(PHOTOS) Evansville commemorates new playground

EVANSVILLE, Wyo. — Area families have a new source of outdoor fun, as the Town of Evansville officially celebrated the addition of its new playground at Reshaw Park on Monday.

The park has a Wild West theme and features a covered wagon, tepees and much more. It also includes many pieces of standard playground equipment such as swings and monkey bars.

“I’m extremely happy with the finished product,” Mayor Candace Machado said. “It’s lovely, and I hope it becomes a great amenity for our community. … I’ve played in this playground as a grown adult, and I think kids are going to love it. A lot of families have already begun using it.”

Machado thanked town employees for helping to make the park a reality, including members of the Evansville Police Department and Evansville Fire Department, who helped construct a multi-story windmill with a slide.

“It truly takes a village to build a playground,” she said with a laugh.

Early planning work for the project began in 2023 and construction officially got underway in September 2024. The playground was fully funded by a roughly $1.1 million grant from the Wyoming Community Development Authority.

Evansville already had some individual pieces of playground equipment elsewhere at Reshaw Park and a playground at Stone King Park, but Machado told Oil City News she hopes the new Reshaw Park playground will become the town’s primary play place for children.

“I want this to be our centralized, destination park,” Machado said. “We’re hoping that this will help families have another place to bring their kids, and be a place for the whole community to enjoy.”