Virginia Park, which extends from Seventh to Ninth at Campbell Street in downtown Hopkinsville, was originally the homeplace of philanthropist John C. Latham Jr., a wealthy banker who left the two-acre site to the city upon his death on Aug. 18, 1909.
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Latham’s will provided $20,000 to develop the property into a park that he wanted named for his mother, Virginia. Following the removal of the family’s two-story house, the park was developed by the famed landscape architectural firm established by Frederick Law Olmsted. The same firm designed Central Park in New York City, several parks in Louisville and others across the country.
The focal point of Virginia Park is a large bandstand. It also has several benches and walking paths.
More than 300 people gathered in Virginia Park on Saturday, June 6, for a racial justice rally titled, “How Will You Push for Change?”
Latham was born in Hopkinsville in 1844. He died at his New York City apartment home at the Waldorf Astoria and was survived by his wife and a daughter. His estate was estimated at $2 million.
The will also provided $10,000 for the design of Peace Park, a smaller parcel that sits at Campbell Street between Ninth and 10th streets next to the L&N Train Depot. Today, because of their proximity at the same intersection, the names of the two parks are often confused, as was the case when organizers of the racial justice rally advertised that it would be in Peace Park, when it was actually slated for the larger Virginia Park.
Latham also left $50,000 to be used for the benefit of the poor in Hopkinsville and another $50,000 to Grace Episcopal Church, which was his mother’s church.
The remainder of the estate went to Latham’s family and employees, a story published by the Hopkinsville Kentuckian newspaper reported on Aug. 28, 1909.
Today, Latham’s legacy is remembered through the John C. Latham Society for large donors to the local United Way’s annual campaign.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
