Many work to replace Gunn Park’s historic sign

Representatives of the city of Fort Scott, chamber of commerce and individuals involved with an effort to bring a piece of local park history back are pictured Tuesday by the new sign at the entrance to Gunn Park. Pictured are, from left, Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lindsay Madison; Todd Farrell and Chad Brown with the city of Fort Scott; Fort Scott Mayor Jolynne Mitchell; Scott Flater, representing the city and Kiwanis Club; Pat Flanagan and James Coffield with Niece Products; Director of Economic Development Rachel Pruitt; City Manager Dave Martin; Michael Mix representing the city; and Rhonda Dunn, president of the Historic Preservation Association of Bourbon County.

Jason E. Silvers

A piece of local park history has returned due to the efforts of city officials, a local business and two local organizations.

In 2017, John Townsend and Ralph Carlson, members of the Fort Scott Kiwanis Club, embarked on a project to find out more information on the original arch sign that once greeted visitors to Gunn Park many years ago.

The lighted entrance sign to the park was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935.

Carlson got the ball rolling on a project to rebuild the sign. It soon became a joint project between the city, Niece Products, a local company, Fort Scott Kiwanis and the Historic Preservation Association of Bourbon County.

“Ralph brought it up to me and we did some research,” Townsend said. “It was not an individual effort; it was a group effort.”

HPA President Rhonda Dunn said the sign was taken down in the 1970s “due to deterioration.” After researching, the original plans for the sign were located and provided to Niece Products for reproduction. The new sign was placed in December.

“They (Townsend and Carlson) happened to find the company in Nevada (Mo.) that built the sign originally and they found the original plans,” she said.

Volunteers from the city and Niece Products then chipped in to provide labor and materials needed to rebuild the sign.

“We found out where the original material came from,” Townsend said. “Ralph made contact with Niece and they volunteered to take care of the problem.”

Townsend said they found a drawing and photo of the arch sign in the book “Historic Reflections of Bourbon County,” written by local historians Don Miller and Fred Campbell.

Dunn said the project involved no funding, only materials and labor which were donated by the group of volunteers involved with the project.

The sign was rebuilt by a Niece Products team that included three welders and three in a paint crew. The sign has three coats of epoxy and paint and is bolted down onto two stone pillars at the park entrance.