NORTHVILLE – It is well off the beaten path, nestled on the edge of a town with less than 200 people.

There is nothing to indicate a hidden gem lies next to an old schoolhouse in Northville. Yet on multiple nights throughout the summer, Peterson Field comes to life as locals flock to baseball games on a field that features major renovations including an artificial surface surrounding home plate and up each baseline.

“It’s been an evolution,” said Alex Boekelheide, who has handled the capital campaign for the field upgrades. “The most recent projects have been the updating of the dugouts, adding the press box/announcer booth up on top of the homefield dugout, and doing some repairing on the grandstands, and then installing turf on the home plate area, and the first and third baselines.”

Nolan Peterson, whose family is the one that field is named after, has been a part of helping to maintain the facility ever since he was a little boy. He said the renovations were part of a desire to enhance Peterson Field because “we like making it a good experience for people that come to the park, and we want to make it safe as well.”

While Northville does not have many residents, there is no shortage of activity on the diamond, including games for the Warner-Ipswich-Northwestern squad.

“We use it quite a bit. There’s a lot of teams that use it in Northville,” Peterson said. “We have the high school baseball team now, we have the Teeners, 13-14, Legion, amateurs play as well. It’s been used a lot.”

While Peterson Field is only used for baseball, its impact reaches far beyond the outfield fences.

“The mission of this ballpark goes beyond the game of baseball. It’s to bring the community together and get everybody involved for kind of the same goals,” Boekelheide said. “That’s where that goal resonated with a lot of people, which really helped with a fundraising standpoint to support the projects.”

The campaign had a theme of ‘Beyond the Game.’ Boekelheide explained that while the facility is known for baseball, it is a gathering place for individuals to come together and share a common bond.

“When you see a field like this, it’s evident that the community rallies behind it. The mission of this place is ultimately community involvement and togetherness,” Boekelheide said. “When you have something like this it can be a catalyst for that. And regardless if you’re a baseball guru or you just love to come visit in the stands with your friends and family, this is really a great venue to do that.”

Peterson isn’t sure what the next goal will be for the park, but there is no doubt which upgrade is his favorite.

“The turf. Everything is perfect. The baselines are perfect, the lines are perfect. You can see everything,” Peterson said. “It’s never messed up. You never have to chalk, you never have to rake. You never have to buy new clay. It’s always flat and level. It’s always perfect.”

Boekelheide thanked everyone who has had a part in the renovations at the park, which included a grant obtained from the Minnesota Twins. He also praised all of the volunteers who donate their time and efforts to help maintain the facility. He said the turf has also played a key role in that regard as well.

“This place comes together every night through volunteer efforts,” Boekelheide said. “That turf added a turn-key element to this place that lightens the load a lot on the individuals that prep the field every single game.”

Naturally, the new turf has been a big hit with those who play on it as well.

“It’s a lot easier to do batting practice on it now. You’re not always digging holes,” Peterson said. “When I talked to the coach, they absolutely love it. They like playing on it. They like hitting on it, fielding on it.”

The more than century-old field housed the Class B State VFW Teener Tournament about 10 years ago. Time will tell if any other state tournaments will be interested in holding events there.

Right beside Peterson Field is a small park for little leaguers. It’s a facility that has dugouts and lights. While it is affectionately known as ‘Little Field’ it plays a big role when it comes to baseball in Northville.

“They’re a pair. They work together,” Boekelheide said. “To get kids to want to play on the big field, it starts with the experience they have on the little one.”

And now, once they reach the big one, they will get to experience something unique to baseball in the region with turf surrounding home plate.

The turf not only impacts the players, but also the umpires, according to Peterson.

“I was telling the umps, they don’t have to bend over and clean the plate anymore,” Peterson said, “but I also told them the plate is white, so you better not be missing any calls.”