Peoria Park District officials are celebrating the re-construction of a historic structure at Glen Oak Park. The so-called Cannon Wall located within the Glen Oak Park Lagoon was re-dedicated Tuesday.
The decorative stone fort has been at the park since 1898. It’s the home of a Spanish cannon that ended up in Cuba as part of the Spanish-American War. Tim Cassidy is the President of the Peoria Park District Board.
“After the Spanish were defeated, the mayor of Peoria at the time, requested the War Department to have some relic from this defeat of the Spaniards in Santiago. This cannon was eventually placed in Glen Oak Park in 1899. It was originally with the city of Peoria, and it was given to the Park District to make sure it was preserved.”
It was determined in 2002 that the Cannon Wall was deteriorating. The 285-thousand dollar project included the restoration of the decorative stone fort as well as the re-bronzing of the cannon.