The Village of Marvin will open Houston Ross Park to the public with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday, Sept. 26, at 1 p.m.

The park, at 10006 Marvin School Road next to Marvin Village Hall, honors the Houston Ross family, whose roots in Marvin date to the 1800s. The village updated shuttle logistics Tuesday, Sept. 22: attendees can catch a shuttle from Marvin AME Zion Church Annex at 9422 New Town Road, according to the village's website.

The ceremony caps months of construction. At the village's Parks, Recreation and Greenways Board meeting Aug. 4, Public Works Superintendent Matt McManus reported that crews had replaced sod, connected irrigation to Union County water, repaired a French drain and installed a new park sign.

Finance Director Jill Carilli told the board a pergola had been delivered and would go in after a water feature was finished. Two benches were planned under the pergola, with a third near the water feature, along with trash bins and dog waste stations.

That water feature is a 5,000-gallon rainwater harvesting pond, built by Pondscapes of Charlotte.

The park's name carries weight. According to the Marvin AME Zion Church's published history, the Ross sisters, Maggie and Sallie, were once among the wealthiest women in Union County. In a will dated Nov. 20, 1907, they left 800 acres of farmland to Bob Ross, a formerly enslaved man, and his daughter Mittie Bell Houston.

White relatives challenged the will. An all-white jury upheld it in 1921, as chronicled in Gene Stowe's book "Inherit the Land: Jim Crow Meets Miss Maggie's Will," reported by QC Nerve.

The Ross family also shaped the land where Saturday's shuttles will pick up riders. By 1898, Marvin's Black community had built its first bush arbor on Ross family land along New Town Road. In 1901, the family deeded that land to the church for $1.

Completing the park was a Year 1 priority in Marvin's 2026–2036 Strategic Plan, adopted Feb. 26, which called for a "central public gathering space."

The ceremony runs from 1 to 3 p.m., according to the Aug. 4 board minutes.

Upcoming Marvin events:

  • Friday, Oct. 23: Trick or Treat in the Park, 5–8 p.m., Marvin Efird Park, 8909 New Town Road
  • Saturday, Oct. 24: Arbor Day, 10 a.m.–noon, Marvin Efird Park
  • Saturday, Dec. 5: Tree Lighting, time TBD, Marvin Efird Park