will be completed by summer 2026, though as the city explores grants and funding opportunities, this date is very tentative.
Additionally, dead and dangerous trees are being cut down. Hoots says she expects to plant more in the future as work continues to progress on the park.
“There is a lot more stuff to do since nothing is done up here,” Lasley said, comparing the newer Citizens Park to the other city parks.
While work continues on the park and more is planned, the park has come a long ways from when it opened only two years ago. Last fall, a street light was added to the parking lot to help with safety concerns. Then, last November, the road and parking lot were blacktopped.
The new restrooms and pavilion area may not be the end of construction at the park. With more improvements and renovations potentially bringing in more parkgoers, another area that Hoots cited for potential development was increasing the amount of parking space. Though, even with these additions, she does not want to distract from the natural world that draws people to the park in the first place.
“One of the things we are looking for—possibly this summer—is trying to do like a concert in the park in some form or fashion, but that will probably be in the front. We want to make it so it’s more of a nature park really,” Mayor Hoots stated.
By Kenley Godby
kenley@adairvoice.com
