April 7, 2026 3:20 a.m. 

A makeover of Brown Park in Roseburg is underway.

A city release said the $1.1 million project will revitalize one of Roseburg’s oldest parks with state-of-the-art play equipment for children of all abilities, thanks to community collaboration, generous local residents, and city staff.

This spring, Roseburg Public Works employees are installing colorful, universally accessible structures that will exponentially multiply what kids of all abilities can play on at Brown Park. The park in west Roseburg will more than double in size when it opens by late spring or early summer.

The expansion was made possible by residents and staff working together and a large grant won by Parks and Recreation Program Manager Val Ligon. The update will reorient the park away from the busy West Harvard Avenue to the more peaceful, safer West Francis Street.

The land for Brown Park was originally acquired in 1959. Sitting next to Roseburg Fire Station #2, the park has long held some basic playground equipment, a picnic table, a bench, and a grassy tree-encircled grassy open space.

The Brown Park rejuvenation was kick-started by a family who agreed to sell a much sought after .55 acres of adjacent prime property on Francis Street and Roseburg area residents Kelley and David Trinchero, who donated $150,000 to the city to purchase the property. This meant the city met its $444,700 grant-match requirement.  Ligon nailed down a State Lottery funded $667,050 Local Government Grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department for the project.

Parks and Recreation Program Manager Val Ligon said “This is a place where anybody can go and not be left out. It’s going to have something for everyone. The whole city works together on a project like this”. Expanding the park and making it a safer, more accessible park for everyone has long been a city goal and was included in the 2008 Parks Master Plan.