FARMINGTON — Abbott Park, owned by the University of Maine at Farmington but also enjoyed by the community, was rededicated Wednesday morning.

As part of the university’s 150th anniversary, the ceremony came on Charter Day, Oct. 9, the day the school’s charter was signed in 1863.

Park improvements were one of several projects undertaken to celebrate the anniversary, UMF President Kathryn Foster told a small gathering. Farmington Town Manager Richard Davis and Megan Roberts, daughter of former professor Gwilym Roberts, joined Foster, representing the university’s bond with the town during the past 150 years.

The 12-acre park includes Roberts Learning Center, part of the amphitheatre area and parking lot. It was the site of the Abbott School, which operated from 1844 to 1934, she said. Along with the school, there were dorms and the Abbott home.

After the Depression, the school closed in 1934. Kappa Delta Phi, a fraternity at the Farmington State Normal School, purchased the dorms, she said.

In 1961, the space was sold to a commercial developer, who knocked down the dorms. Five bridges on the park property also went into disrepair, she said.

When Farmington State Teachers College needed room for expansion, the property was purchased and Robert’s Learning Center and the parking lot were built in 1970.

Bridges were repaired, stone walls were built, Rollo Pond was dredged and the amphitheatre was built in the late 1970s and the 1980s. Foster credited the efforts of the UMF Alumni Association and the Maine Youth Conservation Corps.

President Judith Sturnick and Gwilym Roberts dedicated Abbott Park 30 years ago, Foster said.

Recently, new benches with cement pads, picnic tables, new plantings and cleanup of the area has been done in observance of the 150th anniversary. Some of the work was done by four student volunteers who met their community service requirements during a recent work day, she said.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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