Formation of the Park

Coleman Memorial Park enjoys a rich history beginning with the formation of the park from the five Coleman and Brock family estates to the new history being formed today.

This is our story...

Not far from the Union Canal, brothers George Dawson and Robert Coleman built two hot-blast anthracite furnaces in the north-west corner of Lebanon, the first such furnaces in Lebanon County, in the 1840s. In 1852, Robert sold his interests in the furnaces to George Dawson. By 1853 George Dawson built the first mansion in what is now Coleman Park. This was a grand estate with stables, farms, ice-house, a gate house and other related out buildings. The mansion was torn down in 1961 and in the history of the Colemans the mansion is called the "Homestead". George Dawson married Deborah Brown of Philadelphia in 1852 and as their children grew and married the estate was parceled off to accommodate the children. The other mansions were built for Sarah and Arthur Brock, Debbie and Horace Brock, Bertram Dawson Coleman and John Penn Brock. All of these properties were deeded or sold to the City of Lebanon beginning in 1936 and Coleman Memorial Park was created.

 

Today the "Homestead" stables, known as the Carriage House, stands in the center of the park. The "Homestead"' gate house greets visitors to the park and the gate house for the Horace Brock mansion bids farewell to visitors as they exit the park. The Ready House, a garage, stands to the north of where the "Homestead" stood. Other remains are visible in the park, including the garden area of the John Penn Brock mansion. Also, along the south end of the park are remains from the furnace operations - the large stone wall on the right as you exit the park are the remains of a vanity wall constructed to shield the Horace Brock mansion from the operations of the furnaces.