Residents and city leaders joined members of the Tryon Palace Foundation this week for the dedication of a new community park in downtown New Bern.
The Tryon Palace Foundation recently announced that property at the corner of S. Front Street and Craven Street that was purchased from the city by Trent Woods resident Betty Wilson had been donated to the foundation. Wilson requested that the donation be recognized as given by herself and her late husband, William G. Wilson, and that the property be developed as a park and green space for art, education, and community programs.
During the April 25 dedication ceremony, Jim Congleton, Tryon Palace commissioner, thanked Wilson for her gift to the citizens of New Bern.
“Your husband must be looking down with the biggest smile on his face knowing what you have done here and the potential to make everyone in this town very happy,” he remarked.
Congleton said Wilson Park would be a wonderful addition of greenspace for Tryon Palace, the city and its visitors.
“We’re hopeful that planning for this wonderful space will begin very quickly,” he commented.
Jeannie Tyson, president of the Tryon Palace Foundation, said the development of Wilson park would be determined by the foundation’s board of directors. She said a special committee would be formed to find the best use for the property, possibly as a “site for educational programming and greenspace benefitting the New Bern community.”
“We’re excited about the many opportunities that this offers us,” Tyson said. “She (Wilson) has set an exemplary example of how to give back to a community.”
According to Tyson, since 1959 Tryon Palace has had close to 4 million visitors and educates around 10,000 school children each year.
“You ask yourself if that makes a difference in our community, yes it does,” Tyson commented.
The Wilson Park dedication also featured presentations by historical re-enactors. The posting of colors was performed by the 35th United States Colored Troops, while the Fife and Drum Corps, 1st Regiment N.C. Continental Line handled the opening procession and the firing of muskets that closed the event.
Wilson, who attended Tuesday’s ceremony, said she believed her late husband would be happy with her decision.
“I gave it a lot of thought,” she said. “One day I was reading something in the newspaper about Tryon Palace and I thought, ‘Hmm, that sounds like a good place to make my donation.’”
By Todd Wetherington, co-editor. Send an email with questions or comments.