Bicentennial Greenbelt Park facts for kids
Bicentennial Greenbelt Park is a fun public park located right in downtown Maryville, Tennessee. It's a great place to relax, play, and enjoy nature.
How the Park Started
Bicentennial Park was created as a special project by the City of Maryville. This happened before the big US Bicentennial celebration in 1976. The Bicentennial was a huge party to celebrate 200 years since the United States was founded!
The city wanted to turn an old area into a beautiful green space. This area used to have small factories and a lot of pollution. They planned to add walking paths, picnic spots, and even an exercise area. A nearby stream called Pistol Creek was very polluted, which made the city want to clean up the whole area.
The park was built using money from the local community and some help from the government. Bicentennial Park officially opened on July 4, 1976, which was the same day as the US Bicentennial!
Park Features and Growth
Building Bicentennial Park really changed the whole neighborhood. The park's first walking paths became an important part of the Maryville Alcoa Greenway. This is a long path system for walking and biking. Because of all the green space, people in Maryville started calling the park "the Greenbelt."
Over the years, from 1976 to 2007, the area around the park grew steadily. More homes, shops, and public buildings were built nearby.
Soon after the park was finished, some Canada geese started visiting. They would stop at the park during their long migrations. A small group of geese liked it so much that they decided to stay! You can still see them at the park today.
In 1996, the City of Maryville celebrated its 200th birthday! To mark this special event, they placed two monuments in Bicentennial Park.
In 1999, the first part of the Maryville Alcoa Greenway was finished. This included all the paths that were already in Bicentennial Park.
A new building, the Blount County Library, opened right next to Bicentennial Park in 2002. Then, in 2007, a bridge was built across the park. This bridge connects downtown Maryville directly to the Blount County Library, making it easy to get between the two places.
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