After eight months of waiting, the community surrounding Hirsch Elementary School finally has a brand new playground at its local park.
Liberty Park, which is managed by Harris County but is located directly across the street from the Hirsch campus, burned to the ground last June. Though not directly attached to Hirsch Elementary, the playground was a vital part of the surrounding neighborhoods — including many Hirsch students.
“As long as I can remember, Liberty Park has been around,” said Drew St Fleur, a 5th-grader at Hirsch Elementary. “When I found out it had burned down, I was devastated. But when I found out it had been rebuilt, I was rebuilt. I love and cherish this park.”
Built in 2003, the original playground at Liberty Park was built over five days with the help of 900 community volunteers and fundraising efforts across the community, including events at Hirsch Elementary. Representatives from the local Timber Lane Utility District, which helps to oversee the park, said that over 2500 meals were served to volunteers at that time.
However, on a Sunday morning in June 2023, the playground burned to the ground. The Harris County Constable launched an investigation and it was determined that an unknown suspect set fire to the grass and playground equipment.
“We appreciate the fire department for containing the fire and keeping it from spreading into the community,” Bud Gessler, who sits on the Timber Lane Board of Directors, said. “It was a very dry time of the year, and it hadn’t rained in weeks. The department was able to keep it contained, and it could have been much worse and affected some of the surrounding homes. We are grateful for their hard work.”
Through a joint effort with Timber Lane Utility District, Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, and other fundraising efforts — as well as support from Bears Playgrounds, Astro Fence, Champions Hydro-Lawns, and Agilent Security — the park’s playground was rebuilt, completing construction in December 2023, reopening to the public in February 2024, and officially being dedicated this week.
“This is an encouraging day. They have restored this for this great community,” Commissioner Tom Ramsey said. “And unless we have great schools we are not going to have a great community. And we are lucky because Spring ISD has great schools, one of them right across the street.”
One of the highlights of the new playground is a fence made of old pickets from the previous playground. The pickets were recovered by Jimmy Stemple, an Eagle Scout, and were refurbished and installed as part of a new fence framing the entrance of the playground.
“This would not have happened without everyone coming together, without the community support, the family support, the Constables that are here,” Dr. Lupita Hinojosa, Superintendent of Spring ISD, said. “Everyone coming together is what makes our school district a great school district. Our mission is to continue to build on the great legacy of this district and this community.”