Ben Hawes Park offers plethora of amenities

Jun. 20—Coming in at more than 550 acres, Ben Hawes Park is the largest of the Owensboro City Parks.

The park opened on Memorial Day in 1964, named for Mayor Benjamin W. Hawes, a retired U.S. Army Colonel who served as the city's leader between 1958 and 1963.

The July 8, 1961, edition of the Messenger-Inquirer reported the Memorial Recreation Commission requested city commissioners develop a new park and golf course.

"The Memorial Recreation Commission Friday presented proposals to the mayor and city commissioners that they seriously consider providing for a new 18-hole golf course, a large new park facility and the funds for a Sportscenter modernization program," the newspaper stated.

On Christmas Eve 1974, Gov. Wendell Ford announced Ben Hawes Park would be taken into the state park system. The sale of the park and golf course to the state was for $782,920 — the amount of the city's bond debt on the park.

Amanda Rogers, parks director, said it was not until 2010 that Ben Hawes Park was reacquired by the City of Owensboro.

"I started as the director in March of 2010, and we started operation of Ben Hawes in April 2010, and then I think we finalized an ownership agreement in June 2010," Rogers said.

Mayor Tom Watson said the city was able to reacquire the park as part of a land swap with the state.

"What the city wanted to do was have the property where the state building was on Second Street to put the Bluegrass Museum there," Watson said. "The state said, 'Yeah, we will do that, but you will have to now become owners of Ben Hawes Gold Course.' "

Watson said the city subsidizes the golf course about $450,000 annually to cover its loses.

"So by swapping that land, we also inherited that subsidy to take care of the loss from the golf course, what it takes to run it," he said.

The park features a wide variety of amenities, ranging from traditional park features such as playground equipment, picnic shelters and open green space, to the less commonly found archery range, sand volleyball court and gravity soap box derby race course.

Golf has always been a mainstay at the park, which features an 18-hole course and a 9-hole par 3 course, as well as a driving range.

Rogers said what people typically think of as Ben Hawes Park is 297.7 acres, but the Rudy Mines Trails adds another 200 acres.

"Most of it is wooded," she said.

The trails include mountain bike trails that are also used for hiking.

"What makes Ben Hawes unique is its shear size, as well as the wooded land in our park system," Rogers said. "We only have two locations that you could really consider woodlands, and that is the Joe Ford Nature Park as well as Ben Hawes."

Rogers said Ben Hawes Park is a great asset, allowing area residents an escape to nature without having to leave the city.

"It is a great opportunity for people to get out and commune with nature and be in the forest without feeling that they have to drive a long way to get there," she said.