Eaton Ruritan
Community Park
"History"


In 1973, the Eaton's Crossroads Ruritan Club purchased seven and one half acres of land just off of Price Road in the crossroad's community.  The club decided they needed a community project that would help support the community and at the same time generate funds to support their community projects.  Several ideas were discussed.  One of the more popular ideas was to plant a peach orchard on their newly acquired property and harvest the peaches to generate income.  Another idea was to build a small community park with a baseball field.  Fortunately, the decision to build a park was made.  

The work on the park began in early 1974 and was to include one ball field (now known as the old big field), a  concession stand, tennis courts, and a basketball court.  The work was shortly completed  Eaton's Crossroads community now had it's own  park.  A loosely organized baseball/softball program soon came about.  In a short amount of time, the park began to grow and there was a need for an additional ball field (now known as the Coach Pitch II field).  In the early years of the park, the club members operated the facility themselves.  As the years passed, the park continued to increase in the amount of children participating in the ball program.  The time came when the club decided they needed a new system for operating the park.  A volunteer was found who agreed to run the program for the club.  This system worked for a time, but the program continued to grow until it was too much for any one person to see to.  In the early '80s, a new program was implemented which would establish what we now know as the "Park Committee."  This system proved to be very successful.  It was comprised of five volunteer parents who had children enrolled at the park.

The park has continued to grow by leaps and bounds over the years.  From the late '80s to the present, the child enrollment has grown from approximately 300 to approximately 800 children.  The committee is now comprised of ten volunteer members.  The Eaton Crossroads Ruritan Park has always strived to provide the community with the best family oriented programs possible.  

The park it totally staffed and operated by all volunteers and is financially self-sufficient with all income derived through sign-ups and concession sales.  We would like to thank everyone who has volunteered their time to help in any capacity at the park from committee members to coaching to picking up trash, it takes it all to make it work! 

The Eaton Crossroads Community Park is the now the largest park in Loudon County with six individual baseball fields, tennis court, basketball court, quarter mile asphalt walking trail, concession stand, and clubhouse.  In 1999, the park with the assistance of the Ruritan Club, purchased the two and a quarter acres under the power lines for parking.

We hope as a member of our program you will always find the Ruritan Park a fun, safe, and enjoyable place to bring your children.

Thank you - The Park Committee 


 

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