The Walker Trust Fund

Since 1920

The Walker Trust Fund was established in 1920 by brothers Edward M. Walker (18461905) and William Brigham Walker (1848-1911) in memory of their father Timothy Metcalf Walker (1815-1904). Among the many achievements of T.M. Walker is his company’s completion of a $400,000 contract in excavating from the western portal of the Hoosac Tunnel to North Adams and the building of a wing dam below Windsor Locks on the Connecticut River. The Walkers were very successful businessmen who owned and developed significant downtown Springfield properties including the Walker Block. One of the early uses of the Fund was to create the Walker Grandstand at Forest Park. It was dedicated on Sept. 11, 1949. The stand replaced one that burned in 1940 and could not be replaced at the time because of wartime restrictions on building materials. The Springfield Park Commission votes expenditures from the Fund according to the purpose of the Walker Trust as stated: “for extension and development of Forest Park by the Park Commissioners.”