France Park

St. Joseph has a lovely collection of small neighborhood parks which provide a communal green space for anyone who needs a place for peaceful contemplation. France Park, in the midst of a lovely historic residential neighborhood, is one of those gems. Its expansive lawn and mature trees make it the perfect place for a stroll.

Albert Lee France donated the land for France Park in 1913 with the stipulation that it remain a green space and not be used for organized sports. This stipulation would become a point of contention several times over the years.

     Albert France was born in St. Joseph on Sept. 9, 1880, to Charles Beeson France and Martha Washington McDonald France. The France family were extremely affluent, active in banking and investments, and Albert was given the best education that money could buy: he attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee; Columbia University in New York; and the Sorbonne in Paris. Before the First World War he lived in several European cities studying art. In 1909, while living in Geneva Switzerland he married fellow-artist Franziska de Cualtieri and the couple returned to St. Joseph where Albert went into the family business and began investing heavily in real estate. City Directories of the era indicate that he lived at 604 N. 27^th St., a lovely home that sits across the street from the land that he would donate to the city as France Park. In the inter-war period, Albert’s real estate investment business failed, and he returned to his first love, art. He opened an art school in St. Joseph and worked as an art instructor for the WPA. Eventually he and Franziska moved to Washington D.C. where they both taught, and he died there on July 31, 1947.

     The terms of the gift of land that created France Park carry the stipulation that it be retained as essentially undeveloped green space, with no developed facilities for sports or other recreation. That did not mean, however, that efforts were not to be made to make the park lovely and inviting. In 1914 the Park Department began to plant trees and sow the lawn. The next year, $1,000 of the Parks budget was set aside to construct walks and install lights at the site. In the early 1920s, the city operated a municipal ice skating pond at the park.

     In the 1950s, there was a plan by city officials to install play equipment in the park, but it was quashed by the France heirs. In 1963, plans to construct a more permanent skating rink at the park came to nothing over concerns about the terms of the gift. In the 1970s the legal terms of the gift were under consideration, when residents in the area of the park began to complain to the city about young people playing football and baseball at the park. Mayor William J. Bennett stated: “I received four complaints yesterday morning. I had the police department request the youths to leave. Today I’m receiving complaints from the youth affected. I’m caught in the middle. I understand and sympathize with both sides. However, I am told the condition of the France grant of land to the city specifies it shall revert back to the heirs if used for recreation. At this point, I have no choice but to put a stop to such use.” Further discussion between the Mayor and the City Attorney came to the conclusion that informal games would be permitted at the park; but formally organized activities would still be banned. France Park was determined to be an appropriate place for local youth to play catch or a pick-up game of football.

     The issue over the restrictions on the use of France Park continued; ongoing complaints about the use of the park cause the city to decide that the terms of the gift made the administration of the park too fraught. It began the process of seeking France heirs with the intent of returning the land to them; however, they were unable to locate the heirs, causing the park to fall under the control of the state. In 2008 the city sent residents in the neighborhood a letter that led them to believe that the intent was to sell the park, possibly to make housing development on the site possible. The City Council denied that they wished to build houses there, but they did indicate a desire to purchase the property back from the state for $1 in a deal that would void the terms of the original gift, making it possible then to build a shelter and install permanent recreation infrastructure. The neighbors made it clear that they wished France Park to remain as it had been since 1913. The opposition to the plan caused the Council to reverse its course and make the decision to leave the park an undeveloped green space.

“A.L. France, Artist, Dies,” St. Joseph News Press, Aug. 1, 1947.

“Albert France is Dead at 66,” St. Joseph Gazette, Aug. 1, 1947.

“Asks Figures on Paving in Park,” St. Joseph News Press, July 22, 1914.

St. Joseph News Press, Sept. 9, 1915.

St. Joseph Gazette, Dec. 10, 1922.

St. Joseph News Press, Oct. 6, 1953.

“Bar to Skating Rink at France Park is Seen,” St. Joseph News Press, Dec. 6, 1963.

“No Skating at France Park,” St. Joseph News Press, Dec. 7, 1963.

“Gift Terms Ban Use of France Park for Recreation,” St. Joseph News Press, Oct. 19, 1970.

“Recreational Use of France Park Seen as Violation of Grant,” St Joseph Gazette, Oct. 20, 1970.

“Ease Rule Barring All from Playing at France Park,” St. Joseph News Press, Oct. 20, 1970.

“Attorney Interprets France Park Intent,” St. Joseph Gazette, Oct. 21, 1970.

Clinton Thomas, “Residents Plead with City to Save Park,” St. Joseph News Press, Dec. 18, 2008.

Clinton Thomas, “’Go Back to Square One:’ France Park Will Stay Just the Way it Was,” St. Joseph News Press, April 5, 2009.

Erica Mendez, “Survey Says: France Park Should Stay as it Is,” St. Joseph News Press, June 23, 2009.