Forgotten Southern Michigan Park Was Sold Because No One Played There Anymore

It seems that long gone are the days when a community park was filled with the laughter of young children playing on the swings, slide and monkey bars. The Ray Park in Branch County gets so little use, that it was sold.

Ray, if you've never heard of it, and no one would blame you if you haven't straddles the Michigan-Indiana state line about 14 miles as-the-crow-flies southeast of Coldwater.

The Branch County Parks and Recreation board recently put the land up for sale and received a single bid for $9,100. The Daily Reporter in Coldwater reported in 2017,

The parks department had spent, annually, between $4,500 and $2,500 a year just to mow and maintain the park. Last summer it cut back mowing to just over two acres, to cut costs.

The department also removed some playground equipment that was broken because it presented a danger and liability to the county. The issue of liability and insurance was one problem a local group of citizens had in trying to take over the park from the county.

The county parks department also removed two outhouses that served the park.

The park was barely use and was not visible from any other street in the small, older community, which straddles the state line. It is the only county park not on water.

Ray Park was at the time so insignificant to the county that a 5 year Master Plan released by the county wasn't even sure where the park was:

Ray Park is an undeveloped 5.6‐acre parcel located just
north of the Ohio [sic] state line in the southeast corner of
Branch County in the unincorporated community of
Ray.  The park area is open space with rolling terrain.

It's north of the Indiana state line, not Ohio.

An effort by the small community of Ray to take over care of the park never materialized and in 2018 the property was sold to a land-owner who has a neighboring property.

If you are looking for some places to play, check out these Disney park rides ranked.

[Editor's Note: The photo that accompanies this article is from a park in Detroit and not the Ray Park that is the subjest of the article.]