Discover Dewitt: Parks, history, and local fare

DeWitt offers several reasons to explore the city: five parks with play and picnic facilities, the historic DeWitt City Cemetery, and an annual summer festival. There’s also Looking Glass Brewing Co. downtown, serving locally brewed craft beer and cider alongside elevated pub fare. When choosing a vacation rental in Dewitt, you can consider whether you’d like to spend your stay enjoying the outdoors, exploring history, attending a festival, or sampling local cuisine.

Parks with a variety of amenities

The city’s five parks offer amenities such as play equipment, pavilions, gazebos, a soccer field, softball fields, restrooms, picnic tables, and grills. There’s a range of options, from places to play and participate in sports to spots for a picnic. Families who enjoy spending time outdoors can discover another side of DeWitt here, beyond its historic sites.

Riverside Park has a pavilion, 13 picnic tables, and two large, double-sided grills. It also has play equipment, restrooms, and electricity. The specific number of tables makes the park a good option for groups who want to eat together; each grill has two sides.

Sports Park has a soccer field and two softball fields. It also has a pavilion, picnic tables, and a grill, as well as play equipment, restrooms, and electricity. Those interested in sports facilities will find soccer and softball fields here; Riverside Park, with the amenities described above, is a separate park and is not part of Sports Park.

All Kids Playground has ADA-compliant play equipment. The park cannot be reserved; use is on a “first come, first served” basis. In general, the parks, pavilions, and athletic fields in DeWitt also operate on this basis. They are open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations are recommended if you want to guarantee access. This information is useful when planning a visit to a park, especially if you have a particular facility in mind.

Local history at DeWitt City Cemetery

DeWitt City Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Clinton County and is believed to have been established as the earliest burial ground for the settlement of Scott. Its gravestones document much of the history of Clinton County and the DeWitt area. Those interested in the history of the city and its surroundings will find more than a single historic site here: the gravestones offer insight into the people and past of the region.

The cemetery also includes a Healing Garden in the northeastern part of the grounds. It is designed as a contemplative space, with a winding path and benches. Its layout sets this part apart from the rest of the cemetery and provides a place to pause. The cemetery’s historical significance and the garden’s design offer two distinct reasons to include it in a visit.

Every Memorial Day, a local VFW post holds a remembrance ceremony for members of the U.S. armed forces at DeWitt City Cemetery. The cemetery is the resting place of 75 American Civil War veterans. The annual ceremony and the graves are specific reminders of how the site’s history is kept alive through a present-day commemorative tradition.

Local fare and a summer festival

Looking Glass Brewing Co. is located in downtown DeWitt, in a historic church of architectural significance. It serves locally brewed craft beer and cider, along with elevated pub fare. The combination of a brewery, drinks, and food makes it a destination in its own right for travelers who want to explore local dining as well as parks and history during their stay. The historic church lends the brewery its distinctive setting.

Another annual event is the DeWitt Ox Roast, held every August for more than 75 years. If you’d like to plan your trip around a festival, this August event offers a specific date to consider. The parks, cemetery, brewery, and Ox Roast appeal to different interests that you can weigh when deciding whether DeWitt is right for your planned stay.

When looking for a vacation rental in Dewitt, your interests can help guide your choice: Would you like to spend time in the parks, explore local history, or plan your trip around an annual festival in August? The places and events described here showcase different sides of the city without suggesting any one focus. That way, you can choose a destination based on what you and your family want to experience during your stay.

For an overview of the wider area: Clinton County.