Henderson history: Controversial 1990 land purchase has paid off in a big way
Generations of Henderson residents would give you a blank look if you mentioned the words “Hoge Farm.”
From late 1989 through the mid-1990s, however, the 583 acres of land that were called that were at the center of a hot controversy. The land fronts on both Sand Lane and Old Madisonville Road.
“I think we’re going to have to call it something other than the Hoge Farm,” Mayor William L. “Bill” Newman said in an article that appeared in The Gleaner’s Progress Edition of March 27, 1993. That rustic name could be off-putting to industries looking to build in what is now Henderson Corporate Park, he said.
The other part of the land is now known as the Dr. William L. Newman Recreational Complex; more about that in a moment.
It was called the Hoge Farm for years because most of it was part of the estate of Lucy Barret Hoge before the city of Henderson bought it in 1990 for nearly $875,000. Detractors maintained the city had paid too much and would lose money when it had to be sold.
The Henderson Water & Sewer Commission originally had an option to buy the land, according to The Gleaner of Sept. 15, 1989. “At one point they thought they had a use for it, but that turned out not to be the case,” said City Manager Russell Sights. “We had a 20-day option and elected to pay the $500 to extend it to six months.”
City officials began searching for a consulting firm to study the land to determine its best uses. One major selling point was that it was virtually the last major piece of undeveloped land within the service territory of Henderson Municipal Power & Light. A large part of the land is within the floodplain of Canoe Creek, however.
The Gleaner of Nov. 22, 1989, reported the Henderson City Commission had begun negotiations with the Lexington firm of Procter-Davis-Ray Engineering. The company pledged to have a development plan ready a month before the option ran out. The cost was $43,600.
The same issue had a story about the Henderson County Farm Bureau and the Henderson County Fair Board proposing part of the land be used for county fairgrounds.
The first phase of the feasibility study recommended the city buy the property, use roughly 280 acres of it for recreation and about 225 acres for economic development, according to The Gleaner of Jan. 17, 1990. The remainder of about 75 acres should be kept in reserve and used as needs develop.
HMP&L sweetened the deal for the city by contributing $250,000 for the purchase. “This is a way for us to participate in industrial development,” said board chairman William “Bud” Higginson.
Commissioner Glenn Johnson had been expressing reservations about the Hoge Farm project even before he was elected in the fall 1989 election. When the purchase came up for a vote, he was the only one to vote against it, according to The Gleaner of March 14, 1990.
Johnson read a lengthy statement in which he said the purchase would require a tax increase to generate the debt service on $3 million needed to fully develop the land in five years. Furthermore, he alleged illegal decisions had been made in a March 10 work session about industrial use of the land.
Fireworks accompanied the following city commission meeting, when the purchase was given final approval, according to the March 28 Gleaner.
“Commissioner Johnson said a decision had been made to proceed with industrial development on the site first,” Newman said. “I find no record of such a decision and do not think this statement is accurate….
“The thing I want to emphasize tonight is that no decision has been made on future use of this land. It’s time for each of us to be straightforward and truthful. I cannot sit back and let one of our elected officials deceive the public with statements that are made without foundation for personal political gain.”
At the end of November 1990, the city commission approved formation of a citizen advisory board called the Hoge Farm Committee.
An eight-lot industrial subdivision was approved in May 1991. But there was no movement. That prompted the HMP&L board in February 1992 to offer another $150,000 to help begin an entrance road into the site, which was accepted by the city two weeks later.
Johnson again voted against the idea. “I think industrialization of the Hoge Farm … is competition with private enterprise,” he said.
He wasn’t the only one to think that. The city sold its first lot in the spring of 1993 and Matrix Composites broke ground May 21, 1993. John Dannheiser, who had developed Southside Industrial Park, complained about the city selling Matrix the land for the same price it had paid, according to Chuck Stinnett’s business column of April 11, 1993. Dannheiser filed lawsuits in 1995 against the city in both federal and state courts. They were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the recreation side of the property was in flux. From early on there was talk of building both a golf course and a swimming pool on the land, as well as fields for soccer and softball.
The Gleaner of Aug. 6, 1991, reported the Hoge committee had recommended the city seek a public-private partnership for a golf course.
The committee made that recommendation after reviewing a study made by Golf Resource Associates of Kennesaw, Georgia. The next step, Commissioner Mike Farmer said, was to call for bids “to see whether the private sector thinks this is a great idea or not.”
It wasn’t until the end of February 1992 that the city commission unanimously granted Jim Adler of Evansville an option to study the possibility of a golf course. By April 18, 1993, however the option had expired with no action taken, according to The Gleaner.
“It lays a little too wet,” Adler said. “I could build the same golf course for a lot less money at a different location.”
The Henderson City Commission didn’t get around to approving the first phase of a recreation plan until several years later, according to The Gleaner of Feb. 28, 1996. The design called for six soccer fields, seven softball fields and a walking trail, as well as partial construction of an access road, roughly 350 parking spaces and utility installations.
By late 1998, the property had been transformed. Hardly anyone called it the Hoge Farm anymore. The 168-acre Henderson Corporate Park housed six industries – the largest a cardboard recycling mill built in 1994-95 -- with lots for nine more. All of the lots have since been sold.
Bids came in high for the ballfields, so only four fields apiece were built for softball and soccer, along with a 2,700-foot-long paved walking and biking trail. Alcan Aluminum donated and constructed playground equipment, and the Newman family donated an open-air shelter. The Canoe Creek Nature Trail, built 2016-17, also starts there.
Newman park was dedicated Dec. 6, 1998, with the unveiling of a sign by Mary and Lee Newman, grandchildren of the former mayor.
An editorial that appeared in The Gleaner of Dec. 8 began with these words: “The vision has been fulfilled and Henderson’s longest-serving mayor has been rightfully honored.”
100 YEARS AGO
The state of Kentucky registered 197,963 motor vehicles in 1923, according to The Gleaner of Dec. 15, 1923.There was one vehicle for every 12 people in the state.
That compared to 2,868 vehicles in 1911.
75 YEARS AGO
Larry Hightower came through Henderson with his wheelbarrow, according to The Gleaner of Dec. 8, 1948.
The 48-year-old native of Ellensburg, Washington, said he had covered 8,373 miles through Canada, Mexico and 23 states. He planned to push his wheelbarrow around the world.
“I’ve worn out 14 pairs of shoes and 337 pairs of socks,” he said. “I’ve been on the road now for two years and five months. I figure it will take me 12 years to complete my tour.”
50 YEARS AGO
Henderson County School Superintendent Lewis N. Johnson was granted a permanent injunction prohibiting the county school board from removing him from office, according to The Gleaner of Dec. 11, 1973.
One of the charges the board had levied was that Johnson exceeded his authority by buying video tape equipment worth more than $1,000 in the fall of 1970. Circuit Judge Carl Melton ruled that charge would have been sufficient had it been raised during the terms of the previous school board. But as there was a change in administration, the charge would not hold up.
The other charges involved signing checks without the board’s approval, exceeding his authority in authorizing a change order for the construction of East Heights Elementary School, and neglecting his duty to advise the school board about state regulations regarding change orders. Melton said those acts did not rise to firing offenses.
Johnson had been superintendent since 1968 and remained through the end of his contract in mid-1976.
Readers of The Gleaner can reach Frank Boyett at YesNews42@yahoo.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Henderson history: Controversial land purchase has paid off in a big way
