LANCASTER TWP — Although clouds were gray Friday morning, the mood at the opening of Four Springs Park was anything but.

With township officials, county commissioners and state representatives in attendance, Lancaster unveiled Phase I of a park that's been in the works for a decade. The township purchased nearly 26 acres at the intersection of Route 19 and West Lancaster Road in 2009 with the intention of building a community park.

Township supervisors said the location, the former Haine family farm, looks toward future growth while also honoring Lancaster's agricultural history.

“We want to maintain that as the township grows,” Supervisor Joe Plesniak said.

Plesniak commended the vision in 2009 of the board of supervisors, of which he was a member, in planning the park.

“They had a vision that, as the township grows, there would be a need for a park,” he added.

Ben Kramer, township manager, echoed Plesniak's remarks.

“They had a dream, they had a vision and they understood the importance of something like this to the community,” Kramer said.

Cindy Watson, then township secretary-treasurer, applied for the state grant used to fund the master plan of Four Springs in 2014. Watson, who died in 2016, was instrumental in the development of the park, Supervisor Dennis Kerr said.

“I sure wish she were here,” he said.

Phase I of the plan includes a park entrance, parking lots, stormwater management and a one-mile walkway that will be dedicated at a later date in Watson's honor.