In the 1910s, a group of Ridgely women organized a Community Club to improve the town’s appearance, and in 1919, soon after World War I, the club’s Civic Committee chairman, Mrs. Lillie Swing Pearsall, launched the Memorial Park Project to clean up land around the train station. In memory of men who served in the Civil War, Spanish American War, and World War I, shrubs and trees were planted, and on Memorial Day a dedication service named those who served and those who never returned. Although townspeople began calling it Memorial Park, the name did not become official until the 1930s. In the early 1930s, the memorials broadened to include living postmasters, school teachers, railroad agents, Community Club officers and members, school board members, and former prominent citizens. In 1931, the railroad told Mrs. Pearsall it could not give title to the grounds but promised to preserve the improvements as fully as possible in any future development. In 1932, a community Christmas tree was planted beside the water fountain in memory of Mrs. Mary Worthington Long, the first president of the Ridgely Community Club, and additional trees honored other deceased club members. In late May 1934, Memorial Park was dedicated, a Japanese cherry tree was planted in honor of George Washington, the town’s 67th anniversary was celebrated, and recently planted trees and shrubs were dedicated to specific Civil War and World War I veterans. In 1935, the park expanded from Central Avenue out to Breyer’s Milk Plant, and St. Gertrude’s Academy planted a group of evergreen bushes in the new section. By 1937, the number of memorials had reached sixty, and the park was praised as an example of civic pride, cooperation, and hard work. Mrs. Pearsall led the project until 1938, when declining health in her family forced a move to Pennsylvania; after her departure, the park was not well maintained. When the railroad ended passenger service in 1949, the idea of the park as a place of remembrance gradually faded, and no record survives linking specific trees or bushes to individuals.