Salina Post proudly presents Flashback Friday in partnership with the Smoky Hill Museum. Enjoy a weekly tidbit of local history from the staff at Salina Post and the Smoky Hill Museum as we present "Salina-Flashback Fridays."
By SALINA POST
More than 100 years ago, Mr. and Mrs. C.F. York sold a 25.8-acre plot of land to the City of Salina with one condition — the land would remain a park under the city's jurisdiction.
Today, Sunset Park features a sprawling botanical garden alongside the Salina Saline County War Memorial, where many residents and visitors gather to honor those who served in the U.S. Military.
According to the Smoky Hill Museum, the city purchased the land from the Yorks in 1918 for $100, or about $2,243 today, but for 17 years, the park sat undeveloped by staff.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided the funds and labor needed to renovate the natural space into an accessible park for residents and visitors in 1935.
Contract workers quickly transformed the park, bringing in stone mined only 14 miles northwest of town to construct fish ponds, rock gardens and its familiar gazebo on the west side.
According to the Living New Deal website, the WPA National Youth Administration hired young residents to construct a stone building and two restrooms at the park. In a 1950s election, volunteers utilized the building as a voting station.
The City of Salina continued adding features like paved walking and jogging paths, playground equipment, basketball courts, picnic shelters and horseshoe pits.
READ MORE: 📸 Flashback Friday: Salina Post - Oakdale Park - Vol. 46
In 1992, a few residents formed the Salina Saline County War Memorial, Inc. to raise funds for a monument to remember the fallen service members of the United States Military.
After raising enough funds through donations, selling bricks for the Walk of Honor and significant gifts by the City of Salina, the committee gathered together at the memorial that now bisects Sunset Park to dedicate the monument on June 5, 1994.
The Walk of Honor features inscribed bricks purchased to commemorate fallen friends and family members.
According to the Salina Saline County War Memorial, Inc. website, the nonprofit group disbanded after completing the dedication.
In 2018, the nonprofit group reorganized and began selling inscribed bricks for the Walk of Honor, requiring a small expansion to the war memorial's total footprint.
Sunset Park now boasts Salina's second-largest formal botanical garden, with a 0.79-mile path that leads walkers through its historic rock gardens and scenic ponds.
