Name:
SACKVILLE HILL
MEMORIAL PARK
Also Known As: Sackville Hill Park, Sackville Hill Sports Complex
Location: surrounded by Mohawk Rd. E., Upper Wentworth St., Holt Ave., and Jellico Ct. - Ward 7
Survey Description: Concession 5, part of Lot 11, Township of Barton, City of Hamilton
Size: 8.06 hectares (19.92 acres)
Features: football field with lights, playground, running track, soccer fields, ball fields, track and field facility with lighting, benches, washrooms, walkways, parking, Senior's Centre with various activities - outdoor bocce courts, shuffleboard courts and horseshoe pits
History
The property was for many years part of the farm of the late Charles LeBarre, a well-known cattle dealer and butcher. It was later used as riding stables by the late Kate Gilbert. The land was then owned by Mr. Sackville Hill (1866 - 1950), a well-known building contractor. When Mr. Hill came to Canada in about 1883, he worked as a labourer on the Grand Trunk Railway for eleven hours a day at one dollar a day - payable monthly. It was Mr. Hill's hope that his land would become a recreation centre and park for residents of the Mountain. Mr. Hill had been very generous to the Parks Board over the years but had always wished his donations to remain anonymous.
In 1950, Mr. Sackville Hill gave about 20 acres of his land to the Board. This in itself was a very generous gift. Upon his death, a further $75,000 was left to the Board for the development of the land he had donated.
Grading work was carried out and in 1952 a regulation one-quarter mile running track and football field were built. The track and infield are still used by students of the Hill Park Secondary School which is located on the property next to the park. In 1959, the grandstand was completed including the building of change rooms and washrooms. An area behind the grandstand is flooded for an ice rink during most winters. It is floodlit and the dressing rooms under the grandstand are made available as change rooms. The track and field facilities were improved and expanded in 1969.
Another improvement to the park was the Sackville Hill Seniors' Recreation Centre. City council approved the site location after years of political debate and public hearings. In July of 1992, the Ministry of Tourism and Recreation gave the City a grant of $475,000 to help pay for the Centre. At 6 p.m. on December 1, 1992, Ontario Premier Bob Rae and Hamilton Mayor Bob Morrow cut the ribbon to officially open the Recreation Centre. The Centre is one of the largest of its kind in the country and offers a wide range of programs and activities for seniors.
An accessible play structure was built in 1994, and in 1995, a sugar maple was planted behind the Seniors' Centre through the Green Streets Canada program.
References:
1. Aged Scrapbook. vol. 1 pt.2., 1990. p. 72. Special Collections, HPL.
2. Board of Park Management for the Corporation of the City of Hamilton. Director's Report, 1965.
3. Clipping File. Hamilton - Parks - Sackville Hill Memorial Park. Special Collections, HPL.
4. Corporation of the City of Hamilton, Department of Public Works and Traffic, Parks Division, Park Development Section. Parks Master Plan database, 1996.
5. Hamilton Mountain News. November 21, 1990. p. 3.
6. Hamilton Mountain News. September 16, 1992. pp. 1,4.
7. Hamilton Mountain News. November 18, 1992. pp. 1,4.
8. Hamilton Mountain News Scrapbook. vol. 2. 1974 - 1993. p. 157. Special Collections, HPL.
9. The Head - of - the - Lake Historical Society. Wentworth Bygones, no. 9.
