Vastwood Park upgrades culminate in milestone Fourth of July celebration

A major new addition at Vastwood Park is expected to debut just in time for one of Hancock County’s biggest annual traditions.

New inclusive playground equipment, part of an approximately $500,000 project funded by matching state and federal grants, will expand the existing main play area with accessible, sensory-friendly features for children of all abilities.

In March 2025, the Hancock County Fiscal Court adopted Resolution 2025-02, authorizing completion and filing of a Government Resources Accelerating Needed Transformation (GRANT) Program application with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development for up to $245,445 to help fund the Vastwood Park Inclusive Playground Equipment Project.

Hancock County Judge-Executive Johnny “Chic” Roberts met with stakeholders at Vastwood Park in late 2025 and early 2026 to help plan the playground renovations and select equipment. As of last week, the project was nearing completion, with crews working to have it ready for the county’s annual Fourth of July celebration, the busy summer ball seasons at the park, and this year’s observance of America’s 250th anniversary of independence.

The inclusive playground equipment is the latest step in a long-running effort to improve and expand Vastwood Park, which is celebrating 50 years as a county park this year.

The land that is now Vastwood Park was once the home place of my family. My dad, the late Donn K. Wimmer (1935-2024), longtime editor and publisher of The Hancock Clarion, moved to Hancock County as a young teenager with his parents, Paul Richard and Bernice “Bertie” Wimmer. He learned about the newspaper business from his grandfather, Roscoe Irvine Downs, who was the publisher at the time, while the family was also helping shape the land that would become the park.

My dad, his parents and his siblings, the late Richard “Dick” Wimmer and Patricia Wimmer Engle, worked together to plant trees that now provide shade along the walking trail and campsites. The lake they created is now roughly 20 acres and a centerpiece for fishing and swimming.

Roscoe and his wife, Winnie, my great-grandmother whom I wish I had gotten to meet, lived on the land as well, is my understanding. She was not able to do some of the heavier work outdoors with them, but she cooked often and kept them fed. This account is based on what Dad, Mom and Bernice told me when I was growing up; I was not yet born when they were doing that work.

The family moved to Hancock County from Sterling, Virginia, after a fire destroyed their farm there, drawn in part by relatives in Lewisport and by Roscoe and Winnie Downs, who urged them to come. Roscoe had found the property, where the Vastwood Lake site was then mostly a cornfield, and it became both the family home and the land that would one day be Vastwood Park.

Donn married my mother, the late Juanita Wimmer, and as a young family with their first child, Suzanne, he briefly stepped away from Hancock County to work at a newspaper in New Mexico to gain experience beyond The Hancock Clarion.

The neighborhood where they lived was called Vastwood, and after they returned home they gave that name to the family lake and grounds, where for a time they opened the area for people to swim and ran a small concession stand.

Dad eventually purchased the Clarion from his grandfather, who passed away in 1975. He took on the role of editor and publisher, and he and my mother established their own home elsewhere in the county. He was no longer living on the property and very busy with the newspaper business, later also adding event and aerial photography.

After Paul’s death in 1966, Bertie struggled to maintain the full acreage and, about 50 years ago, sold most of the property to Hancock County, making Vastwood Park possible. She kept the portion with her home and set aside land for Patricia’s house and business, Galaxy Pizza, which opened in 1981 and remains a community favorite.

One of the most recent upgrades at Vastwood Park came in May, when Southwire donated $30,000 to add two shade structures at the Splash Pad, giving visitors more places to cool off. The long-awaited Splash Pad and new restroom facility welcomed visitors in June 2025, following a project led by general contractor Gary Nugent, owner of GN Excavating & Trucking, whose low bid of $1,209,684 was approved by Fiscal Court in late 2024.

The project included a $200,000 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant secured in 2022 through a partnership between Hancock County and the Green River Area Development District, along with $50,000 from Southwire and $25,000 each from Domtar and Commonwealth Rolled Products.

Fiscal Court also approved the installation of cameras around the Splash Pad area to help improve safety. Other improvements in recent years include new walking trails, additional lighting through a partnership with Kenergy and inclusion of Vastwood Park Lake in Kentucky’s fish-stocking program, with 1,000 rainbow trout released each January and again in October and November after years of county requests.

The inclusive playground equipment now nearing completion is the latest in a series of additions at Vastwood Park. A new main playground was installed in 2023, and county officials have continued building on that momentum with other upgrades aimed at making the park more useful and welcoming for families.

Planned improvements, pending funding, include more benches along the trails, additional picnic tables, metal bench swings and replacement of the fitness stations.

Those improvements will serve as a backdrop for Hancock County’s annual Independence Day celebration on Saturday, July 4, which this year also marks the nation’s 250th anniversary and Vastwood Park’s 50th year as a county park.

The Hancock County Fiscal Court-sponsored event will conclude with an extended fireworks display over the lake at about 9 p.m.

Before the fireworks, a community time capsule filled with items representing Hancock County in 2026 will be buried near the beach house and is to be opened in 50 years.

The celebration also will feature free inflatables from 4 to 8 p.m., and organizers ask attendees to be mindful of inflatables designated for children with disabilities and their caregivers. There will also be face painting, balloon twisting and a photo booth.

Live music will begin with Josh Merritt from 5 to 7 p.m., followed by Radiotronic from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

Food and drink vendors will include Hello Pop, J’s Good Grub, Los Amigos and KY Freeze, while the Hancock County Coalition for Life will sell hand-dipped ice cream and the Hancock County Homemakers will offer hamburgers and hot dogs.

Pageants
Pageant registration will begin at 1:30 p.m. behind the beach house, with competitions starting at 2 p.m., and Baby Contest registration will be held from 3 to 3:30 p.m., followed immediately by the contest.

The Daughters of the American Revolution Yellow Banks Chapter also will display entries from its student patriotic art contest during the event in recognition of the nation’s 250th birthday.
Visitor details
Traffic through the park will be one-way beginning at 4 p.m., with entry from U.S. 60 and exit at Park Road, Ky. 1847, and attendees are encouraged to arrive early. Vastwood Park is at 925 Vastwood Park Road in Hawesville.
The Splash Pad is open daily from 9 a.m. to dusk, with no lifeguards on duty, and a full list of rules is posted on site. Posted rules prohibit food, drinks and gum; tobacco and vaping products; glass containers, soap and animals; and activities such as running, climbing or riding bikes, scooters or skateboards in the splash area, and visitors who are ill or have open wounds are not permitted. Hancock County Parks employees also cover weekend shifts and regularly monitor pH and chlorine levels to help ensure public safety.