Shamrock Park (Shoreview, Minnesota)

Shamrock Park in Shoreview

Shamrock Park is a public park located in Shoreview, Minnesota, United States. The park contains numerous amenities available to the public, including various sporting areas. It services the residents of Shoreview as well as the larger Twin Cities communities.

Park features

Shamrock Park has numerous amenities, including the picnic shelter, sporting areas (including soccer fields, a basketball court, hockey rink, tennis courts, and baseball/softball fields), an extensive walking and biking trail system, and a children's playground. Shamrock Park does not contain any lake or creek on park grounds, as these are located in the adjacent Oakwood Pond.

History

The earliest reference to Shamrock Park is in the late 1840's. The land that is now Shamrock was a popular resting place for Native American travelers, and later a popular wagon trail to Duluth. Native Americans traditionally used adjacent marsh land for food and rice production. As the town which would become Shoreview grew, buildings around Shamrock Park became central points of the growing community including Willis Wilson’s property which hosted the first meetings of the new mayor and community leaders. One highlight was, in 1885, Mark Twain stopped by Shamrock Park on his book tour promoting "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".

As time passed, the government shifted away from the Shamrock Park area and the residential community grew around it, embracing Shamrock as an anchor for the city. In more recent years, Shamrock was host to a campaign stop by future President Ronald Reagan, and many other large events such as beer dabblers, weddings, ice skating competitions, and frisbee golf tournaments. In 2004 the 3M Pavilion was constructed as part of an extensive park remodel. In 2015 a small gathering of Black Lives Matter protesters demonstrated in the park against recent shootings of unarmed black men. Shamrock Park is frequently referred to as the hiding spot for the St. Paul Winter Carnival Medallion, there are certain recent clues that point to historical events that may have taken place here. In any event, it is always possible that a secret, rare 2nd medallion may be hidden in this park every year.