Many who toured the old Milton firehouse just off Berryhill Rd. will remember the park adjacent to it.
On Wednesday the park that once featured a small pond and a couple of picnic tables was brought back to life complete with everything once used being returned to new, even the old marker to the fire house that was erected in 1965.
"This park has a lot of memories to it," said Milton Fire Chief John Reble. "The kids who toured the old fire station talk about park and their parents remember touring the fire station and playing or spending time in that park as well.
"When we moved the fire station to its new location we were very eager that it was for public use."
Since the old Milton fire station was torn down, a fence has been erected to protect the water pumps on the same site where a 110-foot water tower once stood in 1910.
And old pump and one of the footers to the tower still remain, but several other items from the past were used to create a place, which has already started drawing members of the public to sit and quietly reflect or rest.
"We have a lot of the things from the past used to help create and establish this park," said John Tonkin, the Executive Director of Green-Up Santa Rosa. "Besides this being a recycling station, we used the recycled glass to put in the concrete to spruce it up, the benches are make of plastic wood from recycled plastic, the area where the recycling bins are is recycled asphalt.
"This is a place where the old has become new once again."
All of this started from the Green-Up Santa Rosa's Impact 100 grant.
Part of that grant included an innovation station, which is what the Fireman's Park has become.
"I have lived in Santa Rosa County almost 25 years," Tonkin said. "But I have never seen a community come together for a project like Santa Rosa County does."
While making the park new, it still is in keeping with its historical past.
"This is a project we did together for the common good," said Milton Mayor Guy Thompson. "I have been involved with this city for 32 years and never have I been more proud.
"There is a lot of history here. Thank you all for a job well done."
The park itself has two benches, a bike rack, and a grassy area with paths leading to the center.
In the center of the park is a monument to the firemen with a pair of boots and a fireman hat designed by the welding students at Locklin Votech.
"This park is a tribute to the firemen and the retired firemen," Thompson said. "Their job is not an easy one and they have served the people of Milton and served them well."
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Old becomes new at Milton's Firehouse Park