A new playground will soon be build at Carl Cowan Park in west Knox County. The playground will replace several old pieces of equipment that date back to the 1980s.

"The playground at Carl Cowan was the oldest in our system," said Doug Bataille, Senior Director. "With the number of visitors the park gets, especially during the summer months when the splashpad is open, an upgrade was needed for safety reasons."

The new, accessible playground is designed for children up to 12 years old and features two slides, a climbing wall and climbing web, agility stations and several individual activity panels. It will be set on a solid rubber surface.

The park was built in 1949 and dedicated to Carl Cowan, a Knoxville lawyer instrumental in the desegregation of local schools. Cowan was born in Knoxville in 1902, attended Knoxville College and then received a law degree from Howard University College of Law in Washington, D.C. He practiced law in Knoxville from 1934 until 1980 and was appointed the first African American Assistant District Attorney for Knox County in 1953. Cowan is remembered for his volunteer work, community activism, and for encouraging peaceful integration in Knoxville. A monument on site explains more about the park's history and features one of Knox County's quilt blocks titled The Lawyer's Puzzle.

Carl Cowan Park encompasses more than 30 acres along the Tennessee River. In addition to the splashpad and playground, amenities include tennis courts, a basketball court, soccer fields, a horseshoe pit, picnic tables and shelters, restrooms, a fishing pier and boat launch. A greenway loop around the fields measures three-tenths of a mile and a one-quarter mile natural trail along the river leads to Admiral Farragut Park.