HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Downtown Hopkinsville is in full bloom, bringing the surrounding scenery and parks back to life. Tucked in the corner of East Ninth and South Campbell Street is the large green space of Virginia Park. Like the majority of structures downtown, the centerpiece of the park has been standing for over 100 years.
The park was originally designed by the same architectural firm that designed New York City’s Central Park. The firm of Frederick Law Olmstead also designed many parks in Louisville. Located across the railroad tracks right outside the heart of downtown, the area serves as a peaceful and historical spot in Hopkinsville.
A walking path, picnic tables, and trees surround the bandstand in the middle of the two-acre park. Hopkinsville’s John C. Latham gave the park to the city in 1909, along with Peace Park. A stone marker on the bandstand says that it was built in memory of his mother.
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