Mrs. Stock's Park

Mrs. Stock’s Park Engraved Brick Order Form

In 2003 The Hillsdale City Council unanimously approved the formation of a committee to look at restoring Mrs. Stock's Park. This committee, chaired by Councilperson Mary Anne MacRitchie, has met many times over the last few months and they have laid out a vision for the restoration of Mrs. Stock’s Park.

Park Objectives
Recently, a committee brainstorming session yielded the following ideas for the restoration project’s overall objectives:

• Creating a cultural center for the community
• Restoring the unique and attractive garden setting
• Recreating bridges, ponds and other structures

Possible activities located within the park include:

• Community concerts
• Theatre productions
• Art shows
• Ice skating
• Ice sculptures
• Christmas light displays
• Farmers market
• Picnicking

Desirable Infrastructure items include:

• Pond with river water ingress and egress
• Bridges for the pond and river
• Stage area (possibly with band shell)
• Gazebo
• Pavilion
• Restrooms
• Picnic areas
• Appropriate fencing

History of Stock's Park
In 1869, Frederick Willhelm Stock moved to Hillsdale and purchased the original gristmill established by John Potter Cook and Chauncey Ferris in 1837. The mill became the largest family-owned plant east of the Mississippi.

F.W. Stock’s wife, Wilhelmina, established an extensive park in the lowlands behind their 1902-built home with the entrance facing Bacon Street. Built partially to assuage her grief over the death of four children, the originally named “ Willow Park” was transformed with the planting of hundreds of trees and plants, including choice varieties from Europe. Later dubbed, “Mrs. Stock’s Park,” the gardens, with its two artificial ponds stocked with hundreds of goldfish and connecting bridges, became a Southern Michigan showplace.

Thousands of shrubs and plants were placed along the St. Joseph River and a formal garden with prize roses, azaleas, orchids and many more unusual flowers were placed in the center of the park. Three large water tanks were buried at ground level and filled with beautiful water lilies. Six majestic white swans and six beautiful black swans swam in the ponds. Fountains, forced up by a pump near the gate, flowed along the millrace. And the notorious purple loosestrife was first imported and introduced by Wilhelmina in the park.

The park, maintained by the Stock family, employed mill employees, three gardeners and several Hillsdale College students. It was open to the public night and day. During mornings and evenings, visitors would crowd the fence to watch mill hands feed hundreds of wild ducks residing near the powerhouse cove. A vine-covered rustic arbor was a favorite place along with the tennis courts and the redwood and stone shelter house built by Mrs. Stock’s son, Alex.

Present Situation
The Stock family sold the mill and accompanying park in 1959. Though the park was officially part of the mill property, the City of Hillsdale provided basic maintenance and upkeep for the park. At some point in time, a dollar/year lease was obtained by the City to operate it as a park. While it remained open to public, many of the unique aspects of the park faded away as only emergency or simple maintenance was performed.

For the last forty years, the mill has changed hands several times until production finally ceased in 2003. General Mills, the owner at the time, deeded the land for Stocks Park to the City of Hillsdale before selling the rest of the mill property to the Mennell Milling Company.

For more information on the Mrs. Stock's Park project, or to make a contribution to the project, please contact:

Mrs. Stock's Park Committee
C/O City of Hillsdale
97 North Broad Street
Hillsdale, MI 49242
517-437-6441
(Fax) 517-437-6448

Gifts and contributions to the Mrs. Stock's Park Committee are tax deductible.