A Park Born In Controversy

Mckennan Park is one of the best known parks in the Sioux Falls Parks System, so it's hard to imagine the possibility of someone not wanting the park to exist. Its also hard to imagine what the historic McKennan Park neighborhood would look like without well... McKennan Park.  

The historical marker A Park Born in Controversy explains to us when Helen McKennan dies in 1906, she leaves 20 acres of land for a park along with her home that had previously belonged to Col. Melvin Grigsby. There was a caveat that the home could be sold to help fund the park improvements. The Mayor at the time considered selling not only the home but also 10 acres of the land immediately. Lucky for Sioux Falls E. A. Sherman who would eventually earn the nickname become the father of the Sioux Falls Parks System at this time was just Helen’s concerned friend. Sherman stood up for what he thought McKennan would have wanted to be done with her gift to the city. Sherman was able to convince the City Council to honor Helen’s wishes and the park would remain at 20 acres.   

Behind the scenes there was some family drama to the start of this park. This drama played out across the pages of the Argus Leader and in court as Helen Mckennan’s brother Artemus felt like he had the right to decide what happened with the home and land after his sister's death. This family history gossip is further explored in a Local Lou Podcast 3 part series on Mckennan Park starting with the episode A Park Born in Controversy.