Bringhurst Park in Alexandria, Louisiana is home to two of the city’s oldest recreational institutions: Bringhurst Golf Course and the Alexandria Zoo. Adjacent is Bringhurst Field, built in 1933. At one point, the park was also home to a small amusement park—I remember visiting in the mid-1980s for my birthday one year. I grew up about an hour from Alexandria, so I made many visits to the zoo as a kid.
Bringhurst Park is named for Robert Wilton Bringhurst, Sr. Born December 13, 1840 in Alexandria to Augustus L. Bringhurst and Maria Louise Water Bringhurst, R.W. received a degree in civil engineering from Union College in Schenectady, New York in 1861. He served in the Confederate Army as an engineer. After the war, he was commissioned civil engineer and surveyor of Rapides Parish. R.W. retired from this position after thirty years. He then founded the Bringhurst Land and Real Estate Agency.[1]
His son Robert W. Bringhurst, Jr. continued the family’s influence on the development of Alexandria. Robert served as a city alderman from 1907 to 1909 and commissioner of streets and parks from 1917 to 1949. The year before Robert took office, a municipal was established in Alexandria. During his tenure, City Park gained many modern civic amenities including a zoo, nine-hole golf course, and baseball stadium.[2]
His son Robert W. Bringhurst, Jr. continued the family’s influence on the development of Alexandria. Robert served as a city alderman from 1907 to 1909 and commissioner of streets and parks from 1917 to 1949. The year before Robert took office, a municipal was established in Alexandria. During his tenure, City Park gained many modern civic amenities including a zoo, nine-hole golf course, and baseball stadium.[2]