Meinig Memorial Park Through Time; Current Renovations Planned
By Abby Haney
Gathering of people on the Meinig grounds at the old “Meinig Park” park location for festivities. Meinig Park has upgraded over time to accommodate the public's needs.
A popular name in Sandy is “Meinig” as seen in the roads, history books and, most notably, Meinig Memorial Park. Meinig Park acts as a gathering point for the community and a place for fun. The park was built over time and today, is still improving for the public needs.
Meinig Park can be dated back to the 1880s where its focus was hosting social gatherings, primarily during summer for 35 years. However, this Meinig Park location isn’t where it’s found today, and wasn’t a formal park. Previously, it resided where Sandy Post Office and Sandy Assembly of God stand today.
The formal park life of Meinig Park didn’t begin until 1963. The current park's location was owned by Paul Meinig, son of Friedrich Meinig who settled in Sandy in 1876. In 1963, the Meinig’s heirs sold seven acres and gifted three to the city for $7,000 and part of it was named Meinig Memorial Park, a condition for the City of Sandy obtaining the land.
Originally, the city of Sandy planned for a special vote on this matter that allowed citizen input; however, this idea was never executed. In the end, Sandy bought the land and used a portion of it to build City Hall on, where it remains standing today.
Today, the park contains a play structure, trail system, restroom, amphitheater, stages, gazebo and concession stand areas. All of these features weren’t there from the beginning, being built over time. Many citizens in Sandy recall the sparse attributes of Meinig Park.
“It wasn’t really a park, it was just an empty field/forest,” Sandy Historical Society Board Member Dan Bosserman said. Bosserman is a longtime Boring citizen and author who wrote books on the history of Sandy and Boring.
To turn the area from a forest to a usable park, the Montgomerys and Gerens opened the space by cutting down vegetation without compromising nature.
“They got everyone to cut brush and make it the beautiful park it is now,” Bosserman said.
A structure there today that stands out is Fantasy Forest, Meinig Park’s famous play structure. Fantasy Forest was built by the hands of volunteers in 1995. Sandy citizens worked together to create an architect that allowed enjoyment then, and continues to do so today. In 2008, the beloved gazebo was added for the public.
Renovations and improvements continue on the park today. The City of Sandy is looking to add a restroom near the parking lot, an ADA shelter, regrading trails and replace current picnic pavilions with three new structures, one being a straight concrete area. All of this is due to the feedback the city received from citizens addressing accessibility.
“We’re really trying to address accessibility and then also just the damage that has taken place over years,” Parks and Recreation Director Tiana Rundell said. “Adding new lights throughout to improve safety.”
Many citizens have stated the difficulty of traveling and viewing the amenities in the park, especially for the concerts and movies shown in the park.
“In all of those surveys that we did with the community and then talking with experts about accessibility, there was a lot of going back to the drawing board to determine how we could best meet the accessibility rules and guidelines and not impact the tree canopy,” Rundell said.
While improving the park's accessibility has been a major request by Sandy citizens, protecting its trees has been another. Citizens want to improve the park while simultaneously preserving nature in Meinig.
“We also heard very loud and clear was don’t hurt the trees, save the trees,” Rundell said.
Originally, the renovations were to begin after Winterfest, allowing for a longer window of time between major events in Meinig to complete these renovations. However, in order to satisfy public needs, renovations won’t start until after Sandy Mountain Festival in 2026 with completion date before Winterfest of 2026.
The Parks and Recreation Department has been aware of improving Meinig Park but due to financial constraints, were limited in acting on this plan. Due to being awarded Local Government Grant Program from Oregon Recreation Parks Association and a Travel Oregon grant, they were able to start some renovations.
“We did a lot of community engagement where we had surveys and open houses and spoke with the community to define what the priority should be right now,” Rundell said. “Ultimately, accessibility rose to the top of that priority list and with the budget, that’s really what we can address right now.”
Moving forward, the Parks and Recreation Department hopes to also renovate Fantasy Forest and No Name Creek. Meinig Park has changed significantly since its beginning but remains as Sandy’s “jewel.” It will continue to improve and grow to meet the public's needs.
Abby Haney is the Editor-In-Chief at Sandy High School for the Pioneer Press and is a writer at large for The Sandy Historical Society and The Sandy Standard.
