Greeley Park
Encyclopedia
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
, United States, occupying 125 acres (50.6 ha) extending from the Merrimack River
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
, across Concord Street, to Manchester Street. The property was originally bought in 1801 by Joseph Greeley, who passed it on to his son after his death. The land was deeded to the city of Nashua in 1896 by Joseph Thornton Greeley, the grandson of the original Joseph Greeley. In 1908, John E. Cotton donated $5000, an amount that was "matched by city funds", to change the Greeley Farm into a public park. The money was used to create a "stone and cement rest house, a fountain, a shallow pond, a gravel walk, and flower beds".
Greeley Park hosts many citywide events, such as the Fairytale Festival, Art Show, and Halloween "Fright Night", and is a traditional photogenic place for prom night for Nashua High School South
Nashua high school south
Nashua High School South is a public high school located in Nashua, New Hampshire. The school's current location was erected in 1975 with its first class graduating in June 1976. The school was remodeled between 2002 and 2004 when a second school, Nashua High School North, was built...
and North
Nashua High School North
Nashua High School North is a public high school located in Nashua, New Hampshire. The school's current location was erected in 2002 with its first class graduating in June 2005, one year after the city's high schools officially split into two locations and establishments...
. On a smaller scale, at the bandstand
Bandstand
A bandstand is a circular or semicircular structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts...
in the spring and summer there are plays, movies and music festivals. The park also features hiking trails, horseshoe pits
Horseshoes
Horseshoes is an outdoor game played between two people using four horseshoes and two throwing targets set in a sandbox area. The game is played by the players alternating turns tossing horseshoes at stakes in the ground, which are traditionally placed 40 feet apart...
, ball fields, tennis courts, a community gardening section, and the only, if decrepit, boat ramp on the west side of the Merrimack River between the Massachusetts border and the first rapids in New Hampshire.
At the northern boundary of the park, near the river, the park is dealing with the threat of creosote
Creosote
Creosote is the portion of chemical products obtained by the distillation of a tar that remains heavier than water, notably useful for its anti-septic and preservative properties...
contamination that flows from the closed nearby historic railroad tie
Railroad tie
A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...
plant.
During September 1999, American politician John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
officially announced his candidacy for president of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
to a crowd of around one thousand in Greeley Park, beginning his first presidential campaign
John McCain presidential campaign, 2000
John McCain, the United States Senator from Arizona, launched his first candidacy for the presidency of the United States in the 2000 presidential election....
.