Moncure is trading rows of crops for swing sets. Chatham County officials say the Parker family has sold roughly 138 acres of long-held family farmland on Pea Ridge Road to the county at a reduced price, clearing the way for a new public park called Parker’s Ridge Park. Early designs sketch out an inclusive playground, restrooms, a picnic shelter topped with an observation deck, a pump track and a walking loop around an existing pond. County staff say construction on the first phase is set to start in early 2026, with a recent social media post pegging the target opening for summer 2027.
Planned amenities, park size and schedule
The county’s parks projects listing describes Parker’s Ridge as a future 138-acre park on Pea Ridge Road, with Phase I focused on core, family-friendly features. That first buildout is slated to include an inclusive playground, a pump track, a picnic shelter with an observation deck, restrooms and a walking trail looping around the pond, according to Chatham County. The same materials put the start of Phase I construction in early 2026.
How the county acquired the land
County records trace the park’s footprint back more than a decade. Members of the Parker family - serving as trustees of the Lola Tart Parker Trust - sold the property to Chatham County at a reduced cost, according to county documents. A legislative file shows the transfer, completed in September 2011, covered 147 acres in total. The sale, followed by later board actions, formally christened the site Parker’s Ridge Park in memory of Atlas and Lola Tart Parker, a nod to decades of family stewardship of the land, according to Chatham County Legistar.
Grants, funding and next steps
The project is not just riding on local goodwill. According to a report from $500,000 boost, the park secured a $500,000 grant from the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) to help pay for key Phase I elements, including the pump track, a gravel walking loop and a combined restroom and shelter building. Chatham County’s planning materials also describe a 2019 master-planning process that shaped what would make the cut for that first phase. The PARTF award itself was highlighted in September 2025 coverage that focused on the $500,000 grant and its role in moving Parker’s Ridge Park from concept to construction.
What it means for Moncure
County leaders are treating the project as equal parts recreation upgrade and preservation victory. In a social media reel, officials urge residents to thank the Parker family and celebrate the fact that working farmland will stay open space rather than turn into dense development. The video spotlights the planned park features, the family’s decades of farming and the county’s broader push to expand recreation options in southeast Chatham. The accompanying Facebook post frames the land transfer as a conservation win that will add accessible recreation for families, riders and nearby neighbors, according to Chatham County.
