“Our job is to preserve and promote local history and interpret and share it with the public,” said Heidi Heinze, River Falls Historic Preservation Commission, as she presented to our club. Some of the ways that the organization accomplishes that are the survey of historical buildings for the National Register, installing plaques on downtown buildings, walking tours, consulting with city groups, the park board and placing historic photos on the outside of buildings.
Heidi Heinze and Mark Anderson from the River Falls Historic Preservation Commission presented a rich history of River Falls very own Glen Park.  Jayne Hoffman also joined in on the presentation.
Heidi stated that Wisconsin has the premier state historical association in the nation, and in 2014, performed an intensive survey of historic homes and buildings in town. The Historic Preservation Commission was responsible for nominating the swinging bridge to be on national historic register and it is now listed. Next year, a plaque commemorating the historic nature of the bridge will be installed.
 
“Our job is to preserve and promote local history and interpret and share it with the public,” said Heidi. Some of the ways that the organization accomplishes that are the survey of historical buildings for the National Register, installing plaques on downtown buildings, walking tours, consulting with city groups, the park board and placing historic photos on the outside of buildings.
 
The group has also worked with the university, for example, when Cascade Street was being redesigned, the groups conferred on necessary changes to North Hall, which is also on the national register.
The group plans to install interpretive signage along the walking path by the river, and even has long-term plans for a River Falls museum.
 
Glen Park – almost 140 years ago
 
As early as the 1880s, the idea of a park on the south side of the glen was discussed, but it wasn’t until 1898 before the River Falls City Council made it official. Known as Powell Woods, the land around what we now know as Glen Park was a popular spot for picnics and recreation for residents.
 
Soon, it became known as "The Glen," and featured a falls and a mill, where picnics and enjoying nature became the norm.
 
The park was originally divided for families to maintain, but the brambles and the ensuing conflicts over park amenities led to Glen Park being established as a city park, and the battle of the brambles was left to municipal employees.
Thanks largely to the Women’s Improvement League, a lodge was established and other organizations started pitching in to get things done in the park.
 
In 1899 a bicycle track wound through the trees, and the Kelly slide was a toboggan track that led right down to Lake Louise.
 
The pool was built in 1937, and 500 people bought tickets the first day to swim: 20 cents for adults and 10 cents for kids. Old timers will remember the familiar places in the park: lover’s lane, crow’s nest, the Point and Old Baldy.
 
The park had a short time hosting a zoo, with Billy and Betty the bears, as well as deer, badgers, wolves, coyotes, porcupines, fox and lynx. Rumor has it that there was even a monkey housed on the park grounds for a while.
You can learn more about Glen Park and Historic River Falls at the River Falls Historic Preservation website.   The site has several interactive maps, stories and photographs, where you can learn more.