Hackley Park Fence Restoration

Fence restoration a monumental task

By Dave Alexander | The Muskegon Chronicle
Thursday, September 03, 2009

MUSKEGON -- It's a move that would make Charles Hackley proud.

A new fence -- complete with replica end posts and caps -- soon will grace the 120-year-old Soldiers and Sailors monument in the center of downtown Muskegon's Hackley Park, thanks to the former Hackley Heritage Association.

The old fence was removed this week by Mark Ferguson, a welder with Ark Welding of North Muskegon. He and Duane Seaver of VanVoorthuyzen Iron Works of Muskegon will assemble and install the new replica fence in about two weeks.

The Hackley Park fence design was recreated by Lee Brown and Paul Franklyn of AccuTech Solutions of Muskegon, including a facsimile of the missing corner posts from research of historic photographs. The foundry pattern was built by Nova Pattern of Montague, and Ruben Llano of New Era, a master carver, added original details and the corner posts and caps to the pattern.

Mark Fazakerley, co-owner and president of Eagle Alloy of Muskegon, has been managing what could be about a $50,000 historic restoration project. A cast-iron restoration company -- OK Foundry Co. Inc. of Richmond, Va. -- has fabricated the 85 sections of the Hackley Park fence and the four missing corner posts and caps.

Those materials will be shipped to Muskegon in the next week.

"The corners of the fence have been gone for more than 40 years, and the remaining fence was in terrible shape ... it was coming apart at the seams," Fazakerley said. "In the end, this is going to be just terrific."

When the fence parts arrive at Eagle Alloy next week, they will be sent to Global Gauge and Tool Co. in Fruitport for machining and powdercoat painting, Fazakerley said. The fence will be installed in the next two weeks, he said.

Jon Colburn -- the last president of the Hackley Heritage Association, which disbanded after 40 years at the end of 2008 -- will plan a public dedication that is expected to include a Charles Hackley family member. Hackley was the lumber baron and community benefactor who donated Hackley Park to the city of Muskegon, among dozens of other community gifts.

Over the years, the Hackley Heritage Association has saved the Hackley and Hume homes, now part of the Lakeshore Museum Center, among other preservation projects. It ended operations with 37 members and a Community Foundation for Muskegon County endowment fund of $100,000.

Those association funds will pay for the fence restoration in Hackley Park, with the remainder being granted to the Lakeshore Museum Center, the former Muskegon County Museum, members have said.

Dozens of people have inquired about the old park fencing, with many eyeing the old cast iron material for personal garden uses, Fazakerley said.

The final decision on what to do with the old fence will be made by the Muskegon City Commission, in consultation with the Lakeshore Museum Center, Fazakerley said. Former association members will keep the historic fencing pieces in safe storage until a decision on their future is made by the city.