Ervin Park has been Tuscola's playground since 1916 when Grat Ervin willed the land to the City to be used as a public park, named after him.

It all started because Nathaniel G. Ervin, known as Grat, and his wife Jennie, were concerned with civic betterment and wanted to be remembered in Tuscola.  Throughout his life in Tuscola, Ervin had advocated beautifying Tuscola by planting trees along the streets.  It was he who planted all the hard maple trees from Sale Street north on Main Street.

After an illness of three weeks, Grat Ervin died during the typhoid epidemic in 1916.  In his will he provided that about twenty acres of land at the north end of Main Street, belonging to him, be given to the city of Tuscola to be used as a public park to be named after him.  This was accepted most graciously by the people of the city and by 1918, $5,000 was raised by taxation to beautify the park.

The city immediately went to work planting trees and shrubbery; additionally, two stone light fixtures were placed at the two entrances to the park.  During the early 1920s, persons in and around Tuscola patronized the nine-hole practice golf course that occupied the southern half of the park.  The course was dispensed with a couple of years later because improved roads made professional courses accessible and more attractive.

In 1939, an amphitheater was added to the north end of Ervin Park, built by WPA labor.  In the 40s and 50s, a festival was held every summer called “Homecoming.”  It lasted about a week.  It featured a tent for merchant’s displays, a carnival for the children, and concerts hosting the big bands of the day: Lawrence Welk, Tiny Hill, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, to name a few.  The amphitheater deteriorated and was torn down in the sixties.

A swimming pool was added to the southwest end of the park in 1957, providing a fun place for area residents to cool off on hot summer days and for the Tuscola Torpedoes swim team to practice and hold swim meets.  Ervin Park has four ball diamonds that are in use all summer by baseball teams (all ages) and softball teams (all ages). The park also provides tennis courts, basketball courts, soccer fields, a walking track, horseshoe pits, a volleyball court, and plenty of playground equipment.  A vast, wooden playground, Prairieland Pride,  was built by volunteers in 1995, and makes an attractive addition to the south end of the park. 

In 2014, the Tuscola Rotary Club initiated a campaign to raise funds to install a new playground at Ervin Park for toddlers ages 2-5 years old.  The campaign proved to be successful,  with large donations from local businesses,  organizations and the City of Tuscola.  The playground was installed in 2014 by city crews and volunteers from the community.  A contest was held among the North Ward Grade School students to name the new playground.  Tristan Gadomski had the winning entry with "Imagination Station", and so the playground was named.  

Tuscola’s Fourth of July Celebration is the best part of the summer activities every year.  Festivities start in the park early in the day, with ballgames, mud volleyball, 3-on-3 basketball tournament, food vendors, music, and is capped off with a spectacular fireworks display at dusk.  With two pavilions and ample picnic tables, Ervin Park is the perfect gathering place for the citizens of Tuscola all summer long.

City of Tuscola Parks Link