SPENCER MEMORIAL PARKS
Dedicated to Those Who Have Served
In addition to Isaac L. Prouty Memorial Park, the Town of Spencer provides the area with many different Memorial Parks that play an important role in helping to remember those who have served this country. These Memorial Parks are an integral part of the Spencer Military Community and each has its own significance outlined in more detail below.
BEMIS MEMORIAL PARK
Dedicated on October 29, 1901, Bemis Memorial Park "honors both Samuel Bemis, the first permanent white settler of Spencer, and Captain Edmund Bemis, who served in the French & Indian War. Captain Edmund Bemis is famous for discovering a method use spiked cannons at the capture of Louisburg during the French & Indian War." The two Civil War Parrott guns that you see in the park today were loaned by the War Department and came from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. (Fiske, 535-536) Bemis Memorial Park is located in Spencer along Route 9, just before the intersection of Route 49 when heading West.
VIETNAM MEMORIAL PARK
Dedicated on April 27, 1975, "Vietnam Memorial Park was created through the efforts of the South Spencer Community Club in conjunction with the Traingle Rabbit and Youth Club. The park was dedicated to the three Spencer men who lost their lives in Vietnam: Paul Berthiaume, David Blough, and Kenneth Benjamin." The large artillery piece that you see today was added later to the park. (Fiske, 535-536)
AMERICAN LEGION • GAUDETTE KIRK POST 138
The American Legion Gaudette Kirk Post 138 is located at 175 Main St. Spencer, MA 01562.
GEORGE WASHINGTON MARKER
The George Washington Marker, located on the north side of Main Street, just west of the junction of Pleasant Street and Main Street, was dedicated by the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution on July 1, 1914. The Society was making a trip from Philadelphia to Cambridge over the route taken by George Washington when he came to take command of the Continental Army in 1775. The movement to have the stone monument in place when the Society passed through Spencer began only two weeks before its dedication. Under the leadership of Charles N. Prouty, the Board of Trade had the stone quarried, cut, and erected in only fourteen days. (Fiske, 546)
All Historical Information Sourced from:
*Fiske, Jeffrey H. "History of Spencer, Massachusetts 1857-1975". Spencer, MA: Harrington & Associates, Print Management, Copyright 1990 by the Spencer Historical Commission.