Wick Park Trees

[AllanY2525]

The city got into hot water shortly after members of the Wick family donated
three parcels of their land to the city to create the park. I have an old Vindy
page somewhere that tells the story.

The city was obligated under a covenant in the deed to make certain improvements
to the park for the benefit of the public, including:

● Paved streets and sidewalks adjacent to all four sides, including sewer lines.

● Paved roads within the park

● Clear brush, etc and plant trees within the park grounds to make it presentable
   to the public and enjoyable.

● Maintain the number of trees, replacing every tree that dies and is removed with
   a new one so that the number of trees in the park would remain constant, forever.

The city was given a time frame - 8 years if I recall correctly - in which the improvements
had to be completed, as well as a minimum investment into the park lands in terms of
dollar amounts.

It got to a point where Caleb (Baldwin) Wick made a public statement on behalf of the
family, stating that the city was in breach of the covenant and that the Wick family would
sue to invoke the powers within the covenant and take the park away from the city unless
it lived up to its obligation and corrected its negligence.

One thing that especially upset him was that the city tried to demand
that the Wicks pay taxes on the land, when the covenant clearly stated
the city was responsible for any and all taxes levied against the park
lands.

Geez... talk about "biting the hand that feeds you..."

Cynthia (Bissell) Wick donated the land on the northern part, James(?)
the Southwest portion and the owner of the Wick log cabin donated the
lion's share at the southeast section.

I remember reading announcements of social events at the cabin that
referred to the park as the back yard behind the cabin.

VERY interesting history.  The wealthy and powerful of Youngstown's
heyday gave so very much to the city for the benefit of all, and they were truly
the leaders, pillars, and visionaries of the city in their time. 

To this day, as far as I know, the covenant on the deed to the park
still stands - if the city fails to keep it up, any direct descendants of
those Wicks has the right to sue the city to take the park from it.

The Wicks were not only very generous, they were very WISE in what they
did.  More than 100 years later, their legacy of charity, civic-mindedness
and philanthropy still survives to the benefit of all.

Every single person who lives in the city today could appreciate the
wonderful expression of their care and concern for the betterment
of Youngstown.  If every citizen in Youngstown, in their own way,
would follow the shining example set forth by the wealthy families
that were the rock solid stones of Youngstown's very foundation, the
city would be in much better shape than it is now. 

i will give credit where it is due - in the last several years a new
mindset has begun to take hold in Youngstown. I've read so many
articles about volunteer groups and non-profit organizations,
neighborhood groups and the like who are showing that they CARE
about the city in which they live and they have proven themselves
to be civic-minded.

We need more people like them, but it's a great start. The city may
be struggling to survive and thrive again, but as long as there
are people like this fighting to make things better there IS hope
and Youngstown WILL SURVIVE and take on some semblence of
what it once was, albeit a much smaller city.

[Towntalk]

From the Sunday Vindicator - April 7, 1912
Over a three year period, 150 treet in Wick Park were destroyed by blight or lack of care when the park was laid out.