For many Moorestown residents, Percheron Park is a project whose completion will be largely celebrated.
Located at the intersection of Main and High Streets, the pocket park is enriched with history and will soon have its own bronze Percheron horse statue, Diligence.
“The major construction is done from the township standpoint,” said Kathy Logue, member of the Friends of Percheron Park. “The brick walls are up, the cement is done, hoofprints are in place … We just had the landscaping finished, so all the plantings, bushes and trees are in.”
Aside from other final touches, Logue described how excitement is building for the 10-year project.
“We are very excited and relieved to see it all coming together,” she said, “because it’s been the work of so many people working so hard to get it done … (and) … we’re planning on doing a little dedication so we can make sure we can thank everybody and just do a grand welcoming to the park.”
Logue got a sneak peek at Diligence a few months ago.
“Before our sculptor Joshua Koffman … we had to give a final approval on the lifesize clay statue before he then (could create) molds to make the bronze of the statue,” she explained. “So we had to go over to his studio in Philadelphia. A group of us walked in … and we were just blown away.”
“(We were) speechless at the beauty and the size of it. It’s just gorgeous.”
Logue praised the park’s many generous donors.
“ … It’s nice to see that folks appreciate that and were willing to donate … to have that done and have it put in a public space where everyone can enjoy it, not just the few that could pay for it,” she noted.
When residents were asked in 2006 to suggest ideas for enhancing the town’s center, they decided on a lifesize statue of Diligence, and two years later, the township purchased the site – a former gas station – with plans to turn it into a pocket park.
In 2011, the Moorestown Garden Club presented the park plan to township council, whose members then approved the project, including the statue of Diligence. Logue praised the work of the Friends of Percheron Park to see the project through.
Logue wants residents to make good use of Percheron Park.
“ … Sit and enjoy the view and reflect a little bit on what we have and how lucky we are to live in such a town that (had) the forward thought to mark this piece of history and to dedicate this park and this space,” she said. “Preserving it this way … this is a great thing to see it being used this way.”
For updates on the park’s completion date, visit its official Facebook page.
