The city has initiated the process to get a provincial heritage designation for one of its oldest public parks, two years after Mayor Jan Liggett suggested the protective measure.
Cambridge's heritage advisory committee will consider adding a heritage designation to Soper Park at its meeting next week.
That's when heritage planning staff will table a report recommending committee members advise council to approve the designation.
Soper Park, located at 120 Shade Street and 40 Marion Way, is not only one of the city's oldest parks, but also one of the oldest in the Region of Waterloo.
The park was established soon after it was acquired by the Town of Galt from dairy farmer, William Jackson, says the staff report.
In his honour, the new park was named Jackson Park in 1904.
In late 1904, the Town of Galt hired Frederick Todd, Canada’s first landscape architect, to submit a design to transform the farmland into a proper park, reads the report.
He recommended various plantings, pathways and pavilions. He also recommended deepening the creek channels near Elgin Street to turn the once swampy area into a walkable park.
Todd was instrumental in developing conservation efforts to save the Mill Creek stone bridge as part of the project, calling it "one of the most artistic and picturesque bridges he had ever seen in Canada."
Several delays, including the First World War, the Spanish Flu epidemic, opposition from Galt residents, many of whom considered the project a boondoggle, and a lack of funding to undertake those recommendations, stalled the project completely by 1918.
In 1920, Dr. Augustus Soper, who lived adjacent to the park on Dundas Street gave the Town of Galt $10,000 toward the refurbishment of the Park.
The town accepted his proposal to scrap Todd’s recommendations and reinforce the Mill Creek sides with armour stone, add flower gardens including a peony garden and formal walking paths through the park.
In honour of his donation, the park was renamed Soper Park in early 1921.
Staff say key heritage attributes that embody the historic value of Soper Park and warrant its designation include its connection to Jackson, Soper, and Todd, and for being one of Cambridge’s oldest public parks.
