March 2026
Three Parks for a Town of a Thousand
Wolcottville punches above its weight when it comes to places to play
For a town of about a thousand people spread across one square mile, Wolcottville has a lot of places to go outside. Three parks, each serving a different purpose, each with its own piece of the town's character. Not every small town this size has that. Most make do with a single ball diamond and a set of aging swings. Wolcottville has done a bit better than that.
Taylor Park sits on the south side of town and is the closest thing Wolcottville has to a traditional neighborhood park. There is a ball diamond, a basketball court, a pavilion for gatherings, a playground for the younger kids, and enough shade to make a summer afternoon tolerable. It is the kind of park where you can hear a game from two blocks away and follow the sound. The Lions Club Easter Egg Hunt happens here every spring, drawing families from across the area. It is a park that gets used, which is the best thing you can say about any park.
On the north side of town, along State Road 9, Wolcott Park takes a different approach. This one is less about organized sport and more about quiet. It sits along the Little Elkhart Creek, the same waterway that powered George Wolcott's original sawmill nearly two centuries ago. There are picnic areas, nature paths, and the kind of natural setting that reminds you the town did not always exist here, that before the mills and the railroads and the houses, this was just a creek running through a forest. The Wolcott Yale Bed and Breakfast is nearby. The 5K fun run that starts at Field of Dreams routes through this part of town, and the description of the course mentions a tunnel of trees that is apparently worth the effort.
Photo: Indiana Landmarks
Field of Dreams is on the west side of town at C.R. 1150N, and it is the most ambitious of the three. Two baseball fields built to accommodate players of all ages, a combination soccer and football field, and a playground. The annual Wolcottville Fun Run starts here, sending participants down a half-mile tunnel of trees before winding through the streets and cemetery of the town and back. It is the kind of community facility that takes real effort to build and maintain, and its existence says something about what the town thinks is worth investing in.
Parks do not generate tax revenue. They do not attract industry. They do not show up in economic development reports. What they do is give people a reason to be outside together, which is a thing that small towns need as much as any other kind of community, maybe more. Wolcottville has three of them. They are well-used, well-known to the people who live here, and largely invisible to everyone else. That is probably how they would want it.
Taylor Park is off S.R. 9 on the south side of town. Wolcott Park is along S.R. 9 on the north side. Field of Dreams is at 2323 E. 1150 N. All three are free and open to the public.