John Stretch Park

Last updated
John H Stretch Memorial Park
Cricket-johnstretchpark.jpg
Participants enjoy a game of cricket on the field at John Stretch Park
John Stretch Park
Type County park
Location47225 US 27, Palm Beach County, Florida
Nearest city Lake Harbor, Florida
Coordinates 26°41′48″N80°48′30″W / 26.696606°N 80.808392°W / 26.696606; -80.808392
EstablishedDedicated in 1970

John Stretch Park is a small roadside park on the south side of Lake Okeechobee. The park is accessed along U.S. Route 27. [1] The park provides picnic areas, restrooms, a large grassy field, an outdoor basketball court, and a boat ramp. Admission is not charged. The entire north edge of the park is dominated by the twenty-foot dike surrounding the lake. Set into this dike at one end of the park are flood control machinery and a lock for moving boats into and out of the lake. The Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail can be accessed from the park.

This park also displays several diesel engines, valves, and pipes that once were part of the flood control facility.

The park is named in honor of John H. Stretch. A plaque in the park explains that Stretch worked as director of recreation and conservation for the flood control district between 1963 and 1970. In May 1970, Stretch was killed in a plane crash while working for the Florida Flood Control Agency. [2] [3]

In 2022, a man and a woman were shot to death in the park. [4] [5]

Flood control machinery on display Nordberg radial engine 648.JPG
Flood control machinery on display

References

  1. The Florida Trail: The Official Hiking Guide. Big Earth Publishing. 2004. pp. 54, 60, 61. ISBN   978-1-56579-492-4.
  2. "Plane Crash Probe Drawing a Blank" Fort Pierce News Tribune Newspaper Archives May 15, 1970 Page 3.
  3. "News Briefs" Panama City News Herald Newspaper Archives May 7, 1970 Page 2.
  4. Detman, Gary (2022-04-21). "Two people killed in triple shooting in South Bay". WPEC. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
  5. Lewis, Victoria (2022-04-21). "2 killed, 1 injured in shooting at park near South Bay". www.wflx.com. Retrieved 2025-07-01.