Map of Heekin Park Today, image provided by Community Enhancement Projects.
The Muncie Memory Spiral is located in Heekin Park, which is in the Industry neighborhood and is bound by the Southside and South Central neighborhoods. The area which we now call Heekin Park was, like much of Indiana, a wooded area prior to colonization. When settlers first arrived, the wooded areas were largely cleared for timber and farmland, but a few areas remained greenspaces. In 1913, the name of this particular greenspace was changed from Galliher Park to Heekin Park in honor of James Heekin of Cincinnati, who had many investments in Muncie. In its early days, the park offered Munsonians a giant wading pool, a small zoo with pheasants, a peacock, foxes, and opossums, replicas of pioneer cabins, a concession stand, and the Grace Keiser Maring Library.
Today, Heekin Park has a unique place in Muncie’s park system as it hosts many important buildings and installations related to Muncie’s history, making it “Muncie’s History Park.” These installations include a boulder commemorating those who served in the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War I; a WWII Memorial and time capsule; a Vietnam War Memorial; the historic Five Points Fountain (moved from its original location at the intersection of Macedonia, Windsor, Burlington, Kirby, and Ohio); the Grace Keiser Maring Library building; replicas of pioneer cabins; and a Walk of Fame honoring the many Black leaders and area residents who made a difference by helping to break down racial barriers. Now, the Muncie Memory Spiral is added to this list. As for Muncie’s “future history,” the citizens of Muncie, young and old, from the Industry, Southside and South Central neighborhoods, as well as from the city at large, will all play a part in contributing to this future. We at Community Enhancement Projects (CEP) hope the Muncie Memory Spiral can play some small role in this ongoing and exciting process.
PHOTO CREDIT: A 1910s post card featuring Heekin Park. Image courtesy of Ball State University's Bracken Archive and Special Collections.
Heekin Park Wading Pool
Image courtesy of Ball State University's Bracken Archive and Special Collections.