Plymouth City Commission Approves New Name for 'No-Cannon' Park

Cannon Park, located on the corner of Farmer and North Mill Streets in Plymouth's Old Village, took its name from the old war cannon that sat there since 1967. 

But ever since the cannon was moved to the Plymouth Community Veterans Memorial Park several years ago, Cannon Park became known as "No-Cannon" Park. 

Earlier this week, at the request of Mark Oppat and the Old Village Association (OVA), Plymouth City Commission members voted to approve a name change resolution, renaming Cannon Park as Starkweather Park. 

"It's senseless to call it Cannon Park anymore, so I looked at it and thought, 'okay we should come up with a new name before anyone else does,'" Oppat said.  

Suggested names like Farmer Park and Gazebo Park were thrown around during OVA meetings, Oppat said. Starkweather was the name that stuck. 

"I suggested Starkweather Park because the Starkweathers were very instrumental in the beginning of Plymouth," he said. "And the park does have one side on Starkweather Street. Also the two homes of William and George Starkweather are still here in Old Village. And there currently isn't any monument to the Starkweathers." 

Oppat presented letters of approval of the name change to city officials from Friends of the Plymouth Historical Museum and the Plymouth Preservation Network.

Oppat said that William Starkweather's second home built around 1840, which is still standing on the corner of Mill and Farmer Streets, is possibly the oldest home in Plymouth. His son George's home also remains standing in Old Village, on the northwest corner of Starkweather and Liberty. 

George Starkweather is also responsible for building the first block of brick buildings on Liberty Street in the 1870s, which includes Hermann's Olde Town Grille, according to Oppat. 

"We're hoping to eventually have a historic marker there speaking about the Starkweathers and the development of the Old Village area," Oppat said. "A lot of people have misconceptions about Old Village, number one that it's a historic district -- it isn't -- and number two that it was built before downtown Plymouth was - and that's not true either."