Strolling through Lincoln Park, you may notice a large mound of rocks resembling a haystack. This unusual monument is the “Pioneer’s Fountain,” a tribute to the original Union Colonists. It is one of many attributes that makes Lincoln Park an important historical landmark in downtown Greeley.
The Pioneer Fountain, pictured here in 1907, used to shoot water upward.
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A centrally located park in Greeley was deemed necessary from the city’s inception. The Constitution and By-laws of the Union Colony state, “In the center, or conveniently, a plaza or square of ten acres shall be laid out for the business portion of the town, and grounds shall be reserved for a park not exceeding fifty acres.”
John Sanborn drew up the first plans for Greeley in 1870 and included such a park. Lincoln Park initially included two lakes, Luna and Auricular, named for their respective shapes.
Greeley’s founder, Nathan Meeker, hoped that the city would grow around the park and by the 1880s several homes, businesses, and churches surrounded it.
More than 150 years after its original debut, Lincoln Park still serves as a gathering place in downtown Greeley for everything from holiday celebrations to concerts and farmer’s markets to the annual Arts Picnic.
In the late summer and early fall of 2025, the City of Greeley plans to redesign the 5.7-acre park. You can read more about the project, and peruse community input, on SpeakUp Greeley at this link.
Originally published in the Greeley Tribune, October 12, 2015
Written by Nicole Famiglietti, former Curator of Exhibits
Lincoln Park was originally designed with two mirrored half moon lakes. One of them, Luna Lake, is pictured here with the first Greeley school building in the background.
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