County’s Newest Park Opens in Darnestown Saturday

County officials plan to celebrate the minting of a new park in Darnestown on Saturday.

A ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony for Darnestown Heritage Park is set for 9:30 a.m. at 14015 Darnestown Road.

Darnestown Civic Association leaders, Montgomery County Isiah Leggett and Montgomery County councilman Craig Rice, D-Dist. 2, of Germantown, were expected to offer remarks.

Darnestown Heritage Park was built on nearly a half acre of undeveloped land near Darnestown and Seneca roads, an effort spurred from the community’s desire to give the rural, unincorporated place a clear focal point that highlights Darnestown’s history.

Montgomery County Planning board approved the facility design for the park in 2007, county records show.

More details about the park were unveiled during a Darnestown Civic Association in September 2010. The park layout would incorporate three Darnestown-centric themes: the town, the historical graveyard and the Civil War.

"We want you to have an emotional connection to the past," Jamie Kuhns, historian at Montgomery County Parks told Patch in 2010.

Public space artist Cheryl Foster created sculptures for the park, including a representation of William Darne, an early settler in the area and the town's namesake.

Darnestown Heritage Park will be the newest addition to the county’s system of 416 parks. Other park features include a plaza space to accommodate community gatherings and picnics.

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If you go …

WHAT: Ribbon cutting, Darnestown Heritage Park
WHERE: Darnestown Heritage Park, 14015 Darnestown Road 
WHEN: 9:30–11:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10
MORE: Learn more about the project at Montgomery County Parks website, MontgomeryParks.org. Find more information about the ribbon cutting at planning board's news blog.