Confederate Playground

Confederate Playground is located near downtown, in the Springfield section of north Jacksonville. First named Dignan Park, for a chairman of the Board of Public Works, it opened in 1907 and contained the City's first supervised playground. The United Confederate Veterans chose Jacksonville as the site for their twenty-fourth annual reunion in 1914, which was attended by an estimated 48,000 former Confederate soldiers. Many of the activities took place in the park, and five months later it was renamed Confederate Park. Troops, many from the nearby Armory, used the playground portion of the park for drill grounds and tent/hut encampments during both World Wars. The playground was permanently established as a separate facility from Confederate Park in the 1950's, and today provides open space and recreational facilities for residents of the Springfield and downtown communities.