Dennis Scivally

Dennis M. Scivally, the man for whom Dennis Scivally Park is named, had a varied professional life. Following his graduation from the old Normal School in 1898, Scivally taught at the Kage School west of Cape Girardeau for three years.

He then worked for Louis Houck on the Cape Girardeau Northern Railroad (1902), starting in the office, He was soon transferred to the engineering department and within a short time was placed in charge of construction work. He was made chief engineer of the Cape Girardeau Northern in 1905 and also of Houck's Saline Valley Railroad.

Three years later, he began a career in highway engineering, bringing county roads out of the mud and overseeing the efforts of the Cape Special Road District that established Cape Rock Park and Drive.

His efforts for the beautification of the county's roads were memorialized in 1935 when, through the urging of the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club, the Special Road District renamed Ellis Park the Dennis Scivally Park.

Click here for pictures of Dennis Scivally Park in 2010.