Mantua Township has decided a major focus for the future will be the maintenance and renovation of Chestnut Branch Park, a major hub for residents and community activities.
“We don’t have a traditional downtown like other neighboring communities, so this is a place that we focus on for our residents to relax and enjoy,” said Mayor Robert Zimmerman.
The township got a $3,000 Sustainable Communities Environmental Stewardship Grant earlier this year to help improve the park, funding that paid for new state-of-the-art trash cans. Other park improvements include upgraded bathrooms; a new pavilion roof; additional lights to illuminate the park’s walking path; improvements to two parking lots; a new digital sign board; and a playground area updated with new equipment, according to Zimmerman.
The township will also add rubber to the floor of that playground, so it is safer for kids, and it plans to add an 18-hole disc golf course – also known as Frisbee golf – by the end of the year.
Chestnut Branch Park covers 109 acres and is named after the Chestnut branch of the Mantua Creek. It has a paved path for walking, running and biking; soccer fields; a baseball field; basketball courts; volleyball court and a pavilion.
The park also has its own 9/11 memorial and place of reflection, the setting for Mantua’s annual Patriot Day. Like other 9/11 sites around the country, the area contains an I-beam from the World Trade Center and a concrete block from the Pentagon to symbolize the structures struck that day by terrorists.
Chestnut Branch Park was also a talking point in a recent mayor’s message video on YouTube, where Zimmerman and other members of the township committee talked about the park and what it means to residents, as well as plans for its future.
“As part of our mayor’s message videos, we have been focusing on the many wonderful people, places and things that make Mantua such an incredible place to live and raise our families,” Zimmerman said in the video. “Our goal is to tell our story and to get our community more educated, engaged and involved. How could we not include Chestnut Branch as a main focal point?”
“Mantua Township is very near and dear to my heart and so is this park,” said Committeewoman Eileen Lukens. “It’s an absolutely beautiful place where all our residents and guests can come and enjoy the festivities.
“It’s something that we’re very proud of, and I’m grateful that we have it.”
