E. P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park

A walking path in EP Sawyer State Park

E. P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park is a 570-acre (2.3 km²) Kentucky state park located in the Freys Hill area of Louisville, Kentucky on former land of Kentucky's Central State Hospital. When opened in 1971, it was named in honor of Republican Jefferson County Judge/Executive Erbon Powers "Tom" Sawyer who was killed in a car accident on Louisville's Interstate 64 in 1969 while still in office. Sawyer is also notable as being the father of journalist Diane Sawyer.

The park's amenities include an Activities Center with a gymnasium that has indoor courts for badminton, basketball, and volleyball as well as an Olympic-sized swimming pool and weight room. The park also includes 12 lighted tennis courts, 10 soccer fields, 3 lighted softball fields, a mile-long fitness trail, a 1¼ mile nature trail, a permanent BMX track, a Model Aircraft airfield, a dog park, playgrounds, and picnic facilities. The park is also the site of the Louisville Astronomical Society's "Urban Astronomy Center".

In recent years, Louisville had suggested that Otter Creek Park, a 2,600-acre (11 km²) city operated park that lies outside of Louisville's city limits, become a state park in an exchange for E. P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park becoming a city park, but there were no negotiations or developments on this particular plan.^{[citation needed]} Eventually, the state would take over Otter Creek Park in a separate deal in 2010; it will reopen in 2011 as an outdoor recreation area operated by the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

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  EP Sawyer's main lawn

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  Soccer fields at EP Sawyer

See also

• List of attractions and events in Louisville, Kentucky
• List of parks in Louisville, Kentucky

Further reading

• Kleber, John E., et al. (editor) (2000). The Encyclopedia of Louisville. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2100-0.