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Ribbon Cutting Held For The New Jennings-Gonzalez Park in Gonzalez
April 3, 2025
An official ribbon cutting was held on a warm Wednesday afternoon at the new Jennings-Gonzalez Park, the newest Escambia County park in District 5.
“I’m very excited to celebrate the newest park in District 5, which provides children and families in the area even more recreational opportunities without having to leave their neighborhood,” District 5Commissioner Steven Barry said. “I’d like to express my sincere thanks to the Jennings family for their support and continued contributions in District 5, along with our parks and recreation and public works departments for bringing projects like this to fruition for our community. I look forward to seeing our residents and visitors enjoy Jennings-Gonzalez Park for many years to come.”
The new park is located at 1552 Goldenrod Road, the site of the former Escambia Charter School, just behind Gonzalez Utilities on Old Chemstrand Road. The park features a playground with a slide, numerous climbing structures, and additional play features for all ages. The park has been open since February 10.
For a photo gallery, click here.
“We may have to look at one of those fancy sunshades,” Barry quipped, “as the summer sets on to us.”
The park is named for the Jennings family, who have been part of the Gonzalez community for nearly 130 years. The family first arrived in Gonzalez in 1896 after James Sylvester Jennings retired from the Muscogee sawmill, where his son Christopher Jennings continued working after moving to Gonzalez in 1910. The Jennings family became well-known in the Gonzalez community and regularly attended Gonzalez Baptist Church, which was built on property once owned by their family. The Jennings family kept a vegetable garden and a farm, and they hosted numerous family and friends every Sunday for dinner and fellowship together.
Fred Lee Jennings and Sara Elizabeth Hatton were married in 1938 and went on to have six children, all of whom remained in the Gonzalez community and had families of their own. One of their daughters, Sara Jennings Blackburn, later called “Nana,” dreamed of having a park closer to home where her grandchildren could play. Although she passed away in September 2023, her daughter-in-law Candice Blackburn said her Nana would have loved seeing the park come to life for the Gonzalez community.
“We are so thankful for this little park to bring joy to our family and many others now,” Blackburn said. “Now, Nana has five grandbabies, one bonus grandbaby, and one on the way who will continue playing and spending their time in Gonzalez. We know that Nana would have cherished each and every laugh and squeal she heard from all of these babies she loved immensely. I’d like to thank Commissioner Barry and everyone who worked together to make this park a reality for so many families in our community to enjoy.”
“For the Jennings family, faith, family and education has always been kind of a cornerstone of where we are at,” Lee Jennings said. “My great, great grandfather came from Alabama. He was a surveyor and a lumber man on the sawmills in Muscogee., and then at some point bought a large tract of land here in the Gonzalez area…They were all instrumental in a lot of things building the church. Faith was at the forefront of everything, giving glory to God in everything they did and making sure they were tied into the community.”
Jennings-Gonzalez Park is the second new park this year in Escambia County’s District 5 with the January addition of Paper Park in Cantonment.
For an additional submitted history of the Jennings family on Gonzalez, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
One Response to “Ribbon Cutting Held For The New Jennings-Gonzalez Park in Gonzalez”
A wonderful tribute to the Sara Jennings Blackburn family..Sara was an office aid at Ransom Middle School and loved by all..she was GODLY woman who lived her religion and her legacy lives on in her 3 sons and their families..THANK YOU to all who made this possible.