In the 1870s, immigrants living here demanded a park to have more space to relax and play. In 1878, the City purchased 12.72 acres of land to make Crompton Park. Today’s park is 15 acres. The story of Crompton Park highlights how powerful immigrant efforts can be and what can occur when communities unite. Today, neighborhood pressure and pride can continue to sustain the park’s original goals, inspired by the history of the park.
Demand for the park began in the 1870s, when the population of Worcester increased by 206% (Rosenzweig 131). At that time, the city was developing scenic parks, like Elm Park, on its wealthier West Side. Angered by the city’s neglect of its less affluent East Side, Irish immigrants petitioned for a park of their own (Rosenzweig 132). “There is no public ground in that vicinity where children or young men can resort, either for health or amusement,” they protested (Rosenzweig 132). Wealthy elites also supported the creation of East Side parks in hopes they would act as a buffer to prevent working-class immigrants from coming to West Side parks. This combined public pressure led to the Park Act of 1884, which supported the creation of more parks in Worcester and a comprehensive park plan (Rosenzweig 134). Crompton Park, the result of such civic pressure, would at last provide important play spaces for Worcester’s East Side immigrant communities. The Park Act, however, did not fund all parks equally, and users complained in 1904 that, “Crompton and East Side parks were ‘dumps.” One Republican alderman, according to historian Roy Rosenzweig, “astutely noted that Worcester had created a system of ‘class parks’” (137).
Differences between Worcester’s West and East Side parks was a matter of funding (and available space), but also to some extent of the different communities’ values. Wealthy residents on the West Side wanted parks where they could stroll and be seen; immigrants on the East Side wanted open space for sports, fun, and games. Historical pictures of Crompton Park show a baseball field and a swimming hole that doubled as an ice skating pond in the winter (WorcesterMass.com). The park served as a place where workers could relax and socialize over beers after work (Rosenzweig 138). Sledding down the hill, rumored to be formed from the leftover dirt removed to make three-decker basements, also served as a popular spot for play in the winter (Laurie, Crompton Park- Green Islands “Jewel.”). The park thus received intense year-round use. The baseball fields were so popular one man complained one had to spend the night in the park to be sure to have a field for the next day (Rosenzweig 137). Crompton Park was only 12.72 acres yet had to serve the entirety of Worcester’s East Side. Compare this to Elm Park’s 60 acres and ornate bridges and it is clear why immigrants complained about the lack of space and funding.
Crompton Park continues to be a place of pride for the Green Island community. On a sunny Saturday in April 2023 students in our course surveyed residents who had come to enjoy Crompton Park. Several people described how much they loved the park as a place to gather and play outside. Crompton Park’s importance reaches beyond the blocks surrounding Green Island to greater Worcester as well. Scott Hayman, former director of housing in Worcester, remembers as a boy coming to basketball games there even though his family lived in Holden, “That park has been the destination for everyone in the surrounding communities” (MONT 199N Class Visit with Scott Hayman, 3-17-23).
As more attention and money are being used to improve the park, the battle between the earlier Irish immigrants and city officials seems to be finally over. Worcester’s Park and Recreation Division developed a master plan for the park in 2011. This included updating the basketball courts in 2021 (renamed for Holy Cross alumni and basketball great Bob Cousy), which continue to serve as a magnet for basketball talent in Worcester’s Summer Jam Classic. A new skatepark was installed in 2022 (Crompton Park Master Plan 16).
Residents have continued to play a critical role in the development of the park. Local meetings held by Worcester Parks and Recreation “attracted between 40 and 75 community members…of all ages,” who “express[ed] their thoughts and concerns and aspirations for this important public open space” (Crompton Park Master Plan 5-6). Residents today can take pride in the history of the park and the labor that went into creating it. Sheila Dooley, Executive Director of Pernet Family Health Services describes the park as a “Jewel for the city. One of its nicest parks. For the people who live here it’s like a prize that you get living in this neighborhood because a lot of our families don’t have yards” (MONT 199N Class Visit with Sheilah Dooley, 3-15-23). The park still functions as an escape for this community, still home to many immigrant families, just as its original creators intended in 1888.
Given its importance, Crompton Park still demands more care. During our survey, many residents expressed concerns about the trash, including used drug needles, and the danger this caused for children in the park. Long-term residents remembered feeling safe there at night, but no longer do. Residents and the city have invested so much in this square of green. It is critical to preserve it. “The Green Island neighborhood… has a jewel in its midst,” Lorraine Laurie maintains. “It’s not a diamond or a sapphire or an emerald. It’s not something that you can wear or just admire. It’s something that everyone can visit and enjoy – a little piece of country in the city. It’s Crompton Park” (Laurie, Crompton Park- Green Islands “Jewel.”).
Work Cited
Campbell, Shantelle. “Under the Lights: Summer Jam Classic Uses Basketball to Bring the Community Together.” Worcester Magazine, Worcester Magazine, 19 July 2022, https://www.worcestermag.com/story/lifestyle/2022/07/19/summer-jam-classic-uses-basketball-bring-community-together/7781858001/.
Dooley, Sheilah. Interview. Conducted by MONT 199N, 3-15-23.
“Exterior View of Pond and Pedestrian Bridge, Elm Park, Worcester, Mass., Ca. 1890.” Historic New England, https://www.historicnewengland.org/explore/collections-access/capobject/?refd=PC001.01.TMP.378.
Laurie, Lorraine M. “Crompton Park- Green Islands ‘Jewel.’” Incity Times, 15 Aug. 2014, incitytimesworcester.org/crompton-park-green-islands-jewel/.
Hayman, Scott. Interview. Conducted by MONT 199N, 3-17-23.
Crompton Park Master Plan| City of Worcester, MA. https://www.worcesterma.gov/uploads/e0/47/e0474b699372670573664c639be78aa1/crompton-master-plan.pdf.
Crompton Park – c. 1900 | Worcester Historical Museum, https://worcesterhistory.pastperfectonline.com/photo/489515EE-D985-4C00-A948-941797914841#.
Kendrick Field at Crompton Park – c. 1900 | Worcester Historical Museum, https://worcesterhistory.pastperfectonline.com/photo/8ACE5045-17B3-4360-952E-438834365574#gallery.
Rosenzweig, Roy. Eight Hours for What We Will: Workers and Leisure in an Industrial City, 1870-1920. Cambridge University Press, 1985.
“WorcesterMass.com.” Worcester, Mass – Places of the Past, Lake Crompton Park, http://www.worcestermass.com/places/lakecrompton.shtml.
“Worcester Telegram : Local News, Politics & Sports in Worcester, MA.” The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Accessed April 10, 2023. https://www.telegram.com/.