It is hard to believe that this beautiful park was once just a piece of swamp land in Downers Grove. The story of when it was transformed into Patriots Park and Barth Pond dates back to the 1950s.
In late 1950 the Downers Grove Village Council approved the purchase of 5 acres of swamp land on 55th Street between Fairview and Grand Avenues. They planned to purchase another 18 acres of this swamp land with the idea of creating a manmade lake that would hold large amounts of stormwater. A manmade lake here would hold the water drainage that contributed to the flooding of St.Joseph Creek that flows through the village.
By 1962 work was started to dig out the swamp to form the lake. The driest summer in 30 years made it possible to bring in a large earth scoop to do the job.
It took about 15 days to dig out some 40,000 cubic yards of good black dirt. The dirt was soon called a Mountain of Gold because the park district proposed selling the dirt for $1.50 a cubic yard. Many buyers came forth including the Downers Grove pool association, a golf course by Clarendon Hills Road, and many individual homeowners.
Selling the dirt made greatly reduced the cost of digging out the swamp. Most of the lake was dug to 6 feet but some parts were 9 feet so fish could successfully live here.
Over the years the 55th Street Lake as it was called became a skating pond and fishing, boating and canoeing area.
In 1976 the 55th street park was renamed Patriots Park in honor of the Bicentennial of the United States. At that time the pond was also named Barth Pond in memory of Downers Grove police officer Richard J. Barth who was shot and killed in the line of duty on March 18, 1974. A memorial was placed in the park to honor him.
The history of this park cannot be complete without remembering Otto H. Hummer (1902-1978) who was the president of the Downers Grove Park District from 1946 when it was formed until 1962. Along with others he recognized the value and need for land to be set aside for parks for the generations of Downers Grove citizens to come. Patriots Park and Barth Pond remain today a beautiful examples of our parks.
