A Local Trailblazer Meet Kim Freeman, the Woman Behind the Creation of Washington Township Park
Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided
A 50-plus year resident of Avon, Kim Freeman first moved to Hendricks County when she was eight years old. A 1976 alumni of Avon High School, Freeman joined the Indiana National Guard in 1978 and served until she got pregnant. A self-described tomboy, Freeman loved being outside and working with people, which is why she dreamed of a career as a forest ranger. While that dream was percolating, back in 1985, Governor Robert Orr announced plans for a yearlong celebration of everything Indiana called “Hoosier Celebration 88.” The idea was to bring together communities to host a giant celebration that promoted tourism and celebrated Hoosier heritage.
“Each community was challenged to pick a project and set up a committee, and we decided we wanted Avon to have a park,” Freeman says. The Avon Township Trustees office was also looking at establishing a park so Freeman began attending their meetings and Trustee Greg Hurst put her to work.
to sell. “My friend said, ‘Kim, we always thought it would be neat to turn that property into a park,’” Freeman recalls.
The 74 acres of land, which had previously been a hog farm, was ideal for a community “I was their unpaid secretary for three years park so Freeman obtained a grant to purchase as we worked to incorporate Avon and the land in 1989. Soon thereafter, the trustees establish the West Central Conservancy also bought an additional nine acres on the District as a municipality,” says Freeman, who other side of the creek, just south of the was appointed as park chairman because she, softball diamond. as she says, was the “outdoorsy person.” “An interesting tidbit of history is that there Though all of the board members had their was a house on that property that burned feelers out looking for available land, it was down. During prohibition days, it was a Freeman who ultimately stumbled upon it speakeasy for John Dillinger,” says Freeman, when she was chatting with a grocery store who notes that the road that passes over the coworker, Layla Kepple, whose husband old iron truffle bridge on the property and Keith owned property that he was looking is now a walking trail was at the time called AvonMagazine.com / JUNE 2020 / AVON MAGAZINE / 27
