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Preservation Hero: Hannibal’s Park Protector “A friend once told me that if you don’t do politics, politics does you,” says Wells Pettibone, reflecting on his efforts to protect Riverview Park, a picturesque preserve of trees, paths, and winding carriage roads on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri. Pettibone, a Hannibal native who works as a financial consultant in this city of 18,000, had no desire to wade into local politics when he started serving on the board of trustees for the city parks and recreation department. But when public works officials announced their plans to erect a 30-foot-high water tank on land they owned inside the park, he spoke out. Pettibone, whose ancestor W. B. Pettibone gave the park to the city in 1909, viewed it as an important part of Hannibal’s history and culture. One of his first steps was to challenge the city’s legal right to build the water tank. Although a judge ruled in favor of the city, Pettibone’s research revealed that Riverview had been created by Ossian Cole (O. C.) Simonds (1855–1931), a landscape architect associated with the Prairie Style, whose most famous design is Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.Through the Internet, Pettibone discovered the LALH reprint of Simonds’s book Landscape-Gardening (1920), bought a copy, and used it to substantiate the park’s historical importance. A few years later, in 2006, this lineage propelled the park’s successful nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, an effort steered by Pettibone and other supporters. Since then, the city parks and recreation department has removed incongruous fencing and several trees that blocked views in one of the bluff-top overlooks. “Walls will be replaced with stone that fits in with the historical park, and roads will be repaired and resurfaced with earth-toned gravel to keep the rustic look,” reports Chris Atkinson, the current director of parks and recreation. New plantings will help screen the water tanks. During the contentious debate about the water tanks, members of the parks department and board of trustees received some valuable public feedback that has stimulated new projects, such as improving connections among Hannibal’s parks, says Pettibone. The parks board is planning a bike and pedestrian trail linking parks throughout the city, making them more accessible. New trails also will lead from Riverview Park to the downtown historic district and the Mark Twain Home––the most famous attraction in the city where the author was born. Riverview Park has also reclaimed several acres of land formerly occupied by storage sheds, and the site will soon be converted into a picnic area. “The trustees and parks officials now view the park as having a level of historical integrity that requires protection and restoration,” says Pettibone. “We’re looking into other preservation projects at Riverview, and we’ll pursue them with a careful eye to preserving Simonds’s design intent.” The growing awareness of historic landscapes and the importance of parks in general comes at a time when Hannibal is trying to expand the role of historical tourism in the local economy. In this new, optimistic atmosphere, Pettibone says, Riverview Park’s National Register listing and the positive changes flowing from it not only are pleasing from the standpoints of aesthetics and recreation, “they’re good for business.” (See related article.) Photographs: |
