The city of Dearborn recently received an $87,056 grant through Platte County’s Parks and Recreation Outreach Grant Program. The funding will be used to replace the shelter house with a 30-by-48-foot open-air pavilion with enclosed restrooms.

The goal is to complete the pavilion in time for Reminisce Day on Sept. 26. If it is not finished by then, completion is expected in early October.

New playground equipment is planned for the park when funding and grants become available.

The park was originally the site of one of Dearborn’s first hotels near the Rock Island Railroad depot. The depot stood along Route Z, facing what is now Central Bank. The hotel had a wall dividing the building, allowing the owners to live on one side while guests stayed on the other. A large sign reading “HOTEL” faced the depot so travelers could see it as soon as they stepped off the train.

The hotel later became a private residence. It was probably demolished in the early 1960s, leaving a vacant lot at Second and Delaware streets.

The Walter Vaughn family owned the property behind Vaughn-Aufranc Funeral Home and used it to provide additional parking for the business. Walter Vaughn had purchased Clarence Aufranc’s share of the funeral home but retained the Vaughn-Aufranc name because Aufranc was a longtime Dearborn resident.

The property was no longe r needed for funeral home parking after the former Platte Valley Bank allowed visitors to use its lot during funerals and visitations. The Vaughn family subsequently loaned the land to the city and later donated it for use as a downtown park. Vaughn Park is named for the Walter Vaughn family of Weston.