Norwich is most fortunate to have such visible parks in the center of the city for popular events such as the Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival and the Norwich Pumpkinfest. Those events take place in East and West parks, which have been around since the early 19th century. Both parks came about by donations from two wealthy residents.

Back in 1807, the state Legislature enacted a law authorizing the newly formed Chenango County to purchase land for building a courthouse. The state appropriated $5,000 for both the land and courthouse. The money was to be collected in taxes for two years at $2,500 per year.

Norwich was a village of a few hundred people at the time. One of the wealthy landowners in the county, Peter B. Garnsey (later known as Guernsey) had an attractive home on the corner of today’s North Broad and West Main streets, what is now West Park. Garnsey was civic-minded and offered to give the land upon which his house stood, about two acres, for use as the site of a courthouse and park. He agreed that if the offer was accepted, he’d move his house back from Broad Street. It was accepted, so the house was moved back to where the Guernsey Memorial Library is found today.

The courthouse was built. It was soon found to be inadequate in size. Farmers would come to Norwich on "court days," as watching court sessions was a popular social event of that time, especially in the winter months. Another courthouse was built on the same site by 1837, where the courthouse stands today.

Across Broad Street, on the site of the former Eagle Hotel, there are mid-20th century buildings. In the 19th century, the property was owned by another wealthy citizen, Stephen Steere. At that time, the two-acre parcel was used as a "common" area where children played and brigades of soldiers drilled. Steere offered to deed the common to the county, also to be used as a park, with no strings attached. That offer was also accepted.

Both parks were graded and seeded, and paths through them are nearly identical today as they were when initially graded. For many years, the East Park was referred to as "the green."

However, in 1883, Col. Edwin Loomis became village president. He went to work and succeeded at making both downtown parks into places with trees.

Loomis had been colonel of the 103rd Regiment of the New York State Militia and in that role he organized an armory on Elm Street. Loomis was a big fan of the music of a military band, so he gathered local musicians and got them uniforms. He also hired a competent bandleader, Edward M. Parmlee, a cornet player from Oneonta who agreed to move to Norwich for the job.

The 103rd Regiment Band developed a great reputation in the region. Band concerts became very popular, being given each week from a balcony on the Eagle Hotel. It was then suggested that a better place for concerts would be East Park. Loomis liked the idea and had a bandstand, which some called a pagoda, built in 1883.

The bandstand was modified in the 1920s, as the sides were lowered and a railing added. There were times in the 20th century when the bandstand showed signs of wear and tear, but each time the city and local businesses stepped forward to keep the historic bandstand attractive. The most recent facelift was in the summer of 1993.[an error occurred while processing this directive]