New Park, Welakamike Creekside Park​, Created In Collegeville

COLLEGEVILLE, PA — A Montgomery County municipality, federal, state, and county leaders, a local college, and a nonprofit have all teamed up to create a new park for the community along Perkiomen Creek.

The new Welakamike Creekside Park in Collegeville is located just off of First Avenue, above Central Perkiomen Park and just below Perkiomen Bridge and Ridge Pike. It runs along the creek from Main Street roughly to the end of the Collegeville Shopping Center on Route 29.

It was in part created thanks to FEMA grants which allowed Collegeville to purchase 20 homes which had been damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Ida. The name "Welakamike" means "pretty place" or "good land" in the Lenape language, a heritage which the park creators aimed to honor.

"The park celebrates the Delaware Tribe (of the Lenape) as the original, indigenous inhabitants of the Collegeville area," Collegeville borough council president Catherine Kernen told Patch.

After purchasing the roughly block-long swath of damaged homes and land, Collegeville worked with the the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy to reseed the area and restore the boat launch.

While the final bits of construction on the park are still being hammered out, there is a 15-space parking lot and a trail connection along the creek that was built by the Lower Providence Regional Sewer Authority.

A special grand opening celebration will be held on Saturday at noon, featuring guest speakers like Montgomery County Commissioner Jamila Winder, State Rep. Joe Webster, State Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, and Delaware Tribe of Indians Cultural Education Director Jeremy Johnson.

In addition to the borough, the Delaware Tribe, and Perkiomen Watershed, Kernen said that Ursinus College, the PA Fish and Boat Commission, Schuylkill Highlands Conservation Landscape Initiative, Duck Inn Owner Mark Marino, Perkiomen Valley School District, and Collegeville Fire Company all assisted in helping the new park become a reality.