East Twin Park has new playground and fitness equipment that has been installed, ready for some final touches when spring arrives.

At West Twin Park, construction of a new shelter house and restroom facility was started and is also scheduled for completion in 2021.

The historic entrance at Kendall Young Park received some special attention to clean and repair the stones and brick work.

Perhaps the greatest changes can be found at Wilson Brewer Park at the corner of Ohio and Superior streets. Reconstructed cabins, a new walking trail and the addition of a vintage train caboose are a few of the improvements accomplished in the past year. And there is more to come, according to officials.

The Wilson Brewer Park advisory committee, chaired by Gary Groves, is overseeing the plans for those improvements. The committee is working with engineer Wayne Schlotfeldt to design the upgrades at the park.

Even though the buildings and exhibits at the park were closed to the public for most of 2020 due to the pandemic, things were still moving forward.

“The pandemic didn’t stop the progress towards our goals and preparing for the day when we can reopen again,” said Bob Oliver, a volunteer who is helping the advisory committee with the visioning for the park.

Improvements will continue as 2021 arrives. The county’s oldest courthouse will see some upgrades in the coming year.

An interesting tidbit of history discovered about the building, is that the courthouse is possibly the state’s second oldest courthouse still standing.

“There aren’t many frame buildings built in 1866 that are still standing,”Oliver said, adding that the building served as a courthouse for 10 years and later operated as a commercial building.

“We are working with the public history department at the University of Northern Iowa, one of the foremost in the country,” Oliver said. “They are digging into the past of the courthouse to help us interpret it to visitors.”

That’s the building to watch in 2021, according to Oliver, as a substantial renovation gets under way.

Schlotfeldt outlined a few of the projects that were completed in the past year.

The Wilson Brewer/Jackson Groves and Jamison log cabins dismantled and were taken to the Heritage Woodwork Inc. of Clemons warehouse where the logs were refurbished and repaired. The cabins were then reconstructed on a new foundation on higher ground.

“We took them apart — piece by piece — and moved them out of low area that flooded and moved them them to the east,” Schlotfeldt said.

That project is nearly complete. According to the engineer, all that remains is interior chinking between the logs, the hearth build-out and lighting for the cabins. That is is scheduled to be finished shortly, he said.

He said the city line department has helped get some low-voltage lighting for the cabins to add to the safety as well as the ambiance of the structures.

The cabins were also outlined with white Christmas lights during the holiday season.

The walking path throughout the park is now. The wide sidewalk offers a safe and solid path to each of the historic buildings in the park with benches along the way. Also added to the area is additional parking, including ADA-compliant spaces.

Schlotfeldt said 16 benches had been purchased and installed on the trail. Groups and families purchased the benches, which served as fundraiser for the park projects. There are three more spots available for benches, according to Groves.

“It could be a family or school class or organization that may want a bench. They can contact me,” he said.

A Illinois Central caboose, purchased from a private party in Texas, arrived in Webster City in April. With cranes and heavy duty equipment, the caboose was trucked in from a rail spur at Vincent, and was installed just west of the Depot Museum on a set of tracks.

Future improvements are planned in five zones around the park, according to Schlotfeldt. The first section is the Mulberry Center Church. Improvements there will include the addition of a patio, a handicap ramp and access to the west door.

The Harmony School improvements will include a new set of stairs, a retaining wall, placement of a bell near the school and the setting of the old water pump.

“The old well pump will be moved up and will be able to be used by school children to show how it was used back in the day,” he said.

Plans also call for the old gravel road, the original entrance to the park, to be closed to every day traffic. Schlotfeldt said it would be gated so that it could be opened for special events or for park work.

“That was a significant gravel drive that was part of the original homestead so we wanted to maintain that,” he said.

A new metal welcome sign that will arch over the entrance into the parking lot near the Depot will be installed.

That feature was one of the original wishes requested by those donating the park land to the city, according to Groves.

The final section plans call for a ramp and deck that would allow access to the caboose. The structure will be placed on the west side of the depot between the building and train car.

“Eventually that will be part of a larger deck around the entire depot,” he said.

Further down the road, the committee plans to implement improvements at the Depot. Contact is being made with architectural firms to look at what would be possible for the old train station which will continue to serve as a museum and a welcome center.

The advisory committee is scheduled to review the plans for the projects in the the park at its January meeting. Once plans and specifications are ready and the committee gives its seal of approval, the project goes to the city council for review.

“We need to get the courthouse constructed this next year,” Groves said.

Groves said the committee would be looking to donors to assist with the upcoming projects. A campaign is set to begin soon.

“Our history has been pretty good. The support within the community has been excellent,” he said.”

A fund was established through the Enhance Hamilton County Foundation. Grove said donors have a variety of options to contribute to the fund, including a one time gift paid in 2020; a gift that is spread over a year’s time; or a gift spread over a three-year period. Donors can also designate whether they wish to contribute to the courthouse construction, the depot construction fund, the general fund or another park related purpose.

Groves said an endowment fund is also being developed through EHCF for long term maintenance and operation of the park.

Donors can contribute by sending a check to Enhance Hamilton County Foundation, in care of Darcy Swon, 501 Bank St., Suite 1, Webster City, IA 50595.