Fairview Park

Fairview Park is 20 acres of land located on the south side of the City of Logansport. It is a flat piece of ground and is ideal for the many activities that take place at Fairview Park. Three baseball fields and an open field that is used for soccer and football are part of the athletic competition brought to Fairview Park. The park has a large fully inclusive playground which was completed in 2023. It also has 3 picnic shelters and a basketball court. A large restroom has been available since 2005. Parking is plentiful.

• Smiles for All is an inclusive playground, that also serves as the playground for the Fairview Elementary School recesses. This playground has been recognized as a National Demonstration Site of PlayCore with signage to allow playground users to provide information about their experience.

  • Musical equipment

  • 1 Net climber

  • 4 Swing bays (4 belt swings, 2 “double” swings, 1 ADA swing)

  • 1 Spinner-ADA Compliant

  • 1 Composite structure

  • 1 Play sign

• Picnic Shelters, holds 36-40 persons, with 6 picnic tables, electricity is available: 

  • Security Federal Savings Bank Community Pavilion

  • Grand Industrial Pavilion

• Restrooms

• Basketball court

• Athletic Fields, including 3 baseball fields and 1 soccer/football field:

  • Crain Field, Operated by the Logansport Youth Baseball League

  • Metz Field, Operated by the Logansport Youth Baseball League

  • Steinman Field, operated by Babe Ruth League

On December 5, 1928, May Lux deeded 28 acres to the Municipal Electric Light Department for the tidy sum of $8,000. This land is Fairview Park. The name of Fairview really is no mystery. In the Pharos Tribune dated November 14, 1928, Mrs. Sylvester Hinkle, a south side resident, sought a recreation site for the children of Logansport. She was successful Leading a delegation to city hall, a beaming Mrs. Hinkle requested the land be called Fairview Park. Originally, Fairview Park was to have a natural lake 250 feet by 100 feet in size with a depth anywhere from 1 to 4 feet for swimming and boating. The natural stream running through the park was to be diverted once the area was cleared. To plant 152 trees, twenty men with dynamite blasted holes in the existing limestone rock.

Four park gateways were built by the Civil Works Administration in 1934, using rocks from the Fairview property. They still exist today. Two of these original gateways are located at Riverside, at Race Street and the 10th Street entrances. One at the entrance to Dykeman Park and at Fairview Park. It is fair to note that Spencer Park is not mentioned in the “New Gateways” article, but in 1935, the Parks Department announced that “new dressed boulder gateway pillars” had been erected at Spencer Park. 

As for baseball, it seems that games (softball included) have been played at the Fairview Park diamond as early as 1932. A 1938 aerial map of the park reveals that present-day Steinman Field was indeed there. Steinman Field was officially dedicated to the July 4 fireworks display in 1970. Mayor Martin E. Monahan recommended the name to honor Jim Steinman who “had served as a member of the police department for nearly 20 years at the time of his death, and devoted much of his on-duty and

off-duty working hours to working with juveniles. As for the small field, games have been played there as early as 1949. It became Crain field in June 1958 and was touted as “the first lighted Little League field in Indiana”. Don Crain was a coach, a mentor, and a Little League player agent in Logansport for many years. He was one of the original organizers for youth baseball and girls' athletics. Thanks to the tenacity of James Metz and other dedicated volunteers, the additional dirt field became an outstanding asset to the community. Mr. Metz found a way to recycle a gently used fence, received donated soil and grass, and organized the work to be completed. The park was there first, then baseball, then the school. 

Thanks to Mrs. Lux for the land, Mrs. Hinkle for the name, the Civil Works Administration for the gateways, and the volunteers for the ball fields. Fairview Park remains a Logansport gem with picnic, baseball, and recreational facilities for all.