MILL CREEK METROPARKS Gardens’ golden year

By Denise Dick

Master plan aims to continue Fellows’ contributions to area

Elizabeth Fellows donated the land for the gardens in her will.

1Park officials commemorated the gardens’ 50th anniversary Wednesday and unveiled a master plan that lays out the goals and objectives for the facility for the next 10 years.

Upon her death March 19, 1958, Elizabeth Fellows donated the land and a financial trust to establish the gardens. It was named as a memorial to her husband’s parents, Mary and Benjamin Fellows.

“The hillsides of the property so bequeathed now have or can be developed to have the same natural beauty as Mill Creek Park,” Elizabeth Fellows’ will said. “The balance of the property shall be landscaped and developed as a rose garden with appropriate small shrubbery and flowers, so that the same shall become a beauty spot to be enjoyed by all, particularly the poor.”

Keith Kaiser, park horticulture director, said Elizabeth and Samuel Fellows never had children and lived for most of their married life in Leetonia. Samuel, though trained as an attorney, worked as a superintendent at a steel mill.

“In 1930, they were ready to retire. Elizabeth would have been about 70 and Samuel about 75,” Kaiser said. “They moved here as their retirement place.”

The gardens were designed by John Paolano of Akron, and the first plantings occurred in 1963.

David Imbrogno, park district executive director, said the gardens’ master plan is one of the goals ahead for the entire park district.

Friends of Fellows Riverside Gardens worked on development of the plan, and National City Bank was a major contributor. The $78,500 plan by Terra Design Studios LLC of Pittsburgh was funded by the park and the Friends group.

Goals and objectives of the master plan include upgrading vehicular entrances, improving horticulture, enhancing visitors’ experience, providing a stronger and horticulturally rich environment, strengthening the connection and relationship between the gardens and the surrounding neighborhood, and developing a strategy to accomplish the goals in phases.

Phase one includes installation of a garden district sign at Mahoning Avenue and Whitney Avenue, building a family garden and paths to the visitor center, and making garden improvements.

Included in those steps is a redesign of the internal parking circulation, removing the parking lot north of the restrooms, constructing an outdoor education building and partially extending Fellows Drive to connect to McKinley Avenue and adding a temporary access drive to the parking lot.

Phase two involves installation of a garden district gateway including a traffic signal and entrance sign at Mahoning and Whitney, burying overhead lines on Whitney and making streetscape improvements.

Installation of community gardens on Whitney and making entrance and sign improvements at Price Road also are included in the project’s second phase.