When you walk through the Rector Downtown Park you are walking through history. Not only has this park been part of Rector’s downtown area since the town was founded, it now contains the names of many of the people who have made Rector what it was and what it is today. Setting directly across the street from the depot, it was originally an empty space where horses and wagons were tied while their owners conducted their business with the railroad and other businesses down town. It is no surprise that during rainy weather the churning hooves would turn the area into a large mud hole. That in turn became a dirty dust bowl when the ground dried up.

The ladies of Rector were understandably dismayed by this eyesore. Members of the Woman’s Club of Rector decided this was not a good first impression of our town for those arriving by train or passing by as they traveled into town. One of their first projects was to clean up the area and make it into a park. Modest in its first incarnation, they planted flowers and grass and created walkways. Throughout the years the Downtown Park has undergone many revisions.