ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - Many Elk Grove residents might recognize the names of local parks and streets but few might know the history behind them. Willard Park is one such place, named after a man with a direct connection to American exploration history.

Willard Park, located in the East Franklin neighborhood, is a reminder that names can carry a deep historical connection to the Elk Grove area.

Three large signs at the park educate visitors about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. One specifically tells the story of Alexander Hamilton Willard, the person for whom the park was named.

A sign dedication was held June 10 at Willard Park to honor this historical link.

 

Philippa Newfield and her husband, Philip Gordon, traveled from their home in San Francisco to participate at the sign dedication on behalf of the Lewis & Clark Trail Alliance; a support group for the Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation.

The project was made possible through efforts by the Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation and Alliance, the National Park Service, Beatrice and Kevin Olsen, the Cosumnes Community Services District and the Native Sons of the Golden West.

The signs detail the life of Willard, a blacksmith from New Hampshire who joined the Corps of Discovery and accompanied Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their expedition from 1804 to 1806. After living in Wisconsin for about 25 years, Willard and his wife, Eleanor McDonald, settled in Georgetown, now called Franklin, where they spent the rest of their lives.

“He had 12 children and one of his sons had come and settled in the Sacramento Valley because of the Gold Rush. So, Willard comes at the age of 74 across the California Trail and sets up shop here. He had a farm,” said Philippa Newfield, a member of the Lewis & Clark Trail Alliance.

 
The first sign in the Willard Park series, installed earlier this year, stands on the left. It details the life of Alexander Hamilton Willard, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition who settled in the Elk Grove area over 170 years ago.

Willard’s farm might have helped supply the Gold Rush, making him a California pioneer. He and his wife also owned land that is now part of the privately-held area within the Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge off Interstate 5 (I-5).

Beatrice Olsen, a direct descendant of Willard, attended the sign dedication and shared a family anecdote.

“You think about coming across the states and say, ‘Oh, we’ll just take the oxen and wagon.’ It was so bumpety-bangy that a lot of the time they would walk,” Olsen said. “He had already done it once and he did it again at age 74 with his wife and a bunch of kids.”

 

The middle sign in the Willard Park series shares the legacy of Alexander Hamilton Willard and sheds light on York, who was an enslaved man and the only African American person on the Lewis and Clark expedition. 

Willard died March 6, 1865, at age 86, and was buried at Franklin Cemetery in Elk Grove. He was the second-to-last survivor of the expedition.

Newfield and her husband, Philip Gordon, traveled from San Francisco to take part in the dedication on behalf of the Lewis & Clark Trail Alliance, a support group for the preservation of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

“The story and the trail are only as good as the next generation that travels the trail and knows the story because it was an epic adventure,” Newfield said. “The trail really has a lot of opportunities for recreation as well as history.”

 

Here is the last sign, located on the right, in the set that was installed at Willard Park. An illustration of the Lewis and Clark expedition route is shown with details about the journey to explore the newly-acquired Louisiana territory back in 1804. 

Mike Dopson of the Cosumnes Community Services District said that the signs were installed six to seven months ago, with the June 10 gathering serving as the official celebration. The district is responsible for the parks and recreation department in Elk Grove.

The signage project began when John Hess, a Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation member, reached out to Elk Grove’s parks and recreation about bringing the signs to Willard Park, according to Dopson.

Hess, who is part of the foundation’s Southwest region, also spoke at the event, explaining how and why the signs came to be.

“I was aware that in Elk Grove, there are various places named after Willard,” Hess said. “I drove over to this park and then realized that it had a nice sign with the name of the park but it doesn’t explain where the name came from.”

Here is one of the signs that also tell the story of Alexander Hamilton Willard, as well as information about the Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their expedition from 1804 to 1806. Photo courtesy of Louis Silveira

In June 2017, Hess had previously helped install a similar set of signs at Franklin Cemetery. The new signs at Willard Park are identical, featuring the same historical content and illustrations.

Jim Entrican of the Native Sons of the Golden West said the group contributed to the original signs at Franklin Cemetery and also supported the new ones. Entrican was at the sign dedication representing Elk Grove Parlor No. 41 and Lodi Parlor No. 18, which joined efforts to contribute funds for a sign at Willard Park.

“Any opportunity we have to get the attention of folks to tell the story of Lewis and Clark, we’re going to try to take,” Hess said. “We have had previous meetings in Elk Grove due to the Willard gravesite and I thought the public should know more about Elk Grove’s connection to the Lewis & Clark Expedition.”

Here is Alexander Hamilton Willard's grave at Franklin Cemetery, located at 4109 Hood Franklin Raod.