Citizen-designed park is the hub of downtown Clayton
Editor’s Note: This is the seventh in The Pioneer series on local parks.
CLAYTON, CA — Set in the middle of downtown, The Grove served as a community gathering place well before it officially became a city park in 2008.
Today it bustles with activity at all times of the day. In the mornings, walkers and dog owners pass through. A new mom’s group regularly meets there with their babies. Seniors come for lunch or to play checkers, and in the afternoons, school-age kids ride their bikes there to see friends.
On Saturday nights during the summer, free concerts fill the city park with families and people of all ages enjoying picnics and a variety of musical offerings. The next concert, scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 28, 2021, features Forever Rod, a Rod Stewart tribute band.
Clayton’s first 4th of July celebrations took place at The Grove when it was still a collection of more than 30 eucalyptus trees planted by George Scammon in 1878.
Joel Clayton
According to the Clayton Historical Society, Joel Clayton owned the land facing Morris Street (on the western edge of the park) from 1857 to 1870. J.H. Keller bought the land in 1877 and built a house, as well as a slaughterhouse and butcher shop there. Scammon owned some of the other lots that now make up the park and sprinkled the eucalyptus seeds there.
One hundred years later, in 1978, the trees stood more than 100 feet tall but fell victim to drought stress. They had to be removed in 1992 for safety reasons as several branches had fallen on cars and other property.
In 1999, the city created a blue-ribbon task force to come up with a community-based vision for the park. And that vision has been fulfilled.
Clayton resident Melissa Milligan visits the park often with her children. “It has a solid community feel,” she said.
“It’s always packed and it’s safe,” noted Clayton mom Colleen Giambona. “Kids go over to the Village Market to get their Slurpees and drinks or ice cream.”
Giambona added that her family loves to cool off in the Splash Pad, although it’s currently closed due to the drought.
In the last days before school starting, groups of kids gathered to play pickle or banana tag. Others jumped and ran through the play structure. Teens hung out at picnic tables, and the sounds of joy and laughter spread throughout the square.
This park epitomizes Clayton’s small town feel as a place where people meet up informally, children play and residents can take pride in a park that serves all.
Click here to read more stories from our series on parks in Concord and Clayton.
Kara Navolio
Kara Navolio is a freelance writer, telling stories of real life heroes and interesting people for several local newspapers since 2015, including The Pioneer and Lamorinda Weekly. She is also the editor of a local magazine, Northgate Living, and her debut children’s picture book Everybody Can Dance! was released by Brandylane Publishers, Inc. in May 2019. She has lived in Walnut Creek with her husband for 30 years and is the mom of two now grown children.