A brief history…

In 2000, a group of local residents gathered to discuss the condition and future of the small community park located at Reservoir Road and Wisconsin Avenue, NW behind the Georgetown Public Library. Once a charming and peaceful retreat, the historically significant park was now derelict.  It was unsafe, sadly neglected, and overgrown. These neighbors and volunteers pruned and pulled weeds, removing a great deal of plant material and rubbish in the process. This hard work allowed a clearer view of the park, making it painfully obvious that there was much to be done and outside help was a necessity. The Friends of Book Hill Park was organized as a tax-exempt corporation and the next phase of work began.

While a detailed history of our accomplishments year by year can be found below, here is a summary. The park transformation began with clearing years of trash, invasive species, and tree stumps. Then we started restoring and improving. We created a new circular brick path at the top tier of the park, installed new benches around the path, repaired the concrete staircase, had a sign for the park designed and constructed, tilled and amended soil in the planting beds along the staircase and planted 30 azaleas and 30 nandina in them, planted 10 white crape myrtles around the circular brick path at the top of the hill, planted six ornamental cherry trees on the hillside, planted thousands of daffodils over the years (which often get stolen!), re-sodded the grass at the top circle, added 24 shrubs to the Wisconsin avenue hillside, restored the original fencing along Wisconsin Avenue, found panels of the original fencing in the library base and had them restored, painted and installed along the Reservoir Road side of the park, and for the remaining area along Reservoir Road we had fencing fabricated to match the original fence panels.

Park maintenance is a year around effort, and we need to raise funds every year to keep the park looking cared for. Every year the Friends raise funds to maintain the park, including plantings, watering, pruning, and mowing. Although we hold community clean ups, keeping the park looking cared for requires constant maintenance. 2025 marks our 25^th year. The historic trident fence is rusting and in urgent need of attention. Scraping and painting the fence seems a fitting project to mark our 25^th anniversary and we are actively seeking funds for this undertaking. Please support our effort to keep Book Hill Park and Georgetown looking beautiful.

To learn more about the history of Book Hill park, click here.