JEFFERS PARK
Block bounded by East Genesee, Federal and South Warren
Site 2
Dedicated: 1906
Landscape design: Central Michigan Nursery, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Fountain design: Roy Merriam, Saginaw, Michigan, fabricated by Hobson and Company, Saginaw, Michigan with sculpture supplied by Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company
Michael Jeffers was a Saginaw businessman and real estate investor. After his death in 1904, his heirs deeded a block of commercial buildings to the city with the understanding that the buildings would be removed and the site would become a city park. Before the park was completed, the Jeffers heirs donated a monumental drinking fountain dedicated to Michael Jeffers. The fountain and park were dedicated with great fanfare on May 30, 1906. Located in the core of the business district, at various times the park has served as a town square. During World War II, a temporary monument honoring the war dead was erected. In 1947 a permanent memorial honoring World War II dead was built in the park. This was relocated to Veterans Memorial Plaza in 2003. The restored park was rededicated in June of 2013.
Map
Sources
Mills, James Cooke. History of Saginaw County Michigan. Saginaw, Michigan: Seeman & Peters, 1918. 1:358.
Report of the Board of Park & Cemetery Commissioners: Parks. Saginaw, Michigan. 1905-1908. 45 - 48.
“E.C. Foster of Kalamazoo is in the city to attend to planting of Jeffers Park.” Saginaw Evening News. 20 May 1905. 10.
“Dedication of Handsome Jeffers Memorial Fountain.” Saginaw Evening News. 29 May 1906. 2.
“Memorial Work Starts Thursday at Jeffers Park.” The Saginaw News. 6 June 1947. 15.